Setting Flashcards
(8 cards)
“New orleans: a cosmopolitan city where theres a relitavely warm and easy intermingling of races”
shows the progressive nature of post ww2 america.
they told me to take a streetcar named desire, transfer to one called cemeteries and get off at elysian fields
desire and cemeteries: eros and Thanatos (Freudian theory) the characters (arguably all humans) are driven by desire and death.
elysian fields: the place in Greek mythology where heroes went to die. foreshadows blanches ending as the tragic heroine
blanche is sexual and self destructive, she’s on track towards her elysian fields.
downstairs flat. two rooms can be seen not too clearly defined. the kitchen contains a folding bed, the room beyond is the bedroom
flat vs belle reve. old vs new
kitchen is the domestic sphere but taken over by stanley.
folding bed, temporary nature of blanche
bedroom - hey to stella and stan’s life as their relationship is deeply rooted in sex
stella: “belle reve? lost is it? no!”
the disintegration of the old south and its values, which TW detested. stella leaves it behind in favour of stanleys way of life
Eunice: “the plantation… a great place with white columns”
blanche is a relic of the past. Eunice is the representation of women’s potential in America. she is a businesswoman and landlord, thinking practically. she sees it as a contrast to where they are. blanche sees it symbolically as a southern belle.
a picture of van Goughs billiard parlour at night…over the kitchen table, hangs an electric bulb… the bedroom is relatively dim
vivid depiction. the kitchen is dominated by men - a historical anomaly. the domestic sphere is safe for women but here its the other way round, full of masculinity and danger for blanche and stella (ends in assault and technically prostitution) the bedroom feels safer yet is the embodiment of sex on the stage which is the ultimate downfall of Blanche
a disturbance is heard upstairs at the Hubbel’s apartment
shows the abuse is not limited to stanley and stella. eunice and steve abuse eachother - not just women being abused. normalises the behaviour somewhat: TW maybe calling out the abuse in new america?
its a ticket back to laurel!
blanche cannot go back. laurel is unsafe for her, just like NO. only place safe for her is a time before allan - only place she can go back is in her fantasies.
