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Notes from an A* student condensed (without losing detail) into a revision resource for Tennessee William's 'A Streetcar Named Desire'. Includes: scene summaries, character profiles, critical opinions, theme analysis, context and quotes.
A Streetcar Named Desire
Scenes summary
Scene 1
Stella goes to watch Stanley and Mitch bowling
Blanche arrives at Elysian Fields and waits inside for her sister
Stella returns and they greet each other
Blanche talks about losing Belle Reve and the deaths of her family members
Stanley meets Blanche; there is an awkward tension as it’s clear that they’re very different types
of people
Blanche reveals her husband died when they were young
Scene 2
Blanche is bathing
Stanley demands to know what happened to Belle Reve
Stella attempts to defend Blanche
Stella leaves and Blanche finishes bathing
Stanley confronts Blanche, and Blanche attempts to flirt with Stanley
Stella’s pregnancy is revealed
Scene 3
The poker night: Stanley and his friends play poker, and are drinking
Stella and Blanche returns from an evening out
Blanche meets Mitch
Stanley becomes violent with Stella
Stella and Blanche retreat to the apartment upstairs
Stella returns to Stanley and they make love
Scene 4
Blanche and Stella discuss the previous night; Blanche is shocked at Stella’s acceptance of
Stanley’s behaviour
Blanche criticises Stanley
Stanley is secretly listening to Blanche’s criticism
Scene 5
Upstairs, Eunice and Steve fight
Stanley hints at the knowledge of Blanche’s promiscuous past
Blanche flirts with a young man who collects newspaper subscriptions
Mitch arrives and they go on their date
Scene 6
Blanche and Mitch come back from their date
They have a conversation that highlights their differences
Blanche tells the story of how her husband committed suicide after she discovered him in bed
with a man
Mitch comforts her and they discuss marriage
,Scene 7
Months later; it is mid-September and Blanche’s birthday
Stanley reveals Blanche’s past to Stella
Blanche realises that there is a change in atmosphere
Scene 8
Stanley, Stella and Blanche celebrate the latter’s birthday with a meal; Mitch hadn’t arrived
Stanley becomes violent again, before presenting Blanche with a bus ticket back home as a
supposed birthday gift
Stella complains at his cruelty, but then goes into labour
Stanley takes her to the hospital
Scene 9
Both Blanche and Mitch have been drinking
Mitch visits Blanche and tells her he knows about her past
Blanche tried to explain but he dismisses her and attempts to rape her
She shouts “Fire!” and he leaves
Scene 10
Blanche is in a drunken state; her mental instability is shown through her actions
Stanley returns home from the hospital and celebrates the birth of his child
Stanley uncovers Blanche’s true nature and proceeds to rape her
Scene 11
Stella packs Blanche’s suitcase; she does not believe the story of the rape
Blanche dresses in preparation for what she believes is a trip with an admirer
The Doctor and the Matron arrives
Both Stella and Mitch are distressed
Blanche is taken away
It is hinted at that Stanley has sex with Stella in an attempt to comfort her
Themes and Ideas
, Domestic abuse
o shown between all the couple in the play – Stella and Stanley, Eunice and Steve, Blanche and
Steve – which implies that domestic abuse is common throughout all American households
o reflects Williams’ upbringing and how his father was an alcoholic who beat his mother
o main critic: Susan Koprince, discussed domestic abuse in Streetcar
o Helene Deutsch, a Freudian psychologist, said abused women were masochists – they
provoked the abuse and enjoyed it
o critics’ views changed over time; at first, no one remarked on it as it was accepted as the
norm
o Susan Koprince remarks that domestic violence in households was ignored until the 1970s
o modern readings finally declare that Stanley is “not just a charming man prone to violence”
o Lenore Walker’s book, The Battered Woman (1979) introduced the domestic violence cycle –
tension building, acute incident, period of loving contrition – this theory is reflected in the
play
o quotes:
“[Stanley gives a loud whack of his hand on her thigh.]” “I hate it when he does that in
front of people.”
“[Stanley charges after Stella.]”
“[There is the sound of a blow. Stella cries out.]”
Stanley: “My baby doll’s left me!” “[He breaks into sobs]” “I want my baby!” “Stell-
ahhhhh!”
Racism
o all the ethnic minorities had a lack of identity – as if they don’t contribute to society, despite
how all of them had ‘service’ jobs
o Blanche shows how, despite the abolishment of slavery, there was still white superiority and
a racial difference: “couldn’t we get a coloured girl to do it?”
o the poker group makes jokes about an “ole n-word”
in the production we watched, the racial slur was replaced by the word “farmer” – shows
how views have changed over time
Homosexuality and homophobia
o Williams was homosexual and ashamed of it – he was called a “sissy”
o many psychologists and psychiatrists considered homosexuality a mental illness in 1940s
o The American Psychiatric Association listed homosexuality as a sociopathic personality
disturbance
o the only gay character, Allan Grey, doesn’t appear for long – is more of an omnipresent
character and part of someone’s backstory rather than an actual character
o J.M. Clum: “invisible homosexuals […] in Williams’ plays […] always die a grotesque death […]
as a victim of rejection by those closest to them.”
o Christopher Isherwood and others maintain that he hated being a homosexual and could not
accept those who came to terms with their sexual orientations
o John. S. Bak: “Blanche betrays her loyalty to Allan by exposing his homosexuality, just as
Stanley does her promiscuity.”
o Stella: “this beautiful ad talented young man was a degenerate.”
o Blanche: “there was something different about the boy,” “unable to stop myself – I’d
suddenly said – ‘I know! I know! You disgust me…’”
Sexism – male dominance and female submission
, o throughout the play, Stanley feels the needs to dominate over all the characters, including
Stella, Blanche and Mitch
o dominance and sex is linked for Stanley e.g he establishes dominance over Stella and Blanche
via sex
o Susan Koprince: “[Stella] is essentially a submissive, self-deprecating wife who tolerates and
excuses her husband’s behaviour”
o Blanche and Stella both depend on men – Blanche depends on “strangers” for “protection”,
Stella depends on Stanley financially (“
o Blanche reclaims her sexuality yet is condemned for it, while Stanley’s sexual prowess is
shown through the phrase “male bird amongst hens” yet due to the fact he is male, there are
no repercussions for him – it’s encouraged as an aspect of masculinity
o in fact, he goes to the extent of raping Blanche, yet there are still no repercussions for him –
shows the patriarchal society they lived in, where males can forcefully destroy a female’s
sexuality
Sexual desire
o one of the main themes in the play, as shown using the word “desire” in the title
o desire led to the destruction of Blanche
“they told me to take a streetcar named Desire, then transfer to one called Cemeteries”
Stella: “Haven’t you ever ridden on that streetcar?” Blanche: “It brought me here. –
Where I’m not wanted and where I’m ashamed to be…”
“streetcar named desire” symbolises the journey Blanche goes on based on desire (and
death)
death of Allan Grey death of her family members Blanche turned to casual sex with
strangers and alcohol for comfort had sex with schoolboy led to Elysian Fields with
Stella and Stanley Stanley’s sexual assault admittance to a mental asylum
o Blanche and Stanley mirror in a certain way – Blanche uses sex for comfort, Stanley uses sex
to assert his dominance
o Stella is attracted to Stanley’s sexual prowess
Mental illness/ instability
o hinted at in scene one: “I can’t be alone! Because – as you must have notice – I’m not very
well…”
o mental deterioration began when Allan Grey committed suicide, then continued during the
harrowing deaths at Belle Reve
o promiscuity and alcoholism also started, leading her to create her fantasy world
o her mind finally gives way when Mitch rejects her (“you’re not clean enough”) and attempts
to rape her, followed by Stanley going through with the rape
o she finally retreats completely into her make-believe world as she is committed into a mental
institution
o perhaps she sees the Doctor as Shep Huntleigh?
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