A Streetcar Named Desire - Summary Notes

Assessment Objectives

  • AO1: Textual knowledge, understanding, and communication.
  • AO2: Dramatic methods analysis (characterization, structure, language, staging).
  • AO3: Understanding the influence of contexts (historical, biographical, literary).
  • AO5: Argument and interpretation based on textual evidence.

Synopsis

  • Blanche DuBois arrives in New Orleans seeking her sister Stella, revealing the loss of their family home, Belle Reve.
  • Stanley, Stella's husband, is distrustful of Blanche and her past.
  • Tensions escalate, leading to Stanley's violence and Blanche's increasing instability.
  • Stanley reveals Blanche's past, destroying her relationship with Mitch.
  • The play culminates in Blanche's rape by Stanley and her committal to a mental institution.

Main Characters

  • Blanche DuBois: Protagonist, represents the decline of the Old South, characterized by vulnerability, insecurity, and attempts to maintain appearances.
    • Masks fading beauty and promiscuous past with illusions and flirtation.
    • Ultimately becomes a victim of the new world, symbolized by her rape and institutionalization.
    • Baths symbolize attempt to wash away guilt; drinking, escape from reality.
  • Stanley Kowalski: Represents the new, modern America; masculine, brutish, and dominant.
    • Distrustful of Blanche's pretenses and embodies the working-class.
    • Uses physical violence and demonstrates contempt for class snobbery.
  • Stella Kowalski: Blanche's younger sister, pragmatic and physically attracted to Stanley.
    • Caught between Blanche and Stanley's opposing worlds.
    • Willing to ignore Stanley's violence and is delusional.
  • Mitch: Stanley’s friend, interested in Blanche.
    • Gentle but ultimately rejects Blanche after learning about her past resulting in her attempted seduction of a young man.

Themes

  • Death and Desire: Destructive power of sex and desire symbolized by the streetcars 'Desire' and 'Cemeteries'.
    • Blanche's reliance on sexual attraction and fear of aging.
    • Correlation between sex and violence.
  • Romance and Realism: Clash between Blanche's romantic illusions and the harsh reality of the modern world.
    • Use of symbols like the paper lantern to mask reality.
    • Blanche's preference for magic over realism.
  • Old South vs. New America: Conflict between Blanche's Old South ideals and Stanley's representation of the new, multi-cultural America.
    • Hypocrisy of Southern romantic ideals vs. the vulgarity of the modern world.

Dramatic Methods

  • Staging and Set Design: Blending realistic elements with an expressionistic style.
    • Confined apartment in a poor area of New Orleans.
    • Transparent walls emphasizing the encroachment of the public world.
  • Costumes and Appearance: Signify character traits and illusions.
    • Blanche's white suit symbolizes purity.
    • Stanley's denim work-clothes reflect his working-class status.
  • Lighting: Symbolic use of lighting to suggest mental states and themes.
    • Blanche avoids strong light, preferring soft, romantic hues.
    • Light symbolizes truth and exposure.
  • Props: Characterization and visualizing concerns.
    • Drinks: Blanche’s coke symbolizes delusions of grandeur, Stanley’s drinking exacerbates violence.
    • Paper Lantern: Blanche's avoidance of harsh reality.
  • Music and Sound Effects: Establishing tone, atmosphere, and connection to characters.
    • Blues piano captures the spirit of New Orleans.
    • Varsouviana polka represents Blanche's guilty memories.
  • Structure: Eleven consecutive scenes heighten dramatic tension, progressing towards a climactic confrontation.

Language and Dialogue

  • Highlighting differences between characters through their speech.
  • Blanche's poetic language vs. Stanley's straightforward, colloquial speech.
  • Imagery of death and animals to enhance understanding of themes and characters.
    • Stanley described with animalistic imagery reflecting his dominance and instinct.

Contexts

  • Biographical Context: Williams' personal life reflected in the play.
    • Characters based on his family members and their struggles with mental health.
    • Setting drawn from his experiences in New Orleans.
  • Historical Context: Social tensions in America following WWII.
    • Decline of the Old South and rise of a modern capitalist power.
    • Exploration of cultural changes and the role/position of women in the 1940s.
  • Literary Context: Modern tragedy with influences from social realism and expressionism.

Argument and Interpretation (AO5)

  • Focus on forming own opinion, supported by textual evidence and contextual understanding.
  • Consider gender roles, the Old South, views of women post-war, impact of dependency on men.