Streetcar Named Desire: Journal

Streetcar named Desire: Journal Entries
Analysis:
In scene three, while Blanche is conversing with Mitch, Blanche mentions her intolerance towards bright light as she is afraid it will expose every detail of her facial impurities. She is ashamed of her age so therefore she tries to conceal it by lying to make herself seem younger than she actually is. This represents her insecurity and self-consciousness. The light in this scene is a symbol of revealing the truth, and the lampshade is what hides it. The bright light reveals a woman who has seen more, suffered more and aged more. The light is also metaphorically used as a threat to reveal Blanche’s past and her true nature.

One of the themes in scene 3 was the Male vs. Female Conflict. Stanley is depicted as a strong dominant masculine force, though after the whole dramatic radio scene, he feels excessive remorse and yells at Stella in expectation of forgiveness. This is example of how Stanley’s character is extreme, varying from violence to regret in just a matter of minutes. Stanley’s behavior is also viewed as animal like, Tennessee Williams may be revealing the more animalistic, immoderate behavior of the working classes which violently swings from one extreme to the other with little notice – we see this repeated again later in the play with Steve and Eunice after their fight. This interpretation is reinforced by Stella’s lack of lines when she comes back to Stanley, suggesting that he remains dominant throughout, as well as the ending of the scene, which sees Stanley carry Stella into the apartment where they will make love. Passionate violence having been transformed into passionate lust by way of passionate regret. Physical love being destructive is revealed with the reunion of Stella and Stanley with, “low animal moans.” It is disturbing that after such horrific violence experienced by Stella, her love is so strong that she comes back to Stanley, illustrating his slightly insane side of physical animalistic love.