Concise quote bank of A Street Car Named Desire by Williams sectioned by theme, characters and devices and selected poems of Feminine Gospels by Duffy including links to the text
‘some nice clothes to meet all your lovely friends’ reflects class social mobility via appearance
‘horrible place’ -> difference in class
‘saccharine popular ballad…contrapuntally with stanley’ obvious clash with old and new south
class
Obsession
‘how do I look’ response to seeing men craves validation repetition
‘I think I will bathe’
‘How old are you blanche’… she makes nervous gesture fear of time and aging relies on looks
and charm for survival
Brushing her hair vigorously harsh violent movements attempts to tame reinforce detail put
into her appearance
‘hiding the bottle in the closet’, ‘dabbing her face with cologne and powder’ mitch as her last
hope vital to keep his attraction
‘bathing’ scene 11 post ultimate violation blanche’s only power seductive alter ego and
looks has been stripped from her
‘is something wrong with me’ ‘help me help me get dressed’ lack of certainty over own life no
longer independent and assertive needs help with simplest task
‘are these grapes washed’ shall die of eating an unwashed grape’
- recoil to life of luxury. wine, greek gods.
- From the French quarter- New Orleans. French romanticism has been replaced.
- Dionysus- God of wine and fertility.
- ties with obsession of cleanliness inside and out tie in with alcohol theory: alcohol used
medically to clean wounds -> cleans herself via drinking
Gender
‘raw colours of childhood spectrum overpowering crowded presence wash out Blanche and
stella’s presence
‘Why don’t you women go up’ dismissive and disrespectful contributes to dynamic between
stella and Stanley
,‘poker shouldn’t be played in a house with women’ blame shifted from Stanley onto stella
reinforces (reinf) gender roles and normality of abuse within their relationship (rel)
‘youre not old you can get out’ women only have opportunity if considered attractive
‘that’s much more practical’ response to Eunice getting drunk instead of calling police for abuse
normality of domestic violence and futility of police
‘I want to rest’ marriage end goal for blanche
We was together in the two-forty-first ww2: brotherhood and comradery strong bond between
mitch and Stanley from war
‘it’s not my soul I’m worried about’ Stanley reinf gender attitudes towards purity
‘Mitch is a buddy of mine’ comradery ad brotherhood of WW2
Pale blue blanket likely to emulate Stanley reinf cyclical structure stella officially entrapped and
fully reliant upon Stanley
Characters
Blanche:
‘Slip of paper’ quizzical, lost out of comfort zone ‘shocked disbelief’ southern belle
‘Appearance is incongruous’
‘White suit’ ‘fluffy bodice’ ‘earrings of pearl’ ‘white gloves and a hat appearances colour
symbolism of purity as well as milk and mother hood somewhere she ‘should be’ reinf façade as
southern belle
‘Daintily dressed,’ ‘delicate beauty’ easy to break, impermanent, vulnerable
‘something uncertain about her manner and clothes… suggest a moth’ façade does fail falls
short of perfection fragile and flies towards light despite certain death
‘take a street car named desire … get off at elysian fields’ past life to metaphorical (met)
Death/purgatory
‘Stella for star’ never something for herself but someone else sister is guiding light last hope
‘Horrible place’ difference in class
‘Shaking all over… tries to laugh’ uphold faced panic and reliant on alcohol
‘Nervously tamping cigarette- nerves beyond typical reliefs constant fear and anxiety of the
truth and past
‘She drinks quickly’ alcohol coping mechanism
, ‘You haven’t said a word about my appearance’ obsessed with looks and presentation -> desire for
perfection
‘Plump as a little partridge’ infantilises stella attempts to feel better about herself ‘your messy
child’ does not acknowledge stella as a woman
1st monologue: I, I ,I took the blow in my face and my body…
‘don’t let me go’ equivocal meaning: keep alive and chained to belle reve by responsibility
‘Pretty flowers’ uses beaty to hide and distract self from horrors and trauma
‘Miss stella’ juxtaposes previous pet names -> disdain and blame on stella resentful that she
escaped and married
‘Where were you’ betrayal sense of entitlement stella owes her something
‘I want you to look at my figure I haven’t gained a pound in ten years’ desperate for validation,
demanding over appearance to herself and others, requires recognition to function akin to a child
‘After all I’ve been through… blessed child’ ignores stella’s life, wants all the pity -> ‘all the burden
descended on my shoulders’ -> victim complex
‘Some nice clothes to meet all your lovely friends’ reflects class social mobility via appearance
‘I haven’t washed or powdered my face’ defends looks to Stanley need to please all men visibly
despite marital status
‘The boy – the boy died’ innocence and immaturity I am afraid I’m going to be sick extreme
anxiety and avoidance of truth polka first plays --. Reflect to the past haunting her
‘Singing in the bathroom’ different room from Stanley and stella class and world view divide
old v new on peripheries of soc
‘I was flirting with your husband stella’ tried to gain emotional leverage after baby news
‘mix and blood now’ southern UC pride and purity merging of old and new world
‘how pretty the sky is…I ought to go up there on a rocket and never come down’ beginnings of
delusion and fantastical way of living to escape mental state
‘wait till I power till you open the door.’ fear of judgement clings onto youth and addicted to
perfection
‘I’m not accustomed to having more than one drink’ seduces men through deception, instinct to
lie keep up façade
‘she’s somewhat older than I’ increases ambiguity around men ashamed of age clings to
southern belle archetype
‘being such a liar’ shep: acknowledges need to lie to pursue greater position in life cannot rely
on money, reputation or looks
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