Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Themes and Ideas - Streetcar Named Desire - Coggle Diagram
Themes and Ideas - Streetcar Named Desire
Domestic Abuse
all couples in the play - Stella and Stanley, Eunice and Steve, Blanche and Steve - implies that domestic abuse is common throughout all American households
reflects Williams' upbringing - drunk father who beat mother
main critic: Susan Koprince, discussed domestic abuse in Streetcar- she remarks that domestic violence in households was ignored until the 1970s modern readings finally declare that Stanley is “not just a charming man prone to violence”
Helene Deutsch, a Freudian psychologist, said abused women were masochists – they provoked the abuse and enjoyed it
critics’ views changed over time; at first, no one remarked on it as it was accepted as the norm
Quotes
“[Stanley gives a loud whack of his hand on her thigh.]” “I hate it when he does that in front of people.”
“[Stanley charges after Stella.]”
“[There is the sound of a blow. Stella cries out.]”
Stanley: “My baby doll’s left me!” “[He breaks into sobs]” “I want my baby!” “Stell-ahhhhh!”
Racism
all the ethnic minorities had a lack of identity – as if they don’t contribute to society, despite how all of them had ‘service’ jobs
Blanche shows how, despite the abolishment of slavery, there was still white superiority and a racial difference
Quotes
Blanche - “couldn’t we get a coloured girl to do it?”
poker group makes jokes about an “ole n-word”
Homosexuality and homophobia
Williams was homosexual and ashamed of it – he was called a “sissy”
many psychologists and psychiatrists considered homosexuality a mental illness in 1940s - The American Psychiatric Association listed homosexuality as a sociopathic personality disturbance
the only gay character, Allan Grey, doesn’t appear for long – is more of an omnipresent character and part of someone’s backstory rather than an actual character
J.M. Clum: “invisible homosexuals […] in Williams’ plays […] always die a grotesque death […] as a victim of rejection by those closest to them.”
Christopher Isherwood and others maintain that he hated being a homosexual and could not accept those who came to terms with their sexual orientations
John. S. Bak: “Blanche betrays her loyalty to Allan by exposing his homosexuality, just as Stanley does her promiscuity.”
Quotes
Stella: “this beautiful and talented young man was a degenerate.”
Blanche: “there was something different about the boy,” “unable to stop myself – I’d suddenly said – ‘I know! I know! You disgust me…’”
Sexism & Gender Roles
male dominance and female submission
Stanley feels the needs to dominate over all the characters, including Stella, Blanche and Mitch
dominance and sex is linked for Stanley e.g he establishes dominance over Stella and Blanche via sex
Susan Koprince: “[Stella] is essentially a submissive, self-deprecating wife who tolerates and excuses her husband’s behaviour”
Quotes
Blanche and Stella both depend on men – Blanche depends on “strangers” for “protection”, Stella depends on Stanley financially (“
Blanche reclaims her sexuality yet is condemned for it, while Stanley’s sexual prowess is shown through the phrase “male bird amongst hens” yet due to the fact he is male, there are no repercussions for him – it’s encouraged as an aspect of masculinity
Stanley goes to the extent of raping Blanche, yet there are still no repercussions for him – shows the patriarchal society they lived in, where males can forcefully destroy a female’s sexuality
Sexual Desire
shown using the word “desire” in the title
desire led to the destruction of Blanche
Quotes
“they told me to take a streetcar named Desire, then transfer to one called Cemeteries”
Stella: “Haven’t you ever ridden on that streetcar?” Blanche: “It brought me here. – Where I’m not wanted and where I’m ashamed to be…”
“streetcar named desire” symbolises the journey Blanche goes on based on desire (and death)
death of Allan Grey
->
death of her family members
->
Blanche turned to casual sex with strangers and alcohol for comfort
->
had sex with schoolboy
->
led to Elysian Fields with Stella and Stanley
->
Stanley’s sexual assault
->
admittance to a mental asylum
Mental Illness / Instability / Madness
Quotes
scene one: “I can’t be alone! Because – as you must have notice – I’m not very well…”
Mitch - (“you’re not clean enough”) and attempts to rape her, followed by Stanley going through with the rape
mental deterioration began when Allan Grey committed suicide, then continued during the harrowing deaths at Belle Reve
promiscuity and alcoholism also started, leading her to create her fantasy world
her mind finally gives way when Mitch rejects her
she finally retreats completely into her make-believe world as she is committed into a mental institution
perhaps she sees the Doctor as Shep Huntleigh?