Notes and Some Key Quotes on "A Streetcar Named Desire."

"A Streetcar Named Desire" - Tennessee Williams

A Streetcar Named Desire was written by Tennessee Williams (Thomas Lanier Williams) and, although it is not an autobiography, Williams incorporates many aspects and experiences from his own life and this works at heightening the realism of both his play and his key intentions. It is widely known as a play of compassion.

Tennessee Williams' immediate family consisted of:

1.            Cornelius Coffin Williams (Father): Alcoholic, violent, homophobic

2.            Edwina Dakin (Mother): Daughter of an Episcopal minister, ended her life in a mental home

3.            Rose (Born in 1907) (Sister): Withdrew into madness, lobotomized in 1937

4.            (Walter) Dakin (Born in 1919) (Brother): N/A

Throughout the play Williams portrays his interest in the nature of both desire and madness as well as the common 20th Century attitudes towards sexuality (in particular a woman's sexuality). 

An important quote from Tennessee Williams would be: 'the life of a young writer was going to be something similar to the defence of the stockade against a band of angry savages' which is a description reminiscent of Blanche's battles with Stanley. 

In many ways '[the] battle between humanity and the corrupting effect of security' is an important theme throughout the play. 

After the first showing of Streetcar in England in 1949 the play was popularly thought of as 'sexually permissive in the extreme' however people quickly came to view it as 'a work of great humanity and technical brilliance'. 

Setting:

The time in which the play is set is the middle of the 20th Century amid the old French Quarter of New Orleans where the population was extremely diverse and representative of the evolving 'New America'. 

Characters:

His character of Stanley is disrespectful and brutal and, some may say, the epitome of cruelty and savagery within the play. He is representative of the 'New America' which was evolving at this point in time and which creates the context for this play. It is likely that Williams drew on his experiences with his father to create this character as many parallels can be drawn between them, (such as the predominant alcoholism and violence which govern his manner of living).

Whilst his father was a violent alcoholic, Williams' mother was of a different mind-set, so different in fact that she 'felt she had an aristocratic pedigree which was ill-suited to the life her husband [...] forced her to live'. This appears to be the aspect of reality which aided him with his creation of the character of Blanche DuBois. After the family's move to St Louis the family were separated from Edwina's genteel background which caused her to lose 'belief in everything but loss' and withdraw into 'dreams of lost Southern gentility'. This perfectly sums up the changes going on within Blanche throughout the play. She is unable to accept the "bliss of the commonplace". 
Eunice and Steve represent the future of Stella and Stanley's relationship.

Key quotes:

Scene One:

1.                   Stella: '"Can I come watch?"' - She has to ask Stanley's permission to observe his bowling game. This implies the structure of their relationship. 

2.                   Stage directions: (Blanche's description): 'She is daintily dressed in a white suit' - This immediately portrays how Blanche is out of place in this setting and how she is set apart from the characters which are yet to be introduced.

3.                   Stage directions: (Blanche's description): 'delicate beauty' - The use of the word 'delicate' foreshadows the revelations surrounding Blanche's mental state as well as depicting her fragile image. (She is also seen as a relic of the 'Old South'). 

4.                   Blanche: (On Stella): 'Mrs. Stanley Kowalski.' - This shows how a woman's identity fully merges with that of her husband when they enter into matrimony and therefore also portrays the gender inequalities of the time. 

5.                   Stage directions: (Blanche's actions): 'She carefully replaces the bottle and washes out the tumbler' - This shows that Blanche is a secret alcoholic and so this can be taken into consideration in future scenes. 

6.                   Blanche: 'I know you must have some liquor in the place.' - Though she has just had a drink she is very keen to have another. She is nervous and dependent on alcohol.

7.                   Blanche: 'Only Mr Edgar Allan Poe!' - Blanche insinuates that Stella is living in a horror story. 

8.                   Stella: 'A different species.' - This immediately sets Stanley apart from the Southern gentility Stella and Blanche were used to and so the audience gets the impression that he is going to clash with Blanche and her high standards. 

9.                   Mitch: 'My Mother's still sick.' - Right away Mitch is associated with women and femininity as well as gentleness. 

10.                Stanley: 'Some people rarely touch it, but it touches them often.' - He sees through Blanche's facade straight away and this foreshadows their future conflicts. 

Scene Two: 

1.                   Stanley: 'I don't care if she hears me. Let's see the papers!' - Stanley is getting irate about the property loss as, due to his marriage with Stella, he sees it as his property which has been loss. This is a fierce exploration of gender roles during the time in which the play is set. 

2.                   (The argument between Blanche and Stanley over the 'legal papers' regarding the loss of Belle Reve is symbolic of the conflict between the Old South and the New America and how the New America is taking over).

Scene Three:  

1.                   Stanley: 'Nobody's going to get up, so don't be worried.' - The complete dominance Stanley has over Stella and Blanche is shown here. Southern hospitality has been lost in time and things are moving on but Blanche is struggling to understand that the world she one knew is gone. This does not aid her mental state. 

2.                   Blanche: 'Is he married?' - She is 'checking out' Mitch to see if he is a suitable person for her, (she is seeking comfort, trust and love throughout the play). 

3.                   Blanche: 'Like and Orchard in spring.' - Blanche is trying to assert her innocence, youth, beauty and 'freshness'. 

4.                   Blanche: 'Put it over the light bulb.' - This is symbolic of Blanche desperately trying to put a mask over the truth and present herself (and her situation) as something she (it) is not. 

5.                   Stage directions: 'He nearly throws them off.' - At this point in the play Stanley if like a rampant bull. His masculinity and ferocity is heightened in order to fully reveal his true nature (violent). 

6.                   Eunice: 'turn the fire hose on you, same as the last time!' - This shows that Stanley's violent bouts aren't irregular and so this creates sympathy within the audience for Stella and the life her baby will be born into. 

7.                   Stanley: '(with heaven-splitting violence) STELL-LAHHHHHH!' - Stanley's desperation and vulnerability is shown alongside his ferocity and it presents a heady contrast. 

8.                   Stage direction: 'Her eyes are glistening with tears and her hair loose about her throat and shoulders.' - This shows the core of their relationship is desire and it depicts the sexual power which Stella controls. 

9.                   Blanche: 'Thank you for being so kind! I need kindness now.' - Mitch represents safety, kindness and security and the relationship which Mitch represents is a contrast to Stella and Stanley's relationship. 

Scene Four: 

1.                   Stella: 'when men are drinking and playing poker anything can happen. It's always a powder-keg.' - Masculine area of activity which does not mix with women. 

2.                   Stella: 'I'm not in anything I want to get out of.' - This fully portrays the magnetism which Stella and Stanley find within each other. 

3.                   Stella: 'But there are things that happen between a man and a woman in the dark - that sort of make everything else seem - unimportant.' - Depicts the brutal desire of Stella and Stanley's relationship. Blanche is a woman who reserves the right to have her own sexual life. 

Scene Five: 

1.                   Stanley: 'this somebody named Shaw is under the impression he met you in Laurel (...) someone he met at a hotel called the Flamingo.' - Stanley is being deliberately aggressive toward Blanche here and is using his words to 'stab' at her and provoke her. 

2.                   Blanche: 'men don't - don't even admit your existence unless they are making love to you.' - Blanche believes her only source of power to be her sexuality and, whilst this is in a way true, she doesn't feel as though she should have to answer to anyone about her previous 'adventures' with the opposite sex (this was an advanced idea for the time). 

Scene Six: 

1.                   Mitch: 'I am ashamed of the way I perspire. My shirt is sticking to me.' - This contrasts with the view of Stanley - Mitch isn't nearly as attractive or desirable for Blanche but he represents safety.

2.                   Blanche: 'You're a natural gentleman, one of the very few that are left in the world.' - This depicts Mitch as set apart from Stanley and the rest of the macho men., She perceives him to be  something different. However later on in the play we realise that due to the fact that Mitch is a product of his time he cannot pull away from typical attitudes toward sexuality. 

3.                   Mitch: 'She wants me to be settled down before she -' - This is tantamount to a proposal and Blanche is very interested in the idea. 

4.                   Blanche: 'Sometimes - there's God - so quickly!' - At 16 Blanche was a product of her time and did not realise that the attitudes created by society could condemn a person to death. She was brought close to happiness and safety and blames herself for the young mans death. 

Scene Seven:

1.                   [In this scene there is a huge focus on Stanley and the spiteful way in which he tries to get Stella to believe what he is saying about Blanche. The way he voices his 'findings' reveals his malicious contempt.]

2.                   Stanley: 'Well he's not going to marry her. (...) he's not going to jump into a tank with a school of sharks - now!' - Stanley is pleased that he has brought the relationship between Blanche and Mitch to an end. In a twisted way he sees it as his responsibility as Blanche has emasculated him and he needs to assert himself. 

Scene Eight: 

1.                   Stage direction: 'There is a fourth place at the table which is let vacant.' - This emphasizes the revelations Stanley made to Stella (and Mitch) and causes speculation as to what Mitch will do. 

2.                   Blanche: 'And the only way to hush the parrot was to put the cover back on its cage.' - This shows that there is no way to conceal the truth which has now been dragged into the open. 

3.                   Stella: 'looking at the girl's face and the empty chair.' - This presents a haunting scene to the audience. 

Scene Nine:

1.                   N/A

Scene Ten:

1.                   N/A

Scene Eleven: {KEY SCENE}

1.                   Descriptions: N/A - The Doctor and the Matron have a gender reversal balance between them. 

2.                   Stanley: 'You left nothing here but spilt talcum and old empty perfume bottles.' - Stanley suggests that she never had the opportunity to make an impact on Stella's life and the 'spilt talcum and old empty perfume bottles' appear to represent the chaos of her mind and how all her femininity has been taken from her. 

3.                   Eunice: 'Stay with me and don't look.' - This reveals her pragmatism. Blanche is a sacrifice for Stella's future with her child. (Contextual point of how society would turn a blind eye to victims in favour of their own survival).

4.                   {The whole interaction between Blanche/the Matron/the Doctor is key to understanding the play as a whole}. 

5.                   Blanche: 'Whoever you are - I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.' - Family and friends mean nothing to Blanche in her world as she has become accustomed to them letting her down. 

6.                   Stage direction: 'places the child in her arms.' - This is a changing point in the play as Blanche has left and didn't look back to Stella. It was the ultimate betrayal from Stella however the baby cemented her choice. This action reminds her of what she got instead and when she accepts the baby from Eunice she accepts her future. 

7.                   Stage direction: 'his fingers find the opening of her blouse.' - Desire is the only driving force in Stella and Stanley's relationship and this, along with the baby, appear to be the only reasons she stays with him. This brings the play as a whole together and links Williams' comments on sexuality and desire.