Streetcar

A Streetcar Named Desire

1)    Elysian fields- Greek: limbo between life and death. Use of colour ‘white’ –foreboding Blanche (white), blank, loss, emptiness, madness. ‘Tender blue’, ‘warm breath’, ‘music’ – comforting homely even though rugged from the outside. Atmosphere ‘atmosphere of decay’. Conflict of desires and comforts, foreboding + fear of death.

2)    Impressions of Stanley from his description: ‘Animal joy’- animalistic, basic, not intellectual? ‘Gaudy seed-bearer’, ‘pleasure with women’, ‘richly feathered male bird among hens’ asserting his masculinity, male form of power is his sexuality.

3)    Blanche described as ‘a moth’, making her seem frail, delicate and ONLY OUT AT NIGHT.

4)    Desire- the desire of Stanley towards Stella, waning her to be everything, wanting to get all he wants. Blanche’s past, how desire can ruin and taint you- gets her reputation because of desire. Cemeteries- link to all the deaths at Belle Reve, death is in the past and future, unavoidable curse that follows you wherever you go. Elysian fields- heavenly image, sense of being trapped between life and death- like Stella trapped between Stanley and the men and Blanche/Eunice and the women. Belle Reve- ‘Sweet Dream’ in French, shows dreams as never lasting, crumbling.

5)    She is destitute, she has lost Belle Reve and has no money.

6)    Belle Reve has been lost, she has had many close encounters to death and this traumatises her and she has taken a leave of absence from her English teaching job.

7)    Blanche is received with tension. Stanley is blunt but not rude. Asking questions about her. Blanche offers nothing to him, on her guard- creates tension between them. Short, disinterested answers to him p.17

8)    To signify pain being drowned out by the outside world, signifying the lack of care and power the distressed women have? Could signify the hidden world of violence in the home. Music, comfort, smothering, shrieking as pain, suppression.

9)    The topic of death surfaced, she has a fear of death and decay and has experienced it close at hand, she is traumatised of the topic so bringing it up makes her ill.