stella + stanley Flashcards
‘I just got in habit of being quiet around you’
-Blanche has historically dominated their interactions, Stella’s habit of being quiet implies long-term submission
- Stella’s quietness suggests she navigates both relationships through passivity, choosing silence as a way to maintain peace rather than asserting herself.
- power imbalance in sisterhood
[relcuntly], [embarrassed]. [uncomfortable]
- Stella’s awareness of how Blanche perceives her new life. Blanche comes from the fading Southern aristocracy and looks down on Stella’s choice to live in a working-class environment.
- Stella is already repressing emotions or avoiding confrontation, which foreshadows her later silence when Stanley mistreats Blanche.
- Just as Blanche avoids reality through fantasy, Stella avoids conflict through silence and submission, particularly in her relationships with both Blanche and Stanley.
“When he comes back I cry on his lap like a baby”
- The simile - Stella’s complete emotional dependence on Stanley - vulnerable and needing comfort, reinforcing the idea that Stanley holds dominance in their relationship.
- This infantilization reflects the imbalance of power - seeks Stanley’s protection and validation.
“i stayed and fought for it, bled for it, almost died for it!”
- Blanche views herself as a martyr for Belle Reve having who endured immense suffering to preserve the family legacy
- represents the fading grandeur of the Old South, and Blanche’s desperation reflects the decline of the aristocratic world she clings to.
‘animal joy’/’richly feathered male bird among hens’
- presents Stanley as instinct-driven, Symbol of Primal Masculinity
- Blanche’s world of illusion and refinement, creating an immediate tension between brute strength and fragile elegance.
- Stanley as a dominant, almost predatory figure. Male birds - reflecting Stanley’s confidence in his masculinity and sexual appeal.
- regressive, animalistic
‘he starts to remove his shirt’
- unashamedly masculine, exuding physical confidence and raw sexuality.
- marking territory - outlining power structure/hierarchy ~ animalistic
‘when you’re swindled under the napolenic code I’m swindled too.’
- Stanley’s possessiveness,
- tension between the Old South and the new, more pragmatic, and working-class world represented by Stanley
- subtly accusing Blanche of dishonesty and attempting
- use of complex, legal terms shows a power imbalance
‘he pulls open the wardrobe trunk/jerks out an armful of dresses’
- suggests an act of force and dominance, reinforcing the power dynamic between them.
- symbolizes his intrusion into her personal life - symbolic violation of her privacy and a move toward disempowering her.
- symbolic of Blanche’s loss of control over the carefully constructed life she has tried to create.
- Stanley’s actions symbolize the uncovering of these illusions.
the Kowalskis and the Dubois have different notions’
- class divide between the Kowalskis and the DuBois. Stanley represents the working-class, industrial, and practical ethos of post-war America, while Blanche represents the decaying Southern aristocracy - foreshadows the escalating conflict
- Blanche’s insistence on maintaining a sense of grandeur and self-importance is in direct opposition to Stanley.
- Stella’s acknowledgment of their “different notions” also signals her position as a mediator between the two opposing forces.
‘everything that i own is in that trunk’
- represent her past life, her former wealth, her status, and the illusions she clings to in order to maintain her sense of dignity and worth.
- This line also reveals Blanche’s vulnerability - representing both her past glory and her present fragility.
“narcotized tranquility”
- Stella’s emotional dependence on Stanley
- under the influence - choosing to ignore stanley’s aggression - self delusion of calm, caring relationship
- passive acceptance of brutality
“he was as good as a lamb”
- downplaying severity of stanley’s violence
- lamb” suggests innocence, gentleness, and even repentance—qualities that contrast sharply with Stanley’s aggressive, animalistic tendencies.
- power of desire: despite his brutality she remains devoted.
- horrific cycle
“snatched off my slippers and rushed about the place smashing the light bulbs with it”
- Stanley’s attempt to repress the truth and clarity within their relationship allows Stella to become deluded
- passion and violence can be intertwined, stella’s excitement shows relationship is grounded in physical intimacy rather than emotional depth and understanding
- Stella recounts it with a sense of admiration, suggesting that she is drawn to Stanley’s raw, animalistic masculinity
“and there are things that happen between a man and woman in the dark - that sort of makes everything else seem unimportant”
- desire for physical intimacy overrides rationality - desire is an overpowering force
- darkness is associated with , through the character of blanche , illusions, secrecy, and emotional escape.
“over her head, he grins through the curtains at blanche”
-suggests mockery and victory - Stella is in his control
- curtain acts as a fragile and ineffective barrier - stanley sees through her illusion (through the curtain)
- ongoing battle for control over Stella,
- non-verbal expression of primal dominance
