A Streetcar Named Desire Scene 3
- Created by: sheercaan
- Created on: 07-01-15 16:15
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- A Streetcar Named Desire
- Blanche
- We learn a lot about Blanche in this scene
- Her Vanity makes her lie about Stella's age
- Her inability to deal with reality makes her claim that she has come to help out because Stella has not been well
- None of her lies are malicious
- She tells lies in order to protect herself from reality and the tragedies she has to endure
- Her seductive posturing half undressed in the gap in the curtains appears instinctive when men are around
- This highlights the contradictions in her character : the genteel Southern lady who expects men to stand up when she comes in and who cannot bear a rude remark or vulgar action and the cheap seductress
- Blanche buying the lantern both literally and metaphorically light threatens to reveal Blanche’s lies
- Blanche’s purchase of the Chinese lantern to put over the light bulb is again symbolic of her inability to face reality.
- Blanche’s determination to take Stella away from Stanley is not forgiven or forgotten by Stanley and makes him all the more determined to be rid of his unwanted visitor
- Stanley
- Stanley’s loud and domineering behaviour during the poker game as well as his loud shirts emphasise his manliness
- Stanley throwing down the watermelon emphasises his disregard both for the house and for Stella. It foreshadows the radio incident and hints at his capacity for violence
- Stanley’s drinking symbolises destructive behaviour as he commits domestic violence
- His shower symbolises his attempts to wash away his sins i.e. hitting Stella
- Stanley and Stella
- Stella and Stanley’s reunion conveys the extent of their desire for each other. Stella’s desire for Stanley is so great that she is prepared to forgive him anything
- Their “animal-like” moans when they embrace on the front steps illustrates their animal-like passion for each other
- There is a sense of King Kong in Stanley picking up Stella and carrying her away. This reminds us of his primitive/ape like qualities
- Stella choosing Stanley foreshadows the outcome of the play. She has decided whose side she is on
- Blanche and Mitch
- Mitch is the complete opposite of Stanley. He is kind, understanding, sympathetic and shy
- Blanche’s conversation with Mitch at the end of the scene emphasises the class differences between them and highlights the efforts he is making to overcome them
- The description of their dancing symbolises that ultimately they are ill-suited to each other – “Mitch dances clumsily, mimicking Blanche’s grand movements”
- Stagecraft
- The harsh, jarring discordant piano sounds highlight the harshness of what is happening on stage – Stanley’s violence
- Blanche
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