I. Environmental Facts:
1. Geographical
· Set in New Orleans
· Exterior of a corner building on a street called "Elysian Fields"
*Elysian Fields-ancient Greek version of the afterlife; heaven.
between the river and the train tracks in a poor section of New Orleans with "raffish [crude] charm
· House #632
· Steve and Eunice live upstairs
Stanley and Stella live downstairs
· There are two rooms (kitchen and bedroom) and a bathroom.
· There is a bar within earshot
· bowling alley down the street
2. Date
· Sc. I: Early May evening
· Sc. II: 6:00 the evening after Scene 1.
- Sc. III: Early morning: 2:30
- Sc. IV: Later that morning
- Sc. VI: 2 AM the same evening as Scene 5.
· Sc. VII: Late afternoon in mid-September .
· Sc. IIIV: 45 minutes after Scene 7.
· Sc. IX: "A while later that evening."
· Sc. X: "A few hours later that night."
· Sc. XI: Weeks later after Scene 10.
3. Economic
· Shabby, faded, everything is falling apart
- Blanche DuBois: dressed in a white suit appropriate for an upper-crust social event
- Blanche is broke after losing Belle Reve
· Stanley and Mitch are in denim "work clothes"
· Blanche is shocked that Stella has no maid
· Stanley controls the household finances (Stella does not receive a "regular allowance"; possible that this is the norm?).
· Coming off the heels of WWII, Great Depression, etc
4. Political
· Stanley's adherence to the Napoleonic Code and the ideals of Huey Long
· Technical Revolution and the rise of the working class are in full swing.
· The script was published in 1946, which was just after the conclusion of World War II and during the Technological Revolution (second Industrial Revolution). Americans idealized the middle/lower class men who served in the war. The characteristics which make a great soldier (strong, savage, detached) became accepted within the home and family. Also, Americans' attitudes towards the upper class was unfavorable. Following the Great Depression, after a period of high unemployment rates, many Americans disliked the affluent who were unaffected.
· Stanley represents the working class. He is a decorated soldier. His behavior is acceptable, even when he is violent. In contrast, Blanche cannot catch a break. Blanche's old southern values have been replaced by the values of the Technological Revolution.
5. Social
· Stanley treats Stella badly: yells at her
· Blanche DuBois: dressed in a white suit appropriate for an upper-crust social event
· Blanche and Stella are originally from Laurel, Mississippi
· Blanche is a school teacher
· Stella is pregnant
· Stanley and Mitch are 28-30 years old, and in denim "work clothes"
· Stella looks 25 and has "a background obviously quite different from her husband's" (4)
· Stella, Eunice and Blanche are white
· Blanche is around 5 years older than Stella. They are sisters.
· Stanley is Polish, and a Master Sergeant in the Engineers Corps
· Blanche has an acquaintance named Shep Huntleigh, who she dated in college. Shep has become fairly wealthy through the oil business. Social
· Stanley controls the household finances (Stella does not receive a "regular allowance"; possible that this is the norm?).
· Stanley is a Capricorn.
· Blanche (claims she) is a Virgo.
· Blanche can speak at least a few phrases of French; Mitch cannot
· Blanche has "old-fashioned ideals."
· Mitch's mother worries that he will not marry before she dies
· Stanley and Mitch work at the same plant and play on the same bowling team
6. Religious
· Blanche references God and being made in His image; implies that she is a Christian.
· Stanley's adherence to the Napoleonic Code and the ideals of Huey Long
· Coming off the heels of WWII, Great Depression, etc
· Blanche seems to put some sort of stock in astrology.
· Blanche believes in the power of self-deception to shape subjective reality.
· Blanche claims that "deliberate cruelty is not forgivable."
· The characteristics which make a great soldier (strong, savage, detached) were valued at this time.
II. Previous Action:
· Blanche lost Belle Reve estate after the deaths of her and Stella's remaining relatives. It was lost on a foreclosed mortgage.
· She has taken a leave of absence from teaching "for her nerves" but later it is discovered it was because she slept with a 17 year old student.
· Stella is pregnant.
· Blanche was married before to a man named Allan, but after she discovered he was homosexual, he committed suicide.
· Steve has been engaging in behavior giving Eunice cause to suspect him of infidelity
· Mitch and Stanley served together in the "Two-forty-first."
· Blanche was kicked out of The Flamingo Hotel for her promiscuous behavior, and ruined her reputation in Laurel.
III. Polar attitudes of main characters:
Blanche:
Starts the play with a superior ability to ignore the aspects of her reality she does not like, by masking herself in a web of lies. By the end of the play, the web has untangled, and she falls into insanity to avoid acknowledging the stress of her past behavior.
1. How do I (the character) feel about my world?
a. The world is for the socially elite. As long as one has some semblance of dignity and one can truly maintain your reputation, the world will be fine. Social class is of utmost importance, along with every aspect of class. The money, appearance, and knowledge of the upper classes should not be ignored and I must make sure that I can continue my reputation as a lady; I know that everyone will respect me and take care of me. At this point in my life I don't exactly know where I can turn; my family connections are dead or in poverty and my estate is ruined. I have had my weak moments in the past, but I know that I am still a woman to be respected and treated daintily and nothing can change that.
2. How do I feel about my relationships?
a. As far as men are concerned, they should pay attention to me and provide for me simply because of who I am and where I came from. I love Stella and I only want the best for her, but I'm still angry that she left Belle Reve. Stanley is low class and Stella deserves better. Even so, I want to know what makes him tick. Mitch is sweet, but will never be any more than just a friend. He lacks the true qualities of a gentleman. Shep Huntleigh, on the other hand, is everything that I ever dreamed that he would be, and if I can make sure that he is my husband, then we can live the perfect life together.
3. How do I feel about myself?
a. I am sweet and sensitive and I always want to put my best foot forward. I can only hope that people feel the same about me, and I hope that my social standing will remain constant throughout the rest of my life.
4. How do I feel about my prospects?
a. At this point, prospects do not look so promising. My husband has committed suicide and I must now live with my freshly impoverished sister. As soon as I can find a husband who can provide for me I will be able to live the rest of my life comfortably.
| Naïve-If you appear to be innocent and naïve, no one will question you. | Untrue-Living in lies will end your reputation. |
| Innocent: Women should not give in to their desires. | Guilty: Once women have given in to their desires, the attempts to cover them up will be futile. |
| Hopeful: It is still possible to live in the past. | Desperate: Once you have crossed certain boundaries, there is no going back. |
| Beautiful-The art of being a southern belle will bring me a future. | Ashamed and Disheveled- Southern gentility is dead. |
Stella:
Stella begins the play hoping to help her sister, and ends the play having given up on her. She also has fluctuations with her relationship with Stanley: She seems relatively content at the beginning of the play, attempts to leave him in the middle for a brief period, returns to him, and ends the play purposefully ignoring his rotten behavior so that she can attempt to be happy with him.
1. How do I (the character) feel about my world?
a. I used to live in the Laurel, Mississippi on a grand estate, but now I essentially live in the slums of New Orleans. I know this life isn't what was supposed to happen to me, but I don't mind it at all. I'm madly in love with Stanley and I know, no matter what he does, that he loves me back. It annoys me that Blanche feels that she can judge my life based on what she thinks I should be. I am perfectly fine where I am.
2. How do I feel about my relationships?
a. Stanley is the most important person in my life. I don't like being out of his presence for a second and I feel horrible when he's not with me. Blanche is my sister and of course I love her, but she needs to figure out what's going on in her life and not judge me.
3. How do I feel about myself?
a. I feel like I'm doing all right with my life as of right now. I couldn't move away from here even if I needed to. I love Stanley and I need to be with him and I'm carrying his child, so there's no way that I could leave this alone.
4. How do I feel about my prospects?
a. Stanley is going places. He knows that he's going to be somebody important and I believe him wholeheartedly. I'll be there for him when he becomes successful.
| Imagination-Living the dream is possible. | Determination- Reality is difficult but you must learn to live with it. |
| Floating-Devotion is given to the person who loves me the most. | Loyalty-I must support everything that Stanley stands for. |
Stanley:
Stanley does not change much throughout the play. He is violent and head strong at the beginning, and violent and headstrong at the end.
1. How do I (the character) feel about my world?
a. I have the ambition and drive to go where nobody else can go. I may seem crude to some people, but they just don't understand me. I've always been lucky and I know that that will make me successful later on in life. I live in the now, I never think in the future and I don't let events in the past bother me.
2. How do I feel about my relationships?
a. Stella is the only thing I care about. I'm going to do whatever it takes to take care of her, but sometimes she doesn't understand that I'm in charge and I have to remind her. Sometimes I get a little out of control, but it's what I'm supposed to do. I don't trust Blanche and I think that she's trying to cut Stella out of the Belle Reve money. She's a drunk and a liar and I'm going to figure out what's happening behind her Southern Belle mask.
3. How do I feel about myself?
a. I'm pretty proud with what I've been able to accomplish and I know that there's something special and unique about me.
4. How do I feel about my prospects?
a. The future is bright for me. I know what I want and I know how to get it, and there's never anything that stands in my way. I know that I'll eventually end up on top no matter what.
| Determined -If you know what you love then you'll be able to get it in the end | Unmotivated-Social class has nothing to do with internal class: money is not important. |
| Passionate-The love between a man and a woman will never die. | Brutish-Sex is nothing more than an animalistic urge. |
Mitch:
At the start of the play, Mitch is very polite and respectful to Blanche, believing her to be a pure woman. By the end of the play, he has become disrespectful after learning of her past, but also depressed at her mental state
IV. Significance of the Facts in the Total Meaning of the Play: