scene 10 - climax Flashcards
STAGE DIRECTIONS on BLANCHE: ‘(She has decked herself out in a somewhat soiled and crumpled white satin evening gown […] Now she is placing the rhinestone tiara on her head)’
(Scene 10, p.90)
The fact her once ‘white evening gown’, symbolism of purity and chastity, has become ‘soiled’ and ‘crumbled’ highlights how Stanley has made her sins known, bringing her dirty secrets to the surface and destroyed her innocent facade.
Theme of Fantasy vs Reality - Blanche is now fully submerged in a fantasy world, the use of props (‘tiara’) highlight her belief that she is worth more than she now is
- She is trying to uphold her upper-class status through the use of prop but her loss of this is evident in the diction of ‘rhinestones’ as they are cheaper than diamonds
STAGE DIRECTIONS on BLANCHE: ‘(… slams the mirror face down with such violence that the glass cracks)’
(Scene 10, p.90)
Theme of youth vs age - Blanche can no longer stand how she appears as her youthful facade has slipped to which she has come to acknowledge
The semantic field of violence (‘slams’, ‘violence’, ‘cracks’) implies that Stanley’s violent behaviours negatively impact on the women around him - (AO3) links to his domestic violence of women
The rape can be foreshadowed here as superstition finds that breaking a mirror results in 7 years bad luck
STANLEY: ‘The silk pyjama I wore on my wedding night!’
(Scene 10, p.92)
This appears to be foreshadowing the rape as wedding nights typically end with intimacy and the woman giving her virginity to the man
This is a structural parallel to the violence in scene 4
The exclamative shows his excitement and his intrusive thoughts
STAGE DIRECTIONS on BLANCHE: ‘(She sets the phone down and crosses warily into the kitchen)’
(Scene 10, p.95)
Theme of the New World - the use of the ‘phone’ prop shows how Stanley’s deprives her of his possessions and, therefore, disconnects her from the outside world
The adverb ‘warily’ and kinesics emphasises her fear of crossing into Stanley’s territory
STANLEY: ‘Tiger - tiger! Drop the bottle-top! Drop it! We’ve had this date with each other from the beginning!’
(Scene 10, p.97)
Through the animalistic address term ‘tiger’ it fetishes her terror and sexualises Blanche’s desperate defence with the broken bottle.
The imperative ‘Drop the bottle-top!’ conveys dominance, the plural pronoun ‘We’ve’ implies mutuality, and ‘date’ is an ambiguous euphemism, suggesting both a predetermined event and romantic encounter, allowing Stanley to justify his brutality
(AO3) The rape can symbolise the total annihilation of the Southern way of life by the modern, industrial North - Blanche threatens his territory so he must destroy it
STAGE DIRECTIONS: ‘(The hot trumpet and drums from the Four Deuces sound loudly)’
(Scene 10, p.97)
The symbolism of the Four Deuces is that the music there is played before Stanley rapes Blanche - the upstairs is most likely a brothel which is why the music indicates the start of the rape
The ‘drums’ and ‘trumpet’ have connotations of jungle-like instruments showing Stanley’s animalstic nature
“roar of approaching locomotive”
The “roar of an approaching locomotive” in Scene 10 acts as a powerful auditory symbol that heightens the scene’s dramatic intensity and reflects the brutal dynamics between Stanley and Blanche. The locomotive symbolizes uncontrollable, masculine force—its roar mirrors Stanley’s rising aggression and foreshadows the rape that is about to occur. Just like a train, Stanley is relentless and destructive, overpowering Blanche both physically and psychologically.
This moment is also deeply expressionistic, representing Blanche’s mental state. The overwhelming, mechanical noise disrupts her fantasy world, exposing the fragility of her illusions. The sound intrudes violently into her reality, echoing how Stanley forces reality upon her, stripping away her defenses. As a symbol, the locomotive parallels the theme of fate and inevitability—Blanche’s downfall has become inescapable, and the train’s roar emphasizes how quickly and forcefully that fate is approaching.
In sum, the locomotive is not just a background sound but a symbolic culmination of male dominance, psychological collapse, and impending trauma, making it a crucial element in the scene’s tension and thematic weight.
(The streetcar named Desire sets Blanche on the path of emotional and sexual vulnerability.
The locomotive signals the culmination of that path, where desire turns into brutality and destruction—specifically during Stanley’s assault.
So yes, you’re correct to connect the two: the locomotive is not the streetcar, but it acts as a parallel or echo—another symbol of uncontrollable force, now stripped of romanticism and fully tied to violence and domination.)
“Barely audible ‘blue piano’ begins to drum louder.”
(Scene 10) page 95
Scene 10, the “blue piano”, which throughout the play has underscored the emotional tension and the pulse of New Orleans life, begins to reflect Stanley’s growing sexual dominance and threatening presence, rather than Blanche’s internal state. The shift from “barely audible” to “drumming louder” mirrors Stanley’s intensifying physical and psychological power as he corners Blanche, leading up to the implied rape.
This musical motif represents desire as a raw, overpowering force—no longer romantic or sorrowful, but animalistic and aggressive. As the piano swells, it reflects how Stanley’s unchecked masculinity drowns out all resistance, including Blanche’s fantasies and identity. The rhythmic, percussive “drumming” evokes a kind of sexual menace, making the music complicit in the violence—it’s not just background, but an expression of the predatory atmosphere Stanley creates.
Thus, in this scene, the blue piano becomes Stanley’s music—a sound of domination, lust without empathy, and the brutal reality that overwhelms Blanche’s illusions.
