Streetcar — Interpretations AO5

Vlasopolos - Stanley 1

defends the “social fabric” of America constituted by masculine authority and patriotism

Vlasopolos - Stanley 2

becomes an “author of history” by squashing Blanche and what she represents (the Old South)

Bubb - Stanley

irredeemable “insensitive, bullish masculinity”

Kazan - Blanche

“Blanche is dangerous, age is destructive”

Vlasopolos - Blanche

Threat to patriarchal norms

Clurman - Blanche

“Blanche is a delicate and sensitive woman pushed into insanity by a brutish environment”

Shead - Blanche

“unifies the literal and metaphorical meanings of Blanche’s journey.” “Psychological and emotional baggage.”

Onyett - Stella

chooses “fantasy over reality”, like Blanche, and is a “sexually passionate woman”

Bubb - Stella

“Powerless”, her relationship with Stanley represents a “tragic inequality of the sexes”

Kolin - Mitch <3

“Mitch is both Blanche’s victim and oppressor”

McDonough - Mitch

“Mitch cannot break through the sexual code upheld by Stanley”

Bergman - Alan

their failed relationship reflects the “limits to intimacy” in the play

Vlasopolos

“ASND leaves us unpurged of the emotions it elicits”

Tennessee Williams - Plastic Theatre

“a more penetrating and vivid expression of things as they are”

Corrigan - Plastic Theatre

“Williams uses costuming […] to convey the emotional strength of his characters, and to reinforce the dichotomy between Blanche and Stanley.”

Rea - Plastic Characters

draws attentions to America’s immigrant communitarian and “raises questions about identity and otherness.”

Wertheim - Structure

“the clock in ASND is Stella’s pregnancy”

Corrigan - Structure

At the beginning Williams clearly favours Stanley by emphasising his wholesome natural trades, while dwelling on Blanche’s artificiality.”

Tischler - Structure

“the play is a traversal of Darwin’s vision — back to the apes.”