Scene 6 Flashcards
> sex symbol
notorious
Hollywood figure
Mae West
> perhaps symbolises M’s social ineptitude - unable to meet B’s expectations of a refined and idealized partner
“bearing, upside down, a plaster statuette of Mae West”
> fantastical
temporary thrill - fleeting, illusory
associated with childhood innocence
AO3 - accessible by streetcar
escapism driven by fleeting desires
circularity of streetcar and B’s fate
M only temporary diversion - does not alter B’s ultimate destination, as a streetcar cannot deviate from tracks
amusement park date setting
> playful insinuation
whether M has lost interest
B’s sexual longings
ambiguous and existentially questioning >metaphor goes over M’s head - can’t grasp deeper layers of her psyche
barrier in their communication
B creates mystique around herself that Mitch can’t penetrate to maintain control
“Is that streetcar named desire still grinding along the tracks at this hour”
> Blanche’s superfluous, metaphorical lines vs Mitch’s straightforward utterances
incompatibility
“I don’t know whether you wanted me to or not”
“obeying the law of nature”
> subtle stage direction - eviscerates genuineness in her actions
mannerisms are for herself
antagonistic behaviour >has upper hand in relationship
motivations are security and respite > affection or attraction
“bursts into laughter”
“claps a hand to her mouth”
“she rolls her eyes knowing her cannot see her face”
> consistent melodrama
sanctuary in the surreal
undercurrent of manipulation - deliberately presenting >creating allure and charm
“all in a bunch going home from their little bridge party”
> condescending
patronising
perverse infantilization - sees him as incompetent/ below her
student/teacher dynamic
“good boy”
> portraying as chaste >pure virgin persona
dramatic irony - just kissed the paper boy
stage directions juxtapose her statements
aware of Mitch’s oblivion
“that I felt obliged to discourage”
“I guess you are used to girls that like to be lost”
“old-fashioned ideals”
> contradiction - still needs control of her environment for stability
subtle reminder of her deceit and overall insecurity surrounding her ‘true self’
“let’s leave the lights off”
> affluent upbringing
cultural elitism
refinement contrasts M’s working-class parochial background
constructs a fantasy world - direct manifestation of need to project image of refinement
“sitting in a little artist’s café on the left bank of Paris
> AO3 - Alexander Dumas novel
upper class courtesan ostracized by society - direct parallel to B
doomed love with Armand due to her own illness + society
surface level - romantic idealism, fantasy of M as young courteous lover
perhaps - book ends in Marguerite’s tragic death
foreshadows B+M’s demise
hint that B knows she is doomed
“je suis la Dame aux Camellias! Vous etes - Armand!”
> manipulates meaning behind encounter
language and class as tool
outward mystique + enigmatic persona
internal longings - poignant moment where B’s sexual drive mirrors other characters
sexual desperation underneath façade
“Voulez-vous couchez avec moi ce soir?”
> projecting masculinity and working-class identity
unashamed pride in hard work
self-sufficiency
“membership to the New Orleans Athletc Club”
“now my belly is hard”
“207 pounds and I’m 6”1 and a half inches tall in my bare feet”
> conversation strained and uninteresting
B’s sarcasm and M’s embarrassment highlights incompatibility
“Oh, my goodness me! It’s awe-inspiring.”
> speaks to society - used to physical resolutions eg. violence, sex
passion of the working-class
“just give me a slap whenever I step out of bounds”
> camaraderie
platonic fraternity
“we was together in the two-forty-first”
> beginning of an epiphany
doesn’t allow to come to fruition
W’s craft - foreshadows rape
“perhaps in some perverse kind of way he”
> comments on M’s blind loyalty
ability to read people
“you have a great capacity for devotion”
> overwhelming illumination warped her perception - couldn’t see Alan was gay
his presence indicates B’s first realisation of her passions
“suddenly turned a blinding light on something that had always been half in shadow”
> B’s treatment of Alan Grey - result of societal conceptions of homosexuality
B as mouthpiece to expose misunderstanding of gay people
idiosyncrasy - metaphors expose guilt >monologue serves as a confession
poetic lexis still euphemises events
Blanche’s monologue
> motif - locomotive/train interrupts B’s monologues
destruction of B’s old identity
undermines her speech >literally dominates >appears at times of emotional turmoil -increases tension
B cannot cope without full control of her environment
loosening grip on sanity
“a locomotive is heard approaching outside”
“she claps her hands to her ears and crouches over”
> moment of pathos from audience
her actions from this point are more understood
epicentre of climax
> B’s emotional release acts as beginning of emotional cleansing >allegorises Mitch as a trajectory of hope
small cathartic moment
> vital thematic character
facilitates queer interpretations
homosexual desire expressed through heterosexual women
Blanche surrogate for gay men
AO3 - gay men viewed as sexual predators by society, mentally ill, illegal
parallel between gay men and straight women - B and A desires lead to similar destinations, both don’t comply to patriarchal norms
‘real men’ control the game
Allan Grey
