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A Streetcar Named Desire - Themes

DESIRE AND FATE
1. THE STREETCAR - Blanche's journey, first to Desire then to Cemeteries, sums up her life - driven by a sexual passion and finally ending up in the 'living death' of the asylum.
  1. LINK TO CONTEXT - Williams was living in New Orleans in 1946 he mentioned them in an essay 'Their indiscouragable progress up and down Royal Street struck me as having some symbolic bearing of a broad nature on the life in the Vieux Carre - and everywhere else or that matter'
  2. SYMBOLISM OF THE STREETCAR - A streetcar running unswervingly along the rails to its destination could be seen as a symbol of the inescapability of fate. The destination "desire" is symbolic of the destructive power of sexual passion that can bring the end of everything. QUOTE scene 4 Blanche "that rattle-trap streetcar" Stella "haven't you ever ridden on that streetcar" Blanche "it brought me here" (to death)
    1. KEY QUOTES
      1. Stella, scene 4 "but there are things that happen between a man and a woman in the dark - that sort of make everything else seem - unimportant"
      2. Stanley, scene 10 "Come to think of it - maybe you wouldn't be bad to - interfere with"
      3. Blanche, scene 5 "You make my mouth water"
2. PROMISCUITY versus SECURITY - Blanche and Williams equally lived promiscuous lives and both seemed incapable of committing to a permanent relationship. Blanche longs for Mitch to marry her because of the security he offers 'The poor mans Paradise - is a little peace'. Blanches fate is preordained, as stressed through the streetcar image, and her sexual nature, which is presented to us through her encounter with the young man, flirting with Stanley, and reckless impersonation of a French prostitute, tells us that she will never become the contented housewife she hopes to be. Desire drives Stella too, she has abandoned herself and her integrity for her passion for Stanley. The final destination on the ride of her streetcar is not show, except perhaps through Eunice. She chooses sexual passion over loyalty to her sister, but her staying with Stanley represents the domestic security that Blanche can never have.
3. Interconnecting themes
DEATH
1. THE DEATHS AT BELLE REVE - Blanche vividly recalls the deaths of her elderly relations that she witnessed at Belle Reve. She describes how one body was "burned like rubbish" and the "blood stained pillow slips". Blanche goes on to describe her own dreams of being buried "at sea sewn up in a clean white sack" - this shows how her romanticising instinct recoils from the reality of death, however her obsession with it remains (the ultimate way to escape?)
2. DEATH OF BLANCHES HUSBAND - the events of this night play in her mind over and over like a film - signalled by the playing of the Varsouviana Polka which she danced to with him on the night of his death. This is heard by Blanche and the audience however none of the other characters hear it, highlighting how the tragedy has isolated her. The mexiacn seller of flowers for the dead is symbolic of how death is constantly shadowing Blanche. The realism of the earlier scenes is abandoned to give these symbolic figures more prominence.
3. STANLEYS ATTITUDE - Stanley is the embodiment of life and vigour. He is described as being "prodigiously elated" when recalling the high mortality rates at Salerno "I figured that 4 out of % would not come through but I would... and I did" Rather than feeling sadness at the losses, he congratulates himself for surviving, similar to his triumph over Blanche.

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A Streetcar Named Desire - Themes

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	Created by Orphee Hollis over 8 years ago