Streetcar 2 Flashcards
Blanche bathing
- key motif
- happens mostly after she has had a breakdown
- represents themes of privacy, escape, avoidance, baptism, cleanliness and purity, sexuality
- shows her as a parasite on Stanley and stella (no job, time, etc
- allows her to be practically naked in the flat (doesn’t dress in the bathroom)
‘I’m taking Blanche…’
‘I’m taking Blanche to Galatoires’ for supper’ - Stella
- shows some level of control, she is telling him not asking
‘How about my…’
‘How about my supper, huh? I’m not going to no Galatoires’ for supper!’ - Stanley
- childish resentment
- a problem she has to fix
‘and you’d better…’
‘and you’d better give me some money.’ - Stella
- again showing control, but also comfort with Stanley
‘[vaguely] Oh, it had to…’
‘[vaguely]: Oh it had to be - sacrificed or something’ - Stella
- deliberately avoiding the details
Stella tries to gloss over the Belle Reve information
‘When she comes in be sure to say something nice about her appearance. And, oh! Don’t mention the baby.’ - Stella
- quickly changes the subject after dropping the Belle Reve bomb
Stanley becomes interrogative
‘So?’ repeated then ‘huh?’ also repeated
- domineering and impatient
‘Yeah. I get the…’
‘Yeah. I get the idea. Now let’s skip back a little to where you said the country place was disposed of.’ - Stanley
- taking command
- begins to engage and speak more (longer sentences)
‘So that’s the deal…’
‘So that’s the deal, huh? Sister Blanche cannot be annoyed with business details right now!’ - Stanley
- accusatory
- undertone of anger/frustration
‘Uh-hum…’
‘Uh-hum, I saw how she was. Now let’s have a gander at the bill of sale.’ - Stanley
- dismissive of Blanche’s mental state
‘Shhh…’
‘Shhh! She’ll hear you.’ - Stella
- attempt to deescalate
‘I don’t care…’
‘I don’t care if she hears me. Let’s see the papers!’ - Stanley
- where Stella is more worried about upsetting Blanche than any paperwork, Stanley is the opposite
‘There weren’t any…’
‘There weren’t any papers, she didn’t show any papers, I don’t care about papers.’ - Stella
- doesn’t want to upset both Blanche and Stanley - managing both
- dismissing the papers idea
- holding her own even as Stanley becomes angry
‘Have you heard of…’
‘Have you heard of the Napoleonic code?’ - Stanley
- legal terms, knowledge over stella
- repeats ‘Napoleonic code’ lots from here onwards
‘No, Stanley, I haven’t heard…’
‘No, Stanley, I haven’t heard of the Napoleonic code’ - Stella
- dismissive of it, tired of him (can almost hear her sighing)
‘My head..’
‘My head is swimming!’ - stella
- stopping the conversation
‘It looks to me like…’
‘It looks to me like you have been swindled, baby, and wen you’re swindled under the Napoleonic code I’m swindled /too/. And I don’t like to be /swindled/.’ - Stanley
- growing resentment for Blanche/Stella’s family
- distrusting of the rich
‘you don’t know how…’
‘you don’t know how ridiculous you are being when you suggest that my sister or I or anyyone of our family could have perpetrated a swindle on anyone else.’ - Stella
- diction becomes longer and more traditional
- defends Blanche and their family
Stanley becomes aggressive and angry (SD)
‘[He stalks into bedroom]’
‘[He pulls open the wardrobe trunk […] and jerks out an armful of dresses]’
‘[hurls the furs]’
‘[jerks open]’
‘[pulls up a fistful of costume jewellery]’
what are some of the clothes Stanley pulls out and comments on?
- ‘A solid-gold dress, I believe!’
- ‘Fox-pieces’ ‘Genuine fox fur-pieces, a half a mile long!’
- ‘treasure chest’ ‘deep-sea diver who brings up sunken treasures?’
- ‘Pearls! Ropes of them!’
- ‘Bracelets of solid gold’
- ‘diamonds!’
- ‘A crown for an empress!’
‘Where are your…’ (repeated)
‘Where are your fox-pieces, Stella?’
‘Where are your white fox-pieces?’
‘Where are all your pearls and gold bracelets?’
‘Where are your pearls and gold bracelets?’
- Stanley
‘The treasure…’
‘The treasure chest of a pirate!’
‘What is this sister of yours, a deep-sea diver who brings up sunken treasures? Or is she the champion safe-cracker of all time!’ - Stanley
- becomes fantastical
- story-like and simplistic language
what do the clothes and Stanley’s misjudgement show?
- the divide between the old and new america (with stella as a bridge)
- stanley sees all these things as real and expensive because he assumes as much
- Stella points out they are inexpensive fakes
- Blanche keeps these fake expensive accessories (to fake her southern belle identity?)
‘What’s rhinestone?’
- class distinction
- antagonism