Scene Three Flashcards
Key events
The men’s poker night, spoken in masculine symbols, creating threatening tone. Mitch frets over whether he should go home to his sick mother and Stanley uses blunt, domineering retaliation. The men take no interest in Blanche’s presence. Stanley refuses to stop playing and slaps Stella. Mitch and Blanche have a sheepish interaction. Blanche asks Mitch to put a paper lantern over the lightbulb, before Stanley throws the radio out of the window. Stella yells at Stanley so he begins to beat her. The women run upstairs to Eunice’s whilst the men attempt to sober Stanley.
Opening stage direction “picture of Van Gogh’s of a billiard parlour at night”
Delves the scene into colour and perspective before characters are introduced to this moment. It opens the scene into a masculine tableau, encapsulating vivid reds and oranges found in this art into the setting- symbolising a level of danger and threat of Blanche’s imposition of this social group. The perspective of the piece, opening onto the parlour, expands the idea of a game to be played, or a space as a viewer.
“The poker players…wear coloured shirts, solid blues, a purple”
Relates to the Van Gogh painting, as the solid, unquestionable colours characterising the male appearance represents an unavoidable masculine power and certainty of male prevailment perhaps infiltrated by Blanche’s presence.
Synthetic natures of solid colours- catering a scene of expressionistic and hyperbolic masculinity, furthered by conventional male symbols.
(Held in stage directions- creates tone throughout whole scene as introduced in the setting that surrounds the characters)
“Nothing belongs on a poker table but cards, chips, and whisky”
The table becomes Stanley’s domain, full of symbols of male convention, and Mitch becomes an infiltrator of this through his lack of compliance to this epitomising of masculine interest. Mitch’s exclusion from this hyper-masculine archetype distinguishes him from the other men and formulates a potential reasoning for Blanche’s interest.
(Triplet and centre on this to highlight hypermasculinity)
“All the while I keep wondering how she is”
Mitch’s unwavering care for his mother attributes him an honourable persona and caring perspective dismissed by the other men. Here he embodies good elements of the New America Blanche is so appalled by, and potentially shows a route for prosperity through the characterisation of Mitch, more aligned to her expectations of a ‘gentleman’.
Significance of Poker
Poker becomes a vessel for masculinity/ objectification, seen through Stanley’s passion against Mitch’s avoidance. Stanley has been seen to size up women through looking them up and down, poker mirrors this consideration/ determination. Poker also becomes an extension of gambling with Blanche’s fate, emphasising how her security is at risk.
Men in “absorbed silence”- presents an infatuation with pure masculinity.
Blanche’s prevailing concern of appearances
“One that’s been picked a few days” - hyper awareness of appearance before entering hyper masculine domain, men as the social group who can attribute judgement/ threaten her. Romantic perspective- wants to be received as an attractive women within male dominant setting.
Stella vitalizes this concern through her constant elevation of Blanche’s looks- perhaps through understanding from their shared past, despite Stella being propelled forward into New American life.
Intrusion of feminine imagery
Watermelon is a symbol of child-bearing, pregnancy, and elements of vulnerable femininity. The men “eating” this presents an attack on this vulnerability, the idea of cruelty held over the more gentle images of femininity in the play, and links to Stella’s pregnancy and the potential danger these masculine forces have over her in this time.
“Spit in the Ocean” presents a similar idea as the ocean is a feminine symbol within nature, that can be polluted by corruptible forces. “Spit” presents an intrusion through derogatory perspective to attack women.
“Stanley gives a loud whack of his hand on her thigh”
Primal violence, maltreatment of women. Proof of Stanley’s cruelty and male assertion of power.
