She lives in his house, eats his food, drinks his liquor, criticizes his life, and so forth, but she is never his. It is an evening in early May in the 1930s. The name of the plantation home was Belle Reve or beautiful dream thus the loss of Belle Reve is correlated with the loss of a beautiful dream that Blanche once possessed. A summary of Scene Ten in Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire. As the scene ends, it is revealed that Blanche was married once, when she was young, but the boy died. could suggest Blanches movements and the things she seems to appreciate. Later that night, Stanley bellows STELL-LAHHHHH! into the night like a wounded beast calling for the return of his mate. Life has got to go on. Williams provides copious stage directions in his plays, and they are both functional and poetic. to start your free trial of SparkNotes Plus. Blanche promises to say no more about it. (For example, aside from Blanche, Chance Wayne in Sweet Bird of Youth and Sebastian in Suddenly, Last Summer are always dressed in white.) Blanche arrives in Scene 1 and reacts to her sister's new home with what? $18.74/subscription + tax, Save 25% tennessee-williams-a-streetcar-named-desire.pdf - Google Docs . Provide an explanation of the multiple ironies of this passage from scene 4, where Blanche lays out her objections to Stanley. Also important is the detailed description of the set. This leads Blanche to tell Stella that Belle Reve, the ancestral home, has been lost. Mitch returns and tells her not to worry because Stella and Stanley are crazy about each other. The hum of voices in the street can be heard, as well as the bluesy notes of a cheap piano playing in a bar around the corner. Stella is perfectly happy with her lot, and doesn't take kindly to Blanche's questions. Discount, Discount Code So I just got in the habit of being quiet. His dismissal of Blanches beauty is therefore significant, because it shows that she does not exude his same brand of carnal desire. If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Blanches nervousness at Eunices questions indicate that she has something to hide in her past and that there is more to her seemingly innocent appearance than meets the eye. Stella is packing Blanche's things. Blanche insists on powdering her face at the door of the house in anticipation of the male company. Blanche becomes visibly agitated during the cross-examination. Stanley proceeds to change his sweaty T-shirt in front of Blanche, offending her modesty. She pours a healthy shot, downs it immediately, replaces the bottle, cleans her tumbler, and returns to her original pose. In bed with your Polack!, I took the blows in my face and my body!, Will Stanley life me, or will I be just a visiting in-law, Stella? Stanley comes in and is apparently irritated. Blanche fibs that she is actually younger than Stella, and that she has come to New Orleans because Stella is ailing and needs her assistance. By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from SparkNotes and verify that you are over the age of 13. He then asks Blanche some pointed questions which end with an inquiry about her earlier marriage. This scene also illustrates Williams' fondness for the use of symbols. She stops short at the entrance to the downstairs flat. Later that evening, Blanche is dressed in an old, faded gown and has a rhinestone tiara on her head. Tennessee Williams and A Streetcar Named Desire Background. 12 of 25. She cannot believe where she has ended up, standing at her sister's rundown New Orleans door step, or determine how she got there, on a pair of streetcars named Desire and Cemeteries. There are things that happen between a man and a woman in the darkthat sort of make everything else seemunimportant. Setting the Scene Blanche uses the streetcar named Desire symbolically, saying that carnal desire is not a way to run a life. "Animal joy in his being is implicit in all his movements." Stanley's animalism almost destroys Blanche's sensibilities even in this first meeting. During the time period in which the play was set, New Orleans was transforming from the old "aristocratic" south to the new "industrialized" south. Chainani, Soman ed. After exchanging a few harsh words with Stanley, Mitch rises from the table to go to thebathroom. The atmosphere of the kitchen is now the same. She has just finished composing a letter to Shep Huntleigh pretending that she has been on a round of teas and cocktail parties. It is around 2:30 a.m. Steve, Pablo, Mitch, and Stanley are playing poker in the Kowalskis kitchen, which is bathed in a sinister green light. They're something like Irish, aren't they? Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. He offers Blanche a drink, but she declines, saying that she rarely drinks. When Stella asserts that its time to stop playing for the night, Stanley refuses her request, tells her to go upstairs to Eunices, and disrespectfully slaps her on the buttocks. Ace your assignments with our guide to A Streetcar Named Desire! Has anyone ever told you that you look like a young Prince out of the Arabian Nights? After calling again to no avail, he hurls the phone to the floor. -Graham S. Below you will find the important quotes in, Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. Free trial is available to new customers only. 7_ Parents, Teachers, and Coaches_ Where do Mindsets Come From_.docx. Where were you! Blanche reacts with faint shock and fear when Stanley brings up Shaw, as Shaw knew her in Laurel, where he met up with her at a hotel called the Flamingo. He tells her that the baby won't come before morning, and the doctors sent him home. A Streetcar Named Desire: Scene 1 Summary & Analysis Next Scene 2 Themes and Colors Key Summary Analysis The play is set in a two-story, white-frame, faded corner building on a street called Elysian Fields, which runs between the train tracks and the river in New Orleans. Free trial is available to new customers only. Blanche denies the accusation, but her fear is evident. Williams romanticizes the neighborhood: even though it is poor, all races and classes are mixed, and the constant music gives everything a slightly dreamy quality. Historical Context Essay: Post-World War II New Orleans, Literary Context Essay: Social Realism in the Play. She surrounds herself in her silks and rhinestones and fantasies of Sheps yacht to maintain the appearance of being an upper-class ingnue, even though she is, by all accounts, a fallen woman. Blanche also calls Stanley a Polack and makes snide remarks about the state of the Kowalski apartment in order to maintain her own sense of external social superiority. Blanche is immediately seen as Stanleys direct opposite: fluttering, insubstantial, and pale rather than a robust, muscular specimen. Oh, I spy, I spy! Almost immediately, Blanche appears trying to find a certain street number. 20% Previous Since his earliest manhood, the center of his life has been pleasure with women, the giving and taking, Wheres the little woman? and Catch! . Meat!, A gentle young woman, about twenty-five, and of a background obviously quite different from her, He heaves the package at her Stanley throwing raw meat to Stella. Stanleys cocky interactions with Blanche show him to be insensitivehe barely lets Blanche get a word in edgewise as he quickly assesses her beauty. Read more about the use of piano music as a theatrical device. Blanche asserts that the Flamingo is not the sort of place where she would be seen. The outside world regularly penetrates the apartment, with visits from Mitch and Eunice and the occasional poker night. Thus part of the later conflict is that Blanche can never in any sense of the word be his. After a clatter and crash of furniture, Eunice runs downstairs, screaming that she is going to call the police. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Central Idea Essay: Is Blanche a Sympathetic Character? Mitch condemns Stanleys behavior to Blanche. a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries, Blanche slowly follows her into the downstairs flat. She cries out as if the lantern was herself. Blanche emerges from Eunices flat, frantically looking for Stella. Yet Stella sides with Stanley and his base instincts, infusing the play with an ominous sense of gloom. Meat. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Stanleys return interrupts Blanches apology. Refine any search. Read more about the unnamed Black womans role. Purchasing His entrance also underscores the intense sexual bond between him and Stella, which is apparent to the other characters as well. A Streetcar Named Desire Tennessee Williams Study Guide Mastery Quizzes PLUS Flashcards PLUS Quick Quizzes Scene One Quiz 1 of 5 Who lives in the apartment above Stella and Stanley? Teachers and parents! He hurls a package of meat up to her and says that he and Mitch are going to meet Steve at the bowling alley. Blanche promises to leave before Stanley pitches her out, but by now she is shaking so badly that the coke foams and spills on her dress. ], A Streetcar Named Desire - Beauty Is Transitory, A Streetcar Named Desire - Hes Like An Animal, Microphonist Wanderlust byPeteRock & InI, View A Streetcar Named Desire (Scene One) samples. Blanche is trying to keep up appearances in all aspects of her life. For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more! But rather than letting in air and light, these penetrations just force Blanche to retreat deeper and deeper into her fantasy, hiding from the encroaching walls of the apartment. Stanley, the son of Polish immigrants, represents the changing face of America. Her disparaging comments about the mixed social class show Blanche trying to cling to her prior social status. Stella asks if Blanche is interested in Mitch. Note that as soon as Blanche says that she was born under the sign of the virgin, Stanley chooses this moment to ask her about the man named Shaw. You'll also receive an email with the link. Blanche explains that she is nervous because Mitch is coming for her at seven. In bed with your Polack!, Poetic Manner: I took the blows in my face and my body, Her appearance is incongruous to the setting, that of a summer cocktail party, She wears white, symbolizing purity, as well as her name, Blanche is compared to a moth. The Kowalskis live in the downstairs apartment, and Eunice and Steve live upstairs. Almost immediately, Blanche appears trying to find a certain street number. from your Reading List will also remove any We're sorry, SparkNotes Plus isn't available in your country. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light. Refine any search. Why is the mention of Shaw threatening to her? At this point in the drama, the scene with the young boy might seem puzzlingly out of place. Meanwhile, Blanche has been nervously moving through the apartment in anticipation of meeting Stanley. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. Blanche deftly deflects any criticism or questioning from her younger sister, and when certain revelations become necessary (as in the telling of the loss of Belle Reve) Blanche succeeds in spinning them around so that she is breaking the news on her own terms. Loading Williams is overly fond of using Freudian sexual symbols. She is talking to herself when Stanley enters. $24.99 This is the opposite of the delicate and ethereal Blanche. Read an in-depth analysis of Stanley Kowalski. Its loss could signify the end of Blanche's dream life or fantasy.A Streetcar Named DesireTennessee williams' Scene 1KEY SOUND IN THE PLAY Like the woman in the song, Blanche is now a "captive maid," as she has nowhere else to go except Stella and Stanley's apartment. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. The street name is both a literal street in New Orleans and a symbolic resting place. It is some weeks later. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. And when he comes back I cry on his lap like a baby you left! Stella is packing Blanche's things. Mitch carries a large plastic statuette that indicates their date took place at an amusement park. However, whereas Mitchs experiences have engendered in him a strong sincerity, Blanche seeks refuge in make-believe and insincerityinsincerity that is painfully obvious in her remarks about the sincerity of dying people. A Streetcar Named Desire: Scene 11 Summary & Analysis Next Themes Themes and Colors Key Summary Analysis It is several weeks later.