Streetcar 4 Flashcards
how is Stella described in the opening SD of scene 4?
- content, satisfied, fulfilled
- ‘Her face is serene in the early morning sunlight’
- ‘Her eyes and lips have that almost narcotized tranquillity that is in the faces of Eastern idols.’
‘Her face is…’
‘Her face is serene in the early morning sunlight’ - SD about Stella
- morning after the violence
‘One hand rests…’
‘One hand rests on her belly, rounding slightly with new maternity.’ - SD about stella
- morning after the violence
‘From the other dangles…’
‘From the other dangles a book of coloured comics.’ - SD about Stella
- morning after the violence (casual)
- not very sophisticated
- pop culture vs southern belle
- can’t access the ‘‘higher pleasures’’
‘Her eyes and lips have that…’
‘Her eyes and lips have that almost narcotized tranquillity that is in the faces of Eastern idols.’ - SD about Stella
- morning after the violence
‘Blanche appears at…’
‘Blanche appears at this door. She has spent a sleepless night and her appearance entirely contrasts with Stella’s.’ - SD
- looks how you might expect Stella to
‘Blanche mutters a moaning…’
‘Blanche mutters a moaning cry and runs into the bedroom, throwing herself down beside Stella in a rush of hysterical tenderness.’ - SD
‘drawing… what is…’
‘[drawing away from her]: Blanche what is the matter with you?’ - Stella
‘When I found out you’d been…’
‘When I found out you’d been insane enough to come back in here after what happened - I started to rush in after you!’ - Blanche
‘I’m glad you didn’t.’ - Stella
- undertone of euphemism
- everyone knows what the two did
comparison of scene 4 to the duchess
- D is an unusual central figure for a 17th cent. tragedy (combination of virtue and sexual desire)
- violates norms by taking an active role in wooing Antonio - Stella’s active desire
- expresses sexuality in a healthy relationship (Stella and stan - healthy?)
- questions the madonna-whore dichotomy
‘Why, you must have…’
‘Why, you must have slept with him!’ - Blanche
‘[Stella gets up in a calm and leisurely way.]’
- s is unfazed by this drama, she doesn’t mind B being aware of her sexuality
Stella justifies Stanley’s actions from the night before
- ‘it wasn’t anything as serious as you seem to take it’
- ‘He didn’t know what he was doing’
- ‘He was as good as a lamb when I came back and he’s really very, very ashamed of himself.’ - slightly parental
- ‘Stanley’s always smashed things’
- ‘He’s taken the radio to get it fixed’
- ‘They went through two cases last night’
- poker is ‘his pleasure, like [Stella’s] is movies and bridge. People have got to tolerate each other’s habits, I guess’
‘but it wasn’t anything…’
‘but it wasn’t anything as serious as you seem to take it’ - S to B
‘He didn’t know what…’
‘He didn’t know what he was doing… He was as good as a lamb when I came back and he’s really very, very ashamed of himself.’ - S to B
- slightly parental
- ‘lamb’ - wolf in sheep’s clothing idea, knows what to do to get Stella back, deliberate ploy
‘Stanley’s always…’
‘Stanley’s always smashed things. why, on our wedding night […] he snatched off one of my slippers and rushed about the place smashing the light-bulbs with it.’ - Stella
‘He smashed all the…’
‘He smashed all the light-bulbs with the heel of my slipper! [She laughs.]’ - Stella
- passion, desire, enjoys his violence: ‘thrilled by it’
‘I was - sort…’
‘I was - sort of - thrilled by it.’ - Stella
- (Stanley smashing the light bulbs on their wedding night)
‘He’s taken the radio…’
‘He’s taken the radio to get fixed. It didn’t land on the pavement so only one tube was smashed.’ - Stella
- justifying Stanley
- focuses on the object not her
what does Blanche think of Stanley after the poker night?
‘In my opinion? You’re married to a madman!’ - Blanche
‘[slowly and… I’m not in…’
‘[slowly and emphatically]: I’m not in anything I want to get out of.’ - Stella to B
‘I said I am not…
‘I said I am not in anything that I have a desire to get out of.’ - Stella to B
- becomes more formal
- to level B?
‘I’m going to /do/…’
‘I’m going to /do/ something. Get hold of myself and make myself a new life!’ - Blanche
- ‘There is a subtle irony in her reflexive reversion to the Southern Belle’s habits of thought […] just moments after she has said [the above]’ - Felicia Hardison Londre
‘And those empty bottles…’
‘And those empty bottles! They went through two cases last night!’ - Stella
- still justifying Stanley’s behaviour
‘He promised me this morning…’
‘He promised me this morning that he was going to quit having these poker parties, but you know how long such a promise is going to keep. Oh, well, it’s his pleasure, like mine is movies and bridge.’ - Stella
‘it’s his pleasure…’
‘it’s his pleasure, like mine is movies and bridge. People have got to tolerate each other’s habits, I guess.’ - Stella
‘I don’t understand…’
‘I don’t understand you. [Stella turns towards her.] I don’t understand your indifference.’ - Blanche
‘Let go of that broom…’
‘Let go of that broom. I won’t have you cleaning up for him!’ - Blanche
- doesn’t fit with their status
- sees injustice
- protective of her sister
‘I went out with…’
‘I went out with him at college and wore his pin for a while.’ - Blanche
- public, respectable
‘I took the trip as an…’
‘I took the trip as an investment, thinking I’d meet someone with a million dollars.’ - Blanche
- sees marriage (especially to a wealthy man) as a solution
Shep Huntleigh
- epitomises the “southern gentleman”
> supporting his wife
> knight in shining armour-esque
> held a respectful relationship with Blanche (‘wore his pin for a while’) - he is an unseen character which allows blanche to project whatever she needs to onto him
- ‘Darling Shep’
Blanche’s behaviour once she decides to contact Shep Huntleigh
- she becomes erratic and impulsive
- ‘suddenly springs up’ ‘grabs up a sheet of Kleenex and an eyebrow pencil for writing equipment’ ‘smashes the pencil on the table and springs up’
‘Stanley doesn’t give me a regular…’
‘Stanley doesn’t give me a regular allowance, he likes to pay bills himself’ - Stella
- lost her independence and control
- reflects Blanche’s stranded situation (neither have money)
‘this morning he gave me…’
‘this morning he gave me ten dollars to smooth things over. You take five of it, Blanche’ - Stella
- Stanley uses money to control S (doesn’t give her a ‘regular allowance’ and now giving her money to placate after the poker night)
- money isn’t as important to Stella as it is to Blanche (‘I know how it helps your morale just having a little pocket-money on you’)
‘Stella, I can’t live with…’
‘Stella, I can’t live with him! You can, he’s your husband.’ - Blanche
- some things are just between husband and wife
- its okay for Stella to witness and live with that side of Stanley but not a guest
‘On the contrary, I saw him at his…’
‘On the contrary, I saw him at his best! What such a man has to offer is animal force and he gave a wonderful exhibition of that!’ - Blanche
- animalistic view of Stanley
- a side of him that can only be dealt with through going ‘to bed with him’
‘But the only way to live…’
‘But the only way to live with such a man is to - go to bed with him! And that’s your job - not mine!’ - Blanche
- would have gone through the same process as stella
- recognises the dynamic
- says this but then still tries to “rescue” stella (‘I have a plan for us both’)
‘I take it for granted that you…’
‘I take it for granted that you still have sufficient memory of Belle Reve to find this place and these poker players impossible to live with.’ - Blanche
- this isn’t where girls like them belong
- superiority
‘But there are things that…’
‘But there are things that happen between a man and woman in the dark - that sort of make everything else seem - unimportant.’ - Stella
- can forgive stanley of anything because of their passion and desire
- talks as if she has experiences Blanche doesn’t (doesn’t think B understands)
‘What you are talking about is…’
‘What you are talking about is brutal desire - just - Desire - the name of that rattle-trap streetcar that bangs through the Quarter, up one old narrow street and down another…’ - Blanche
- understands what S is experiencing
- “Streetcar Named Desire” metaphor for sexual desire
- now B sounds like she thinks she knows more than S
streetcar named desire metaphor
- ‘What you are talking about is brutal desire - just - Desire - the name of that rattle-trap streetcar that bangs through the Quarter, up one old narrow street and down another…’ - Blanche
- ‘haven’t you ever ridden on that streetcar?’ - S
- ‘It brought me here.’ - B
> the name of the play
> metaphor for sexual desire: ‘up one old narrow street and down another’
> interesting use of ‘brutal’ - violent, damaging
> S seems to be asking whether B has just ridden the wave of desire, followed it - she says that path brought her to where she is now
> train passing disguises Stanley’s movements in the continuing conversation
‘It brought me…’
‘[Desire] brought me here. - Where I’m not wanted and where I’m ashamed to be.’ - B
- trying to save her sister from the same fate (regret?)
‘A man like that is…’
‘A man like that is someone to go out with - once - twice - three times when the devil is in you. But live with! Have a child by?’ - Blanche
- has had a relationship like S + S
- passion hasn’t lasted so long for her (or did she just think she deserved more? aimed for more?)
- morality and religion surrounding desire, is condemning it
feminist criticism of scene 4
- Felicia Hardison Londre
- ‘This scene invites feminist criticism: although Blanche regards Stella’s husband as a brutal predator, her first impulse is to turn to another man as saviour. There is a subtle irony in her reflexive reversion to the Southern Belle’s habits of thought […] just moments after she has said, ‘I’m going to do something. Get hold of myself and make myself a new life!’’
‘This scene invites… in her reflexive…’
‘This scene invites feminist criticism: although Blanche regards Stella’s husband as a brutal predator, her first impulse is to turn to another man as saviour. There is a subtle irony in her reflexive reversion to the Southern Belle’s habits of thought […] just moments after she has said, ‘I’m going to do something. Get hold of myself and make myself a new life!’’ - Felicia Hardison Londre
PAGE 46 - make a post-it for the streetcar named desire metaphor and add (if necessary to FC 39)
what does the train that disguises Stanley’s movements symbolise?
- overwhelming noise
- progress and New America
- industry
how is the end of scene 4 reminiscent of the beginning of the play?
- Stanley carrying packages
- tension between the sisters
- Blanche’s monologue, Stella’s silence
- ‘You’re hating me saying this, aren’t you?’ - ‘you’re bound to reproach me’
‘Under cover…’
‘Under cover of the train’s noise Stanley enters from outside.’ - SD
‘There’s something down…’
‘There’s something downright - /bestial/ - about him! You’re hating me saying this aren’t you? - Blanche
‘He acts like…’
‘He acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits. Eats like one, moves like one, talks like one!’ - Blanche (monologue)
‘There’s even something…’
‘There’s even something - subhuman - something not quite to the stage of humanity yet! Yes, something - ape-like about him’ - Blanche (monologue)
‘Thousands and…’
‘Thousands and thousands of years have passed him right by, and there he is - Stanley Kowalski - survivor of the Stone Age!’ - Blanche (monologue)
- Stanley is out of place in this world, just like Blanche and Williams
‘Bearing the…’
‘Bearing the raw meat gome from the kill in the jungle!’ - Blanche (monologue)
- ‘red-stained package’
- ‘holding some packages in his arms’
‘Night falls and…’
‘Night falls and the other apes gather! There in the front of the cave, all grunting like him, and swilling and gnawing and hulking! His poker night! - you call it - this party of apes!’ - B (monologue)
‘/God!/ Maybe we are…’
‘/God!/ Maybe we are a long way from being made in God’s image, but Stella - my sister - there has been /some/ progress since then!’ - B (monologue)
- poetic tone
‘Such things as..’
‘Such things as art - as poetry and music - such kinds of new light have come into the world’ - Blanche (monologue)
- cultured audience
- redeeming Blanche so that the audience cares about her inevitable downfall
‘In this dark march…’
‘In this dark march towards whatever it is we’re approaching… /Don’t - don’t hang back wth the brutes!/’ - B (end of monologue)
- climactic, emphasis, plea
- ‘dark march’ seems reminiscent of war-time (WW2 ended recently)
Blanche’s monologue
- poetic tone, narrative
- theme of evolution and Stanley as animalistic (‘subhuman’ ‘ape-like’ ‘survivor of the Stone Age’ ‘grunt’ ‘swilling and gnawing and hulking’)
- light and dark (‘such kinds of new light’ - “higher pleasures” like music and poetry - ‘dark march’)
- superiority complex
‘Stanley hesitates…’
‘Stanley hesitates, licking his lips. Then suddenly he turns stealthily about and withdraws through the front door.’ - SD
- (while ‘another train passes’)
- animalistic: ‘licking his lips’ ‘stealthily’ ‘withdraws’
importance of Stanley hearing Blanche’s monologue
- he can choose to fulfil her image of him
- knows how to drive her away, upper hand
- ‘He grins at her’
Stella’s reaction to Blanche’s accusations in her monologue
- deliberately chooses Stanley:
‘Stella has embraced him with both arms, fiercely, and full in the view of Blanche’
