lOMoARcPSD|11448692
‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Summary Sheet Scene Scene One
Theme
Fantasy & Delusion
Fantasy & Delusion
Sexual Desire/ Masculinity
Sexual Desire
Sexual Desire/ Fantasy & Delusion Sexual Desire
Fantasy & Delusion/ Femininity
Fantasy & Delusion
Quote
“on a street in New Orleans which is named Elysian Fields […] with a kind of lyricism and gracefully attenuates the atmosphere of decay” “her appearance is incongruous to this setting […] her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light […] her white clothes, that suggests a moth” “He heaves the package at her. She cries out in protest but manages to catch it; then she laughs breathlessly.” “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!”
“The two rooms can be seen, not too clearly defined […] off this [bedroom] is a narrow door to a bathroom”
“her hands tightly clutching her purse as if she were quite cold […] A cat screeches. She catches her breath with a startled gesture.” “I thought you would never come back to this horrible place! What am I saying? I didn’t mean to say that. I meant to be nice about it and say – “ “Now don’t get worried, your sister hasn’t turned into a drunkard”
Fantasy & Delusion “And, oh, what gorgeous boxes they pack them away in! […] I saw! Saw! Saw!” Fantasy & Delusion
Fantasy & Delusion/ Sexual Desire
Femininity Masculinity
Fantasy & Delusion
“Yes, accuse me! Sit there and stare at me, thinking I let the place go! Where were you! In bed with your – Polack!”
“Break it up down there! I made the spaghetti dish and ate it myself.” “He sizes women up at a glance, with sexual classifications, crude images flashing into his mind and determining the way he smiles at them.” “Some people rarely touch it, but it touches them often” “Do you mind if I make myself comfortable (He starts to remove his shirt)” “You were married once, weren’t you? (The music of the polka rises up, faint in the distance)”
messages.downloaded_by
Analysis
The Ancient Greek myth presents such as being a resting place for heroes, essentially paradise, which creates a dichotomy with the poverty – similarly Blanche is too decaying (socially/ mentally) A further exterior dichotomy – appearance suggests innocence whilst light suggests the fragility of her Southern Belle façade – moth imagery implies that she is in pursuit of the intangible, just like a moth chases light Stanley asserts his dominance as the action reflects their sexual relationship – he forces himself on her in a primitive way with his raw lust and she is attracted to it Blanche’s allegorical journey reflects how she has ridden Desire which has ended her social life/status – could also relate to the journey that Stella has taken to what she thinks is her best life with Stanley, but it’s still as good as death. ALSO shows contrast to what Blanche and Stella/Stanley see as normal Use of plastic theatre reflects Blanche’s unease/ unfamiliarity of her surroundings – the positioning of the bathroom shows how Blanche’s fantasies will disrupt the primarily sexual nature of her sister’s marriage Blanche’s insecure body language shows her alert ad on guard, her erratic/ neurotic nature is revealed and portrays her to be pray-like Reveals the extent of Blanche’s façade ad her need to rehearse compliments and being nice
The dramatic irony here explains what psychoanalysts would explain as detachment as a form of coping mechanism to not face her alcoholism Adds to the sense that Blanche cannot deal with reality, “pack” rejects any sort of finality and like the house, Blanche believes that the people can be won back Blanche subconsciously feels the guilt – her high regard for appearances is revealed as to what it looks like she’s done. With this, the real issue is revealed in that Blanche feels abandoned for the lower-class Polish Stanley Almost bathos-esque in that Eunice here goes against hegemonic femininity standards Reveals Stanley’s status as a sexually charged character, he’s only of medium height and so his dominance shows such of the whole male sex over women. Stanley isn’t fooled by Blanche’s façade Stanley does so without waiting for her to reply – foreshadows his lack of regard for women’s consent This plastic theatre symbolises not only Blanche’s remorse, but also her decent into fantasy as her emotional trauma intensifies into insanity as the music becomes more frequently
lOMoARcPSD|11448692
‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Summary Sheet Masculinity/ Power Dynamics
Scene Two
Fantasy & Delusion Masculinity/ Power Dynamics
“(She jumps up and kisses him which he accepts with lordly composure)”
Fantasy & Delusion
“She’s soaking in a hot tub to quiet her nerves. She’s terribly upset.”
Masculinity
“How about my supper, huh?”
Fantasy & Delusion
“From the land of the sky blue water, They brought a captive maid!” “Have you ever heard of the Napoleonic code?” “My head is swimming!”
Masculinity/ Power Dynamics Femininity/ Power Dynamics Fantasy & Delusion/ Masculinity
“Genuine fox fur-pieces, a half a mile long! Where are your fox-pieces, Stella?”
Power Dynamics
“Shhh! Be still, Stanley!” […] Now close that trunk before she comes out the bathroom! (He kicks the trunk partly closed) Since when do you give me orders?” “Blanche comes out of the bathroom in a red satin robe” “How do I look? You look all right?”
Sexual Desire/ Femininity Fantasy & Delusion
“It looks like my trunk has exploded” Femininity Sexual Desire
Sexual Desire
Sexual Desire
“It ended the conversation – that was all. Some men ae too in by this Hollywood glamour stuff and some men aren’t” “I like an artist who paints in strong, bold colours, primary colours. I don’t like pinks and creams and I never cared for wishy-washy people.” “our improvident grandfathers and father and uncles and brothers exchanged the land for their epic fornications—to put it plainly!” “The blind are – leading the blind”
messages.downloaded_by
Ironic due to his second-generation immigrant status, furthered by his name Stanley which translates to Stanislaw, connotating to the last king of Poland and the end of dynasty. Emphasises Stella’s inferiority to her husband and that of all women in marriages at the time; pre-second-wave feminism Contrast of the domestic affairs to Blanche’s relaxation shows her disconnect from reality and possible self-involvement – quiet nerves so perhaps the cat’s screech symbolises such. She yearns for emotional cleansing Example of naturalism as Stanley’s upholding of gender roles mimics the contemporary reality Example of expressionism as Blanche distorts reality as such contrasts her surroundings Constant repetition is meant to sound intellectual but in only reveals his short-comings intellectually Stella upholds hegemonic femininity traits as Blanche’s failure to confront reality reflects in her sister upon emotional turmoil Hints that Stanley may feel inferior that he is unable to provide this for Stella, but a woman lie Blanche can do so herself, so he tries to tarnish her. He senses that Blanche may have some control over Stella whilst he wants it all for himself Reveals the couple’s marriage to be on of a constant struggle for control – Stella tries to mediate Stanley’s brute nature whereas Stanley constantly exerts such Connotes to sexuality as well as danger – foreshadowing as in front of Stanley? The dichotomy between Blanche’s expressionist tendencies and Stanley’s pragmatism naturalism shatter Blanche’s façade that she upholds as a defence mechanism Blanche’s fixation of appearances leads to her vulnerability upon her clothes being exposed Sexual undertones to everything that Stanley says as he knows what gets women into bed. Again, he breaks Blanche’s delusions and façade of glamour Blanche’s words act to encourage Stanley’s primitive assertions of sexuality but in fact do nothing to reflect Blanche’s identity – bold colours reflect sexual desire as contrasted by the innocence of white and her name Presents the destruction that desire can cause as the theme is prologues throughout the play, shows that Blanche’s inability to express sexual desire is one that belongs to the family as the polysyndetic demonstrates the patriarchy within society Foreshadows the end for both Stella and Blanche as Stella is blind in seeing anything but the good in Stanley – found in Bible with “If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit”
lOMoARcPSD|11448692
‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Summary Sheet
Scene Three
Masculinity
Fantasy & Desire/ Sexual Desire Fantasy & Delusion
Fantasy & Delusion
Fantasy & Delusion
Fantasy & Delusion
Sexual Desire
Femininity/ Power Dynamics Femininity
“The Poker Night. There is a picture of Van Gogh’s of a billiard-parlour at night […] The poker players are men at the peak of their physical manhood, as coarse and direct as primary colours” “How do you do, Miss DuBois?” “And if God choose, I shall but love thee better – after – death!” “Sick people have such deep, sincere attachments. Sorrow makes for sincerity, I think.” “It’s a French name. It means woods and Blanche means white, so the two together mean white woods. Lie an orchard in spring!” “I bought this adorable little coloured paper lantern […] I can’t stand a naked light bulb, any more than I can a rude remark of a vulgar action” “Blanche waltzes to the music with romantic gestures. Mitch is delighted and moves in awkward imitation like a dancing bear.” “You lay your hands on me and I’ll… Stanley charges at Stella. There is a sound of a blow. Stella cries out” “Poker shouldn’t be played in a house with women”
“Stella, Stella, precious! Dear, dear little sister, don’t be afraid!” “You just blew your top, Stan”
Femininity
Masculinity Masculinity/ Sexual Desire
Masculinity/ Power Dynamics
Sexual Desire
Scene Four
Femininity Fantasy & Delusion
“The Negro entertainers in the bar around the corner play “Paper Doll” slow and blue. After a moment Stanley comes out of the bathroom dripping water” “He throws his head like a baying hound and bellows his wife’s name […] (with heaven-splitting violence) STELLLAHHHHHH!” “Stella slips down the rickety stairs in her robe. They stare at each other. Then they come together with low, animal moans” There’s so much- so much confusion in the world…Thank you for being so kind! I need kindness now.”
“Her face is serene in the early morning sunlight […] her eyes and lips
messages.downloaded_by
This imagery and the bold colour of their shirts brings irony as Blanche says she likes people of that kind and later goes on to compare them to apes
Feminist discourse as Mitch tries to elevate himself for Blanche’s sake through dialect Part of Elizabeth Barret-Browning’s sonnet, the inscription speaks to Blanche as after her husband’s death, she’s been plagued by guilt and polka music Blanche is mentally ill and forms deep attachments, however her lack of sincerity indicates how she is in denial or unaware of this All of Blanche’s responses seem scripted and well used, suggests that she is accustomed to flirting with men; foreshadows what we learn later of her prostitution in Laurel – insincere towards Mitch The declarative gives Blanche’s her superiority of class whilst reinforcing her “innocent” nature. The light is also symbolic of the truth here and so her insecurities in her age is emphasised The description reinforces the animal nature of men, but a dancing bear contrasts the brutish nature of Stanley as such projects a warm image Illustrates the powerlessness of women to domestic violence at the time – shows Stanley as animalistic and shows the violence to be primitive Repetition of this reveals Mitch and society trying to justify and convince himself that such is to blame rather than the inherent violent nature of Stanley as blame is projected on the presence of women Blanche is projecting her own fear onto her sister/ what she expects of her to present how domestic violence should be regarded Euphemistic and trying to minimise/ rationalise the violence Reflects the volatility of their relationship, the song was a hit song by The Mills Brothers as the lyrics express a man’s regret at losing his girlfriend. Plastic theatre reflects a moment of recognition and sobering for Stanley Stanley’s vulnerable side is exposed as he desperately needs Stella back as he needs to have control over someone as is in his primitive nature The sexual nature of the reunion reflects the core of such; the only thing holding them together is the ever-destructive sexual desire The repetition reflects the disbelief and reinforces her confusion at everyone else’s reaction – shows Blanche’s retreat into her fantasy world
The contrast of the sisters is essentially reverses as Blanche become the, slightly erratic yet, pragmatic