Scene 5 Flashcards
> Steve and Eunice foil to Stanley and Stella >normalise male aggression in this context
en medias res - chaotic middle of the action
“A disturbance is heard upstairs at the Hubbels’ apartment”
> scene 3 parallel - reconciliation through sex
Eunice reciprocates aggression - Stella’s passivity is a distinction >Eunice is product of her intrinsic environment - part of Stella still lacks said passion/toxicity
“I heard about you and that damn blonde” (Eunice)
“Don’t throw that at me” (Steve)
“They go slowly upstairs in a tight embrace”
-symbol cycle of domestic turmoil
-broader commentary on normalized dysfunction in working-class marriages
-highlights the social milieu community shaped by economic struggle, passion, and survival
-contrasts Blanche’s romanticized fading notions of love and class
Steve and Eunice effect
> enactment of the Southern Belle
looks to men for protection
“Myself for being such a liar”
“I’m writing a letter to Shep”
> euphemistic language
sexuality determines morality - societal judgement
“I wasn’t so good”
> euphemism for sex
enjoys it, confirms her womanhood/ femininity
fleeting thrill of sexual encounters - feel alive
“make a little - temporary magic”
> highly self-critical, acute self awareness
martyring/ victimising her situation - commands Stella’s pathos
“I was never hard or self-sufficient enough”
> degrades environment of encounters
dichotomy in pursuit for pleasure and internalized shame
language poetic - fragments of confession, still adding flourishes
“from under one leaky roof to another leaky roof”
> self-awareness deepens character tragedy
cannot grasp inevitability of her physical decline
existential anxiety from former reliance on looks for power/ control - beauty is fading
clings to beauty - represents her last vestige of control
“You’ve got to be soft and attractive. And I’m fading now!”
> economic reality - no financial independence, lost her wealth and social standing (fading Southern Belle)
feminist critique - limited options available to women in her position, no safety net for those who age or fall from grace
Blanche’s monologue as an intersection for feminism and class
> Stella willingly subservient to Blanche -increases Stanley’s jealousy
Blanche and Stanley internalized rivalry
“I like to wait on you Blanche, it makes it seem more like home.”
> deeply insecure - deception necessary for survival
true self will repel Mitch
“I want to deceive him enough to make him want me”
> Blanche = alpha male
likes sex, predatory behaviour, has power over passive characters
rivals/ threatens Stanley
“Without waiting for him to accept, she crosses quickly to him and presses her lips to his”
> may represent unconscious attempt to recreate past love with Alan
youth represents a time in her own life where she felt alive
supressed desires/ uncontrollable impulses
recognizes the moral/ social transgression of her behaviour
Paper boy significance
> idiosyncratic exclamations
reignited by kiss with the young man
“Look who’s coming! My Rosenkavalier!”
