scene 3 Flashcards
stage directions:
‘a picture of van gogh’s of a billiard-parlour at night’
he went mad - reference to blanche
painting is loud and vibrant - new south
painting is not realistic, but it does have a sense of realness which could not be conveyed by a photograph - blanche’s fantasy
‘café de nuit’ staying open all night
night prowlers can take refuge there when they have no money to pay for a lodging, or are too drunk to be taken in
echoed in stanley and stella’s kitchen on poker night.
emphasizes williams’ use of post-impressionistic techniques and echoes the mood of the poker night scene
stanley:
‘nobody’s going to get up, so don’t be worried’
lack of manners in new orleans
men would stand
shows class difference
ideas of a southern gentleman contrasted with the reality of a new south man
stage directions:
‘blanche crosses into the bedroom and partially closes the portieres’
wants attention - trying not to show it
hamartia
men and women separated
stage directions:
‘a chair scrapes’
tension
foreshadows the fight which is about to break out
stage directions:
‘stanley gives a loud whack of his hand on her thigh’
asserting dominance
machismo male
showing off - possessive and just shows how much power he holds over her to his friends
considered normal - williams trying to show the disgusting reality of the new south
blanche:
‘is he a wolf?’
leader
is mitch dominant and aggressive?
symbolise loyalty, strong family ties and understanding
blanche;
‘i haven’t noticed a stamp of genius even on stanley’s forehead’
male dominance will get him ahead rather than academia
uneducated working class
blanche:
‘oh am i?’
‘you’re standing in the light blanche!’ - stella
fond of the male gaze
knows exactly what she’s doing
stage directions:
‘light blue, satin kimono’
sensual
calm
trust
stella:
‘this is my house and i’ll talk as much as i want to!’
subverting stereotypes - what williams wanted
trying to be dominant
stage directions:
‘he stops short at the sight of blanche in the chair. she returns his look without flinching’
uses his aggression and intimidating ways to get what he wants, although this does not work on blanche, which is similar to her charms that we have seen do not work on him
assertion of dominance that neither will back down from; unafraid of stanley; strong sense of this by the phrases of movement - emphasised for audience
gender clash
stage directions:
‘he jumps up and jerks roughly at curtains to close them’
creating a barrier between blanche and mitch
observant and aware
blanche:
‘i hate beer’
conforming to stereotypes
masculine thing to do
trying to cover up addiction
repressing inner self
stage directions:
‘dark, red satin wrapper’
danger of romance
desire
she feels she must improve her appearance when in the company of others, as her beauty is fading
women expected to be pretty
blanche:
‘it’s a french name. it means woods and blanche means white, so the two together mean white woods. like an orchard in spring! you can remember it by that.
upper class took pride in their heritage - colonised
true american - sophisticated
romantic france
purity and innocence
wood seems hard to break but is actually flammable
