AP English notes on A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. These notes contain brief character outlines and notes on the theme of Freedom and Responsibility including quotes.
A Level Edexcel English lit Paper 1 - A Streetcar Named Desire Death Essay
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A Streetcar Named Desire
Blanche DuBois
- Stella’s older sister (approx. 30 years old)
- A high school teacher in Laurel Mississippi – forced to leave
- Nervous disposition – constantly on edge
- Married a gay man who committed suicide
- Arrives at Stella at the end of her rope
o Spiralled into promiscuity and alcoholism
o Lost Belle Reve (the family plantation) due to mortgages
- Clings to “Southern Belle” persona
- Repulsed, yet attracted to Stanley – like a moth to a flame
- Depends on male attention for self-esteem
Stanley Kowalski
- Stella's husband – raw strength, violent masculinity and animal magnetism
- Contrasts Blanches homosexual husband
- Loves Stella – her soft femininity balances him out
- Drawn to Blanche – rapes her while Stella has his baby
- Of Polish heritage – dislikes being called “Polack”
- He is a social leveller – makes Blanche’s affected aristocracy defunct
- Hates Blanche – sees her as untrustworthy
- Displays disturbing behaviour – beats Stella and rapes Blanche
- The final image of "family man" makes us question his decision to remove Blanche
Stella Kowalski
- Blanche’s younger sister and Stanley’s wife
- The emotional centre of the play
o Calm and reasonable (counters Blanche’s hysteria)
o Soothing and feminine (counters Stanley’s violence)
- No desire to return to the past – chose Stanley and New Orleans willingly
- Her pregnancy emphasises her commitment to the Kowalski future, not the DuBois past
- She is a victim of domestic violence – her return to Stanley is not judged in the play
Harold Mitchell (Mitch)
- The “gentleman” of Stanley’s poker friends – more sensitive
- More mannered than Stanley but still has desires
- Gets into a relationship with Blanche (who acts naïve)
- He leaves Blanche when he discovers her past – no longer respects her
- Not Blanche’s perfect man – he is clumsy, sweaty and unrefined
o Not as intelligent as Blanche either
- They are drawn together by the mutual need for a relationship
- He is the only person (other than Stella) who sees the tragedy in Blanche’s madness
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