Scene 4 Flashcards
(15 cards)
Plastic theatre. Stanley’s abuse and the damage that remains. SD ‘the table is sloppy with…
remains of breakfast and the debris of the preceding night’
Contrast between sisters & sexual dynamic of Stanley and Stella. SD ‘she has spent a…
sleepless night and her appearance completely constants with Stella’
The only way to live with male violence is to also have a sexual desire l. B” how could you come…
back in this place last night? why you must have slept with him”
Metaphor used to imply that they’re metaphorically on the edge of an explosion when men drink and play poker - archaic gender roles in society. S “it’s always a…
powder keg”
Stella makes excuses for Stanley’s behaviour / justifies it - similar implying Stanley’s innocence in her eyes. S “he was as…
good as a lamb when I came back”
Stella is attracted to Stanley’s masculinity and drive but also resents it - male that can’t be contained. S “he smashed all the lightbulbs with…”. “I was sort of…
the heel of my slipper”. thrilled by it”
Stella as a pragmatic character embodying realism vs. Blancher and fantasy. S “Tolerate each…”. B “matter of…”. S “what other…
others habits ig”. fact about it”. can I be?”
Blanche escaping reality and fulfil her fantasy.
“Shep Huntleigh”
Only way to live with a man like Stanley is to sexually satisfy him - primal. B “what such man has…
to offer is animal force”
Old south assumption attraction due to honour. B “You saw him in…
uniform, and officer”
Stella’s relationship is based on “brutal desire” and Stanley’s drive thrills her. S “There are things that…
happen between a man and a woman in the dark that sort of make everything else seems unimportant”
Metaphor of the streetcar as desire referring to the consequences of a relationship based on brutal desire. B “it brought me here where I’m…
not wanted and ashamed to be”
Blanches class based criticism of Stanley using imagery and dramatic irony. B “he acts like…”. “there’s something…”. “Stone…”. “art…”
an animal”. downright bestial”. age”. poetry, music”
Stella “listens gravely” to Blanche yet still shows loyalty to Stanley / new America. SD ‘Stella embraced him […] fiercely…
in full view of Blanch’
