Streetcar 10 Flashcards
The Elia Kazan version of Scene 10
- Stanley is childlike and genuinely happy, there is no indication of the impending violence (apart from Blanche’s seemingly unprompted fear) - mania?
- Stanley’s behaviour and mood switches quickly once he realises she is lying about the wire and mitch
- Kazan doesn’t include the shadows from the original SD but Blanche does open the door and see the mexican flower woman (symbolising death) walking straight towards her
- Marion Brando plays Stanley
‘Blanche has been drinking…’
‘Blanche has been drinking fairly steadily since Mitch left. She has dragged her wardrobe trunk into the centre of the room. It hangs open with flowery dresses thrown across it.’ - SD
- Blanche definitely seems to be losing her grip on reality, this scene is sort of the peak of her madness
‘As the drinking and packing…’
‘As the drinking and packing went on, a mood of hysterical exhilaration came into her and she has decked herself out in a somewhat soiled and crumpled white satin evening gown and a pair of scuffed silver slippers’ - SD
- seems to echo ‘spilt something on that pretty white lace collar’ - Blanche is now stained like Stella was
- she is wearing clothes that should seem classy and elegant (‘rhinestone tiara’) but are actually tacky
‘Now she is placing the…’
‘Now she is placing the rhinestone tiara on her head before the mirror of the dressing-table and murmuring excitedly as if to a group of spectral admirers.’ - SD
- ‘rhinestone tiara’ - should look classy but is just tacky
- ‘murmuring excitedly as if to a group…’ - her fantasy, trying to create magic (out of it)
‘How about taking a swim…’
‘How about taking a swim, a moonlight swim at the old rock-quarry? If anyone’s sober enough to drive a car! Ha-ha!’ - Blanche (talking as if to a group - deep in the fantasy now)
‘Best way in the world….’
‘Best way in the world to stop your head buzzing! Only you’ve got to be careful to dive where the deep pool is - if you hit a rock you don’t come up till tomorrow…’ - Blanche
- even her fantasies are darkened
‘Tremblingly she lifts the hand…’
‘Tremblingly she lifts the hand mirror for a closer inspection. She catches her breath and slams the mirror down with such violence that the glass cracks.’ - SD
- clearly on edge
‘As he rounds..’
‘As he rounds the corner the honky-tonk music is heard. It continues softly throughout the scene.’ - SD
‘As he rounds..’
‘As he rounds the corner the honky-tonk music is heard. It continues softly throughout the scene.’ - SD
- upbeat, false sense of security
‘[grinning…]: The baby won’t…’
‘[grinning amiably]: The baby won’t come before morning so they told me to go home and get a little shut-eye.’ - Stanley
- he seems genuinely happy (manic?)
- it is Blanche’s reply that gives away her sense of dread, and implies that something bad COULD happen (‘Does that mean we are to be a lone in here?’)
‘Yep. Just me and…’
‘Yep. Just me and you, Blanche. Unless you got somebody hid under the bed. What’ve you got on those fine feathers for?’ - Stanley
‘I received a telegram…’
‘I received a telegram from an old admirer of mine’ - Blanche
- ‘An invitation’ to a ‘cruise of the Caribbean on a yacht!’
‘[throwing back…]: A cruise of the…’
‘Well, well…’
‘[throwing back her head]: A cruise of the Caribbean on a yacht!’ - Blanche
‘Well, well. What do you know?’ - Stanley
- Stanley’s reply could be sarcastic and knowing or express genuine happiness
‘It came like a…’
‘It came like a bolt from the blue!’ - Blanche
who does Blanche say the telegram/wire was from?
- ‘An old beau of’ hers
- ‘Mr Shep Huntleigh. I wore his ATO pin my last year at college.’
‘Mr Shep Huntleigh. I wore his… I ran into him on…’
‘Mr Shep Huntleigh. I wore his ATO pin my last year at college. I hadn’t seen him again until last Christmas. I ran into him on Biscayne Boulevard. Then - just now - this wire - inviting me on a cruise of the Caribbean!’ - Blanche
- once again, Shep is the saviour, do we believe this? Is he real? Blanche’s fantasy at the opening of the scene makes everything she says hard to believe
‘This old…’
‘Gosh. I though it was…’
‘This old relic? Ha-ha! It’s only rhinestones.’ - B
‘Gosh. I thought it was Tiffany diamonds. [He unbuttons his shirt.]’ - Stanley
- Brando’s presentation of Stanley is jovial rather than sarcastic
‘Well, anyhow…’
‘Well, anyhow, I shall be entertained in style.’ - Blanche
- change subject away from her fake diamonds
‘Uh-huh. It goes to…’
‘Just when I thought…’
‘Into the…’
‘Uh-huh. It goes to show, you never know what is coming.’ - S
‘Just when I thought my luck had begun to fail me-‘ -B
‘Into the picture pops this Miami millionaire.’ - S
- seems unbelievable and Stanley’s line draws attention to this
‘Well, just so he’s…’
‘Well, just so he’s somewhere! [He starts removing his shirt.]’ - Stanley
- seems in a good mood, jokey, but does make a comment that suggests disbelief in Blanche’s story
‘[amiably]: This is all I’m going to undress right now. [He rips the sack off a quart beer bottle.]’ - Stanley
- we’re aware that both are drunk, and clearly that is about to get worse
- some interpretations suggest that the ‘right now’ implies that he was always intending to rape Blanche
‘[She moves slowly towards the…’
‘[She moves slowly towards the dresser, where she stands with her hands knotted together.]’ - (SD) Blanche
- she is clearly nervous, perhaps this exacerbates Stanleys mood , pushing them both towards high tension
‘I used to have a cousin who…’
‘I used to have a cousin who could open a beer-bottle with his teeth.’ - Stanley
- telling stories, clearly not as tense as Blanche who has ‘her hands knotted together’
‘[The bottle cap pops…’
‘[The bottle cap pops off and a geyser of foam shoots up. Stanley laughs happily, holding up the bottle over his head.]’ - SD
- feels celebratory, almost child-like joy
‘Ha-ha! Rain from…’
‘Ha-ha! Rain from heaven! [He extends the bottle towards her.] Shall we bury the hatchet and make it a loving-cup? Huh?’ - Stanley
- is this a genuine attempt at reconciliation? Does Blanches rejection (‘No, thank you.) trigger the reverse to be adversaries?
- ‘loving-cup’ a goblet shared between guests at weddings and banquets (new beginnings?)
‘Well, it’s a red…’
‘Well, it’s a red-letter night for us both. You having an oil-millionaire and me having a baby.’ - Stanley
- ‘red-letter’ - celebratory, special
- genuine happiness? there is little sign of resentment, they’re going their separate ways and he is happy with that
‘Here’s something I always…’
‘Here’s something I always break out on special occasions like this! The silk pyjamas I wore on my wedding night!’ - Stanley
- is there an underlying meaning to this line - wedding-night - sex, power, etc
lexical field of celebration and special occasions in the conversation at the start of scene 10
- ‘a geyser of foam shoots up’ ‘holding up the bottle over his head’
- ‘make it a loving-cup’
- ‘red-letter night for us both’
- ‘Here’s something I always break out on special occasions like this! The silk pyjamas I wore on my wedding night!’
‘When the telephone rings and they say…’
‘When the telephone rings and they say, ‘You’ve got a son!’ I’ll tear this off and wave it like a flag!’ - Stanley
‘When I think of how divine it is…’
‘When I think of how divine it is going to be to have such a thing as privacy once more - I could weep with joy!’ - Blanche
- subtle insult, can’t reflect the happiness of Stanley
‘It won’t be the sort of thing…’
‘It won’t be the sort of thing you have in mind. This man is a gentleman and he respects me. [Improvising feverishly.] What he wants is my companionship. Having great wealth sometimes makes people lonely!’ - Blanche
- ‘gentleman’ ‘respects me’ - unlike Mitch
- ‘Improvising’ - its becoming clear that this is lies
- ‘my companionship’ - her ‘pearls’
‘Having great…’
‘I wouldn’t…’
‘Having great wealth sometimes makes people lonely!’ - Blanche
‘I wouldn’t know about that.’ - Stanley
- the class divide is made clear again, perhaps this is when Stanley comes off the childish happiness
