Outsiders quotations

‘Here comes Bosola, The only court-gall' (Act 1.1)

‘He rails at those things which he wants’

the metaphor highlights how Bosola is perceived as a “defect”/ sickness to the court; he’s the cynical, complaining malcontent.

Bosola is an outsider, bitter about his lack of status and power, despite serving the corrupt court.

‘I’d make them my low footsteps.’ (Act 1.2)

Duchess’ imperative acts as an expression of control & hierarchy, allowing audiences to infer that she desires her own agency & places her presumed power over her brothers. Metaphor suggests she views her brothers’ threats as stepping stones to achieve her journey. Contemporary audiences would have immediately viewed her as an outsider to the world as they know it. 

‘Why should only I, Of all the other princes of the world, Be cased up like a holy relic?’ (Act 3.2)

Duchess laments her imprisonment, showing how she has become an outsider even in her own home

‘We are merely the stars’ tennis balls’ (Act 5.4)

Bosola realises he has always been a pawn, never truly accepted by those in power 

‘[Her appearance is incongruous to the setting]’

Blanche is immediately portrayed as an outsider as her aristocratic background prevents her from fitting into this lower-class society of Elysian Fields

‘Polack’

pejorative used towards Stanley throughout play

‘You need somebody. And I need somebody, too’ (sc 6)

Mitch’s vulnerability makes him an outsider to his hyper-masculine friends (Mitch does not conform with toxic masculinity expectations) 

‘“Every Man is a King!” And I am the king around here’ (sc 8)

Stanley asserts dominance because he feels threatened by Blanche’s aristocratic background. His status as an immigrant makes him fight harder for control. 

‘I don’t want realism.’ (sc 9)

Blanche cannot face reality and prefers illusions, making her an outsider in Stanley’s brutally realistic world; her inability to adapt isolates her

‘You’re not clean enough to bring in the house with my mother’ (sc 9)

Mitch ultimately rejects Blanche because she does not fit into the traditional role of a ‘pure’ woman, further pushing her into outsider status.

‘bone-headed cry-baby!' (sc 11)

Stanley emasculates Mitch and addresses how he is a misfit for this hyper-masculine society