symbolisms Flashcards
(13 cards)
How does the paper lantern symbolize key themes in A Streetcar Named Desire, and how does it reflect Tennessee Williams’ view of symbolism in drama?
The paper lantern symbolizes Blanche’s fragility, her fear of aging, and her dependence on illusion to cope with harsh reality. It reflects Tennessee Williams’ belief that symbols can express complex ideas more simply and beautifully than words. The lantern softens the light, hiding Blanche’s physical decline and emotional vulnerability. Its eventual destruction by Mitch and Stanley represents the brutal exposure of truth and the collapse of Blanche’s imaginative world, highlighting the play’s central conflict between illusion and reality.
How do Blanche’s clothing, behavior, and surroundings symbolize her character in contrast to Stanley’s, and what deeper themes does this reflect in A Streetcar Named Desire?
Blanche’s white clothing and frequent hot baths suggest a desire for purity and spiritual cleansing, reflecting her astrological sign, Virgo. She surrounds herself with softness and avoids harshness like bright light, reinforcing her need for illusion. However, her red satin robe and stained dress reveal her as a seductress with a troubled past, emphasizing the play’s moral ambiguity—Williams warns against seeing her as purely innocent. Her outdated, delicate attire symbolizes her disconnection from reality and the decline of the idealized South (Belle Reve), now a ruined dream. In contrast, Stanley’s world is bold, colorful, and rooted in raw physicality—jazz, poker, vulgar jokes, and sexuality. He rejects fantasy for brutal truth, embodying a harsh, modern reality that clashes fatally with Blanche’s illusions.
What are the key symbolic antinomies in A Streetcar Named Desire, and how do they reflect the contrast between Stanley and Blanche?
Stanley: Desire, brightly coloured silk, coloured lights/naked bulb, jazz, cold showers, predator, masculine virility, Capricorn, crudeness, victimizer, brutality, poker, facts, corporeality, sanity, strength, mechanization, locomotive, commonness, the North, city (New Orleans).
Blanche: Death, whites and pastels, paper lantern/candle, polka/cathedral bells, hot baths, moth, feminine fragility, Virgo, gentility, victim, kindness, poetry, imagination, spirit, lunacy, decadence, beauty, streetcar, culture/pretension, the South, country (Belle Reve).
What does bathing symbolize for Blanche?
A: A ritual of purification and escape. She takes hot baths to cleanse herself of guilt, shame, and emotional distress.
What do Blanche’s clothes symbolize?
A: Her attempt to project gentility, youth, and femininity. Her white clothing suggests false purity; her red robe hints at sexual history.
What does the music motif symbolize (blue piano, polka, etc.)?
A: Emotional undercurrents. The “blue piano” represents desire and tension; the polka (“Varsouviana”) triggers Blanche’s trauma and guilt over Allan’s death.
What does the locomotive/train symbolize?
A: The unstoppable force of industrial modernity and Stanley’s power. It also underscores Blanche’s loss of control and reality crashing in.
What does the streetcar named Desire symbolize?
A: The uncontrollable force of human desire and the journey it leads Blanche on—toward destruction and death.
What does alcohol symbolize in the play?
A: Escape, repression, and loss of control. Blanche drinks to numb herself; Stanley uses it to fuel aggression.
What does the color motif (bright vs. pale) symbolize?
A: The clash between bold, sensual reality (Stanley’s world) and faded, genteel illusion (Blanche’s world).
What do Blanche’s references to death (cemeteries, funerals) symbolize?
A: Her preoccupation with loss, decay, and the past. Death haunts her physically (family) and emotionally (Allan Grey).
What do mirrors and reflections symbolize?
A: Self-awareness and fear of truth. Blanche avoids mirrors and harsh reflections as they force her to confront reality.
What does the motif of desire symbolize in the play?
A: A driving, destructive force. It fuels relationships, decisions, and ultimately Blanche’s downfall.
