streetcar - sexual desire Flashcards
‘They told me to take a street-car named Desire, and transfer to one called Cemeteries, and ride six blocks and get off at—Elysian Fields!’ - Blanche
symbolizes her life journey driven by sexual desire, leading to loss and eventual ruin. The streetcar named “Desire” reflects her longing, while “Cemeteries” foreshadows the consequences of her pursuit. “Elysian Fields” captures the tension between her fantasies and reality, highlighting the destructive yet defining nature of her desires
‘Sit there and stare at me, thinking I let the place go? I let the place go? Where were you! In bed with your–Polack!’ - Blanche
highlights her resentment and insecurity, accusing Stella of prioritizing sexual desire over family responsibility. The language reflects her internal conflict with societal judgments on desire, while criticizing Stella’s relationship with Stanley reveals Blanche’s struggles with displacement and powerlessness
‘Since earliest manhood the center of [Stanley’s] life has been pleasure with women, the giving and taking of it, not with weak indulgence, dependently, but with the power and pride of a richly feathered male bird among hens.’
Stanley’s sexuality is portrayed as a source of power and pride, likened to a dominant, richly feathered bird among hens, emphasizing his primal masculinity and need for control. This animalistic imagery reflects his raw, instinctual approach to sexual desire, highlighting its role in his dominance and identity.
‘I never met a woman that didn’t know if she was good-looking or not without being told, and some of them give themselves credit for more than they’ve got.’ - Stanley
‘Now let’s cut the re-bop!’ - Stanley
‘After all, a woman’s charm is fifty percent illusion.’ - Blanche
‘Oh, I guess he’s just not the type that goes for jasmine perfume, but maybe he’s what we need to mix with our blood now that we’ve lost Belle Reve.’ - Blanche
‘Red-hot!’ - street vendor
‘The kitchen now suggests that sort of lurid nocturnal brilliance, the raw colors of childhood’s spectrum.’
‘STELL-LAHHHHH!’ - Stanley
‘There are things that happen between a man and a woman in the dark–that sort of make everything else seem–unimportant.’ - Stella
‘What you are talking about is brutal desire–just–Desire!–the name of that rattle-trap street-car that bangs through the Quarter.’ - Blanche
‘Don’t–don’t hang back with the brutes!’ - Blanche
‘Young man! Young, young, young man! Has anyone ever told you that you look like a young Prince out of the Arabian Nights?’ - Blanche
‘Sometimes–there’s God–so quickly!’ Blanche
‘It’s only a paper moon, Just as phony as it can be–But it wouldn’t be make-believe If you believed in me!’ - Blanche
‘I told you already I don’t want none of his liquor and I mean it. You ought to lay off his liquor. He says you’ve been lapping it up all summer like a wild-cat!’ - Mitch
‘I don’t want realism. I want magic!’ - Blanche
‘Tiger–tiger! Drop the bottle-top! Drop it! We’ve had this date with each other from the beginning!’ - Stanley
‘Please don’t get up. I’m only passing through.’ - Blanche
‘You left nothing here but spilt talcum and old empty perfume bottles–unless it’s the paper lantern you want to take with you. You want the lantern?’ - Stanley
‘Whoever you are—I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.’ - Blanche
