desire Flashcards
(9 cards)
[stella complies reluctantly]
stellas complying reflects a female in this societies inability to ever truly have power, stella can never escape a life of compliance, and neither can blanche
“almost narcotized tranquility”
the power of sex as a narcotic
desire as a blinding force
and as an addictive force
questions on desire versus morality, and the strength of both
“good as a lamb”
animalistic description of stanley but transformed into the victim
reflects the violence forced on men during war period, and the effects that has on society
stanley can be both a wolf and a lamb
but that doesnt change the fact hes dangerous
stella repressing reality just as much as stanley, but her repressions match societys
she willing to ignore domestic violence, and because so is everyone else, it works out for her
she is congerous
“i was - sort of - thrilled by it”
stellas “thrill” in face of violence
euphoria - hedonism?
vs adrenaline
williams challenging how sympathetic we feel for stella
also how we view desire and thrill of the violent, is it moral if stella desires it?
“[she goes into the kitchen, finda a glass, and pours a shot of whisky into it]”
stella is just as repressed as blanche (the coke bottle), whiskey reflecting the thrill she finds in her role as a wife due to stanleys abuse
“[stella pours the coke into the glass. it foams over and spills. blanche gives a piercing cry.]
“right on my pretty white skirt!”
the coke as an extended metaphor for repression, and the mess that comes with subverting your role, and how society crumbles when we dont play our roles - through the staining of blanches white skirt, she can no longer hide between the pretences of purity
no longer a southern belle
“young man! young, young, young, young - man”
emphaising his youth
reflecting the immorality of blanches actions but also her desires- her desire for youth becoming destructive when it cant be furfilled internally
blanches inability to grow up limits her
“keep my hands off children, adios!”
reveals conflict of blanches desires and societal expectations / judgements
same vice as stella, yet one is innapropiate and the other masochist / martyring
“[he goes down the steps with a dazed look]”
parasitic + vampiric
reflective of stellas earlier look, the power of desires and being desired
also blanches desires may be more of power and autonomy rather than the youth of the boy
or a desire of the past in general
