A Streetcar Named Desire

Structure & Themes

A Streetcar Named Desire is a set up by contrasts. There are a series of scenes of confrontations between Blanche and Stanley. The first conflict is barely noticable, the last, disasterous until one must be destroyed.

Contrasts: The major contrast is between Blanche and Stanley. It begins with how they grew up. Even their names and the way they sound are opposite. Blanche is aristocratic with a French name. She comes from a world of teas, cocktails and talks on a higher level. She searches for values and wants to keep the traditions of Belle Reve. Kowalski's are loud, aggressive. They come from a world, not of tea, but of cheap beer. They express their desires in crude, simple language and are concerned with physical things and money, not art and values.

Colors are also contrasted between these two characters. Stanley is associated with vivid colors. Coarse, loud primary colors are his style. Blanche, however, selects pastels or white colors that are muted and muffled.

A third contrast is their zodiac signs. Stanley was born minutes after Christmas. He is the antichrist, Capricorn the goat. Ironically, Blanche was born under the sign of the virgin, Virgo.

Truth vs Reality: Stanley is simple, straightforward and honest. He embodies the unembelished truth. Blanche, obviously, typifies the opposite. She "puts a gaily-colored paper lantern" on the harshness of the truth. A woman's charm she say is 50% illusion. Stanley hates the lantern for covering up the truth and deceiving others. Take note of the words to the songs that Blanche sings in the bathroom.

Love: Another theme is the of Love. Stanley is satified by his animal desires. Love to him is a physical act to be enjoyed. To Blanche, love is not physical. What she needs is someone to protect her. Love is a concept that she places on a higher level, a spiritual level.

Light vs. Darkness: Stanley is into the reality of life. He is like a naked light bulb: harsh. He faces the way things are and doesn't delude himself. What Blanche calls "magic", he calls lies. On ther hand, Blanche must soften the light with a flimsy paper lantern. When she saw what reality is like with her husband, it nearly broke her. "There has never been any light that's stronger that this -- kitchen -- candle" in her life since her husband's suicide. She uses the paper lantern to hide the strength of the light. This is the only way she can cope. The songs she sings represent this theme.

Battle of the Apes: Blanche's speech depicts Stanley as an ape. He has subhuman qualities in his speech and his behavior. She describes Mitch as a "bear", women are described as "hens", and Stan and Stella emit "low, animal moans" when they embrace at the footsteps. Notice that it is Stella who comes down to Stanley's level in the "Balcony Scene" reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet. In this play it seems that the animals, the brutes, are winning in the battle for supremacy. Art, music, and literature doesn't stand much of a chance to Stanley and his poker buddies.

Loneliness: This theme looks at what loneliness can do to people. Look at what it's done to Blanche. Bereft after her husband's suicide, she becomes a prostitute to fill her emptiness. She molests a young boy and deludes herself and others that she is charming and sociable. She invents tales about Shep Huntleigh (whether he is real or not, it doesn't matter). Loneliness is what brings Mitch and Blanche together. She is willing to put up with him rather than be a lonely spinster. He, in turn, needs someone to replace his mother.

THE SETTING: It could be at any time period

The entire play is on a single set -- the street Elysian Fields crosses the front of the stage. The apartment house is a shabby two-story structure. It is an extension of life in the city. The audience can see through the walls to see railroad yards, brown skies, water tanks, empty lots, etc. The "blue piano" plays music suggestive of sadness and loss. Indoors and out is not defined. Windows and doors are left open. Stanley and others leave everything out in the open.

Most full-length plays have three to five acts. Streetcar is divided into short scenes (eleven in all) occurring in chronological order from spring to early fall. Acts normally break the action naturally for intermissions. Most intermissions for Streetcar occur after scene four and sometimes a short one after scene six. In scene four this is where Stan has his first major victory over Blanche. This is when Stella chooses Stan over her sister. In scene six Blanche has won Mitch's love. Thus, the first third of the play ends with a defeat for Blanche, the second with a triumph. The last third follows Blanche's decline into permanent defeat to insanity.

The rhythm of the scenes may explain why Williams chose to build the play using several short scenes rather than a few long acts. There is a rhythm of conflict and reconciliation. Stan and Stella fight, them make up. Steve and Eunice fight, then make up. Blanche, as usual, is out of step with the others. She establishes a relationship with Mitch, then he breaks up.

[Synopsis] [Setting & Characters] [Poetic References]

[Essay Topics] [Test] [Study Questions] [Stanley] [Blanche]

[Mitch] [Stella] [Structure & Themes]

[Notes] [Letters to Jessica Tandy]

From Streetcar:"Have these grapes been washed?."

Got questions or comments? Contact Jay Edwards

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