1. Recognising Social Attitudes
Context
Recognising Social Attitudes

2. Learning Objective
Develop ideas about social prejudice, identify them in the play and apply them to better analyse the action of the play.

3. Williams plays on his audience’s social schema and social expectations.
He also creates an understanding in his audience of the social attitudes of is characters through subtle manipulation of dialogue and character expectations.

4. Hegemonic Gender Roles
Society assumes certain gender roles and behaviours in heterosexual relationships. What do you think?
Who makes the most money?
Who is physically stronger?
Whose appearance is more important?
Who is taller?
Who is younger?
Who is more likely to want children?
Who would be more likely to be forgiven for infidelity?
Who is more emotional?
Who is more logical?
Who tells lies?
Who is more violent?
Who looks after the old people in the family?

5. That’s right, it’s all nonsense!
Gender is a social construction. It does not control behaviour but may explain how some behaviours are interpreted differently; tolerated or condemned.

6. Societal Background of Gender Conflict in Elysian Fields
Eunice and Steve’s argument
Steve’s joke at the poker table
In Scene 10 as Blanche grows increasingly anxious and Stanley increasingly menacing, the back wall of the flat becomes transparent so that an audience can see what is happening outside on the street, “A prostitute has rolled a drunkard. He pursues her along the walk, overtakes her and there is a struggle. A policeman’s whistle breaks it up.”
Why did Williams include these in play? What is the significance?

7. Gender Expectations – Stanley’s perspective
STELLA: I'm taking Blanche to Galatoire's for supper and then to a show, because it's your poker night.
STANLEY: How about my supper, huh? I'm not going to no Galatoire's for supper!
STELLA: I put you a cold plate on ice.
STANLEY: Well, isn't that just dandy!
When Stella tells Stanley to come outside, “Since when do you give me orders?”
Stanley’s comments about Eunice

8. Gender Expectations – Stanley’s perspective
In Scene 10, before he attacks her, Stanley tells Blanche, “you and I have had this date from the beginning.”

9. Gender Expectations – Stella’s perspective
“Don’t holler at me like that.” Stella’s first words in S1 suggest the potential for marital conflict but we see that she is generally happy to play a submissive role, “Can I come watch?”
Stella is forgiving of Stanley. She accepts that he is different from the men she grew up with and has different social values
STELLA: You'll get along fine together, if you'll just try not to--well--compare him with men that we went out with at home.
BLANCHE: Is he so--different?
STELLA: Yes. A different species.

10. Gender Expectations – Blanche’s perspective
Blanche to Stanley in S2, “You may enter!”
Blanche thinks she can handle Stanley’s aggression in S2. She tells her sister, “I handled it nicely. I laughed and treated it all as a joke, called him a little boy and laughed – and flirted! Yes – I was flirting with your husband, Stella!”
Blanche calls Mitch her “Rosencaviler”, playing with the idea of medieval courtship.
When Mitch appears in S10, Blanche says, “Why you haven’t even shaved! The unforgivable insult to a Lady!”
“Don’t get up.” Blanche expects men to stand when she enters a room. To Stanley this is ridiculous. The cramped living conditions also make it almost comical. Ironically the men (including Stanley) stand for Blanche when the doctor takes her away.

11. Gender Expectations – Blanche’s perspective
When Mitch comes to see Blanche in Scene 9, he insinuates that he wants to take her to bed but no longer wants to marry her because she isn’t “clean enough”. She screams, “Fire! Fire! Fire!” Why is this tragic?

12. Victims of the Patriarchy
Who are the victims of the patriarchal structure?
To what extent is Mitch a victim of his own prejudice?

13. Representation of Place
Belle Reve is French for “beautiful dream”. Who is living in a dream world? How might this reflect William’s own life?
Blanche represents the South (traditional, romantic, old-fashioned manners and ideals but with a racist and monetary hierarchy), Stanley the North (modern, industrial, fast paced, integrated). These ideals are also largely reflected in the ideas of the old world (Europe) and the new (USA).

14. Immigrants
All of the characters in Streetcar are descended from immigrants. Other than the Native American people, all US citizens are immigrants or descended from immigrants. The idealised great pioneers were immigrants. Why does the prejudice against immigrants persist?
STELLA: Stanley is Polish, you know.
BLANCHE: Oh, yes. They're something like Irish, aren't they?
STELLA: Well--
BLANCHE: Only not so--highbrow?
STANLEY: Don’t ever call me a Polak again!