A Streetcar Named Desire- Theatricality in Stanley

A Streetcar Named Desire- Theatricality in Stanley

1. Costume

   • Scene 1
     • 'roughly dressed in blue denim work clothes'
       • Working class identity
     • 'bowling jacket'
       • Link to gaming e.g. bowling, poker
     • 'removes his shirt'
       • Upon meeting Blanche, he asserts his masculinity and dominance
   • Scene 3
     • 'coloured shirts, solid blues, a purple, a red-and-white check, a light green'
       • Contrast to the white of Blanche's clothing
     • 'wet polka dot drawers'
       • Sexual image
     • 'half-dressed'
   • Scene 4
     • 'an undershirt and grease-stained seersucker pants'
       • Stains= corruption for Blanche
         • Stanley represents the corrupt nature of the New America
   • Scene 8
     • 'ripping off his shirt'
       • Like an ape
         • Asserts his male dominance
     • 'brilliant silk bowling shirt'
       • Represents vitality of New America
   • Scene 10
     • 'vivid green silk bowling shirt'
       • Green is sometimes associated with the military, greed and American money
         • Linked to the industrialisation and New America- perhaps green connotes freshness?
     • 'he unbuttons his shirt'
     • 'he starts removing his shirt'
     • 'silk pyjamas'
       • Linked to his wedding night
         • Reminder of his infidelity to Stella via raping Blanche
     • 'brilliant silk pyjamas' - 'the tasselled sash'
   • He ends most scenes in fewer clothes- dominant manhood
   • Scene 5
     • 'green and scarlet silk bowling shirt'
       • Scarlet linked to sexual desire
   • Evaluative comments
     • 'In the first half of the 19th century, due to the influence of French fashion, crimson was largely replaced with the cheaper amaranth'
       • Amaranth is a flower that was believed to grow on Mount Olympus and never died
         • Link to Elysian Fields- Greek mythology
       • Red represents desire and danger (Stanley) and white represents purity (Blanche)
       • The Polish flag
     • While it is very doubtful that Williams was considering the connotations of the colour amaranth, as a contemporary audience and reader, we may interpret the fact that Stanley's home country, Poland, has a red and white flag, perhaps highlighting the conflict between Blanche and Stanley, as is highlighted in the play

2. Props, symbols and sounds

   • Whiskey
   • Ape/ caveman
     • Lower life form compared to Blanche's aristocracy
   • 'richly feathered male bird'
     • Cockerel with his hens
       • Link to Steve's joke in Scene 3
   • Trumpets and drums from the Four Deuces
   • Cat screeching
     • Stanley toys with Blanche like a cat with a mouse
   • Red-stained package of meat
     • Red= desire/lust
   • Game imagery
     • Poker
     • Bowling
   • Phallic images
     • Beer bottles
     • Locomotive

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