Heroines as outsiders - Streetcar

Blanche as an outsider - seen through her contradiction to the setting

her appearance is “Incongruous to this setting” - in introduction to Blanche in exposition “white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and ear-rings of pearl” - suggestive of this pristine image she is trying to uphold - hide her sexual past - perhaps ass she had so little control over her life so desperately tries to control her appearance - uphold southern belle

Southern Belle

Blanches Southern Belle identity makes her incompatible with New Orleans - cultural clash between S and S world that embodies WC America - blunt realism not fantasy placing her as an outsider not just geographically due to her upbringing but also socially and psychologically - further reinforced by …

Performative meta-costume

through her “white suit” - further reinforcing the differences between Blanche and other characters - endlessness of her lies

“(With faintly hysterical vivacity)”

“(Varsouviana is playing distantly”)

- forced and unstable

-no one else hears this music except from Blanche isolating her further This auditory hallucination highlights her alienation, not just mentally, but socially and physically- soundscape in scene 11 reflects Blanche’s mental deuteriation - This auditory hallucination highlights her alienation, not just mentally, but socially and physically - trapped in a world of regret and illusion - role of an outsider who cannot adapt

Comparison - mental stability

Duchess - mentally stable - still punished - as defies societies expectation for her to mental weak and fragile/ emotional - demonstrating how in these tragedies - outsiders doomed?

“I am Duchess of Malfi still”

“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers”

-Spoken at the end of the play, this line reflects her complete breakdown and retreat into delusion. She believes the doctor and matron taking her to the asylum are rescuing her, showing her inability to grasp reality. - her turning to strangers is symbolic of her alienation - its her survival strategy in a world where she is out of place and unwelcome -isolated she is, and how she has always floated on the margins of society, clinging to charm and fantasy rather than reality or connection.

Williams - himself on Blanches Mental stability

“I have always said that Blanche was not insane, but simply crushed by the weight of the world.” - due to her position as an outsider Blanche suffered - mentally, physically