Scene 10

Question 1

‘soiled and crumpled’ evening gown, ‘scuffed silver slippers’

Answer 1

these dresscodes diametrically oppose those seen at the start of the play, where Blanche’s grace is emphasised - ‘daintily dressed… as if she were arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party’

Question 2

Blanche’s breaking of the mirror

Answer 2

alludes to the common superstition of a broken mirror causing bad luck. this preceeds the calamity that takes place.

Question 3

‘grotesque and menacing’ shapes, ‘inhuman voices like cries in a jungle’

Answer 3

Blanche’s terror takes on a visible form, mirrored by ugly scenes of violence in the street outside the apartment as the walls become transparent - ‘the Negro Woman appears around the corner with a sequined bag… She is rooting excitedly through it’. This use of expressionism in the penultimate scene generates the ultimate sense of pathos for Blanche.

Question 4

the risk of expressionism

Answer 4

Williams took considerable risks moving away from realism. Is this scene, so melodramatic in its technique, successful drama? Yes, because the shocking visual impacts mirror the shocking spectacle of a man breaking all the taboos and raping his sister-in-law while his wife is giving birth to his child.

Question 5

“beauty of the mind and richness of the spirit and tenderness of the heart - and I have all of those things - aren’t taken away, but grow!”

Answer 5

Whilst there were some admirable progressions with the rise of the New South, Williams uses Blanche as his mouthpiece to draw attention to what was disintergrating amidst other progressions. The New South appears ethically and morally regressive.

Question 6

‘brilliant silk pyjamas’

Answer 6

refineries that were once reserved for the aristocracy of the Old South were now available to blue-collar, working-class men like Stanley.