AO5: victimisation

"Authorising History: Victimisation in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ by Anca Vlasopolos

  • “the trinity of Stella, Stanley and baby at the end represents life”

  • “for our safety…an interpretation of Blanche as mad throughout is preferable”

  • “we are not safe so long as the measure of insanity depends on the powerlessness of the individual”

  1. Is it right to consider Blanche to be insane? Do you think she is?

  • i don’t think she is insane, but simply suffering mentally from the trauma that her experiences have imposed on her » she is mentally exhausted from being repeatedly and relentlessly battered by society, despite her best efforts » rationality rather than sanity being lost

  • mental health act, 1946

  • difficult to determine her health at the start, with the facade up » crumbles throughout the play

    • rape = turning point

  1. “We are not safe so long as the measure of insanity depends on the powerlessness of the individual.” Do you agree with this interpretation?

  • yes, particularly in the time period this play is set in, were women were not afforded much autonomy

  • for conditions to be imposed on Blanche, who is helpless and powerless anyway, is sardonic, and a frightening prospect

  1. Do you think the end of the play avoids or confronts the “powerful issues” that it raised? Is the audience allowed a full “catharsis” (how might they reflect on what they have seen?)

  • I think it effectively confronts the issues raised, in Stella’s dramatic reaction especially, yet her inability to act upon her newfound resentment for ​Stanley » dependence that women had on men, emphasised