Social Order
Social order is portrayed as a conflict b/w Old South and New South to communicate decline of
aristocracy and rise of working-class in 1940s America
TW uses expressionistic descriptions to depict New Orleans in opening scene
‘Cosmopolitan city where there is a relatively warm and easy intermingling of races in the old part of town’
Play is set within French Quarter of New Orleans which had been ceded by French to Spanish from 1763 to
1803 before being sold to Americans in same year therefore creating multicultural backdrop which contrasts
Old South
‘Blue Piano expresses the spirit of the life which goes on in here’
Expressionist use of music alludes to dixieland jazz that developed in New Orleans to further liberal portrayal
and cultural divide w/ conservative Old South
TW uses costumes to reflect character in opening scene
Blanche is ‘daintily dressed in a white suit as if she were arriving at a cocktail party’
and her ‘appearance is incongruous to the setting’
‘It’s a French name. It means woods and Blanche means white. So the two together mean white woods.’
Blanche’s identification w/ non-urban, solitary environment is juxtaposed w/ New Orleans' description as a
'cosmopolitan city' to highlight her lack of assimilation to New South
Costumes reveal Blanche’s attachment to antiquated Southern Belle (stock character who was innocent,
decorous and demure)
Stanley Kowalski and Mitch are ‘dressed in blue denim work clothes’
Primary colours used as uniform of working class men present New South as dominant culture whilst
Blanche’s subdued outfit conveys the simultaneous decline of the Old South
TW proposed ‘The Primary Colours’ as a title for the play highlighting its significance as a vehicle to portray
contemporary social class changes in mid-20th century America
‘The Kowalskis and the DuBois have different notions’
Shows arrival of Blanche disrupts equilibrium of Stella and Stanley reflecting post-war American cultural
tensions b/w Old South and rapidly modernising, industrial New South
Conflict b/w classes, intensified by claustrophobic setting of two-room flat, establishes play as social realist
drama
‘The poker players…are men at the peak of their physical manhood, as coarse and direct and powerful as the
primary colours’
Primary colours, which Stanley ‘still has on’ prior to raping Blanche, reinforce his characterisation as primal
Tenessee Williams incorporates expressionistic oil painting in ‘The Poker Night’ alongside realism of male
dominance to intensify Blanche’s subjection in male hegemony
Scene 3 'Poker Night' was considered title of play highlighting TW intent for play to offer critique on raw
masculinity of New South
,Social order is focussed on sexual desire to criticise a society that forces women to appeal to men’s
desires as a survival strategy
Steve and Eunice’s marriage illuminates that of Stanley’s and Stella's
‘Steve's arm is around Eunice's shoulder and she is sobbing luxuriously and he is cooing love-words. There is
a murmur of thunder as they go slowly upstairs in a tight embrace’
Steve and Eunice become precursors to dysfunctional relationship in New South where violence is followed by
passion (which is symbolised by thunder)
‘Stella slips down the rickety stairs in her robe…they come together with low, animal moans’
Stella’s response to Stanley’s domestic violence mirrors Eunice’s response to Steve’s domestic violence
showing their acquiescence to male desire as a survival strategy
Stella is driven towards eros (Freudian symbol for life) as she acknowledges her sexual and economic
dependence on Stanley, reflecting contemporary attitudes to marriage
‘Carries a red-stained package from a butcher’s’
Expressionsitic device conveys Stanley’s eroticism and primal behaviour, foreshadowing rape of Blanche
Stanley derived from old English for 'Stan' meaning stoney and 'Lea' meaning meadow which denotes his
strength and virility, exemplified during Poker Night as he is his ‘bellowing for his wife’
‘Stella for Star! How lovely to have a baby!’
Symbolises hope for Stella and bright future b/c of drive to life, contrasting trajectory of Blanche
Baby being wrapped in ‘a pale blue blanket’ in Scene 11 indicates he was a boy and illustrates necessity for
Stella to embrace patriarchal norms to secure her future
‘Gaudy seed-bearer’
Conveys Stanley’s overt sexual drive and virility, as embodiment of eros and inheritor of New South
‘He was as good as a lamb’
Stella’s simile in Scene 4 ironically portrays Stanley as innocent and gentle following his violence towards her
during the Poker Night, showing she overlooks his flaws due to her desire to survive
Sibilance conveys Stella’s silent acceptance and willingness to accommodate Stanley’s volatility b/c she is
driven by eros
Contrasts Blanche’s astrological reference to Stanley as ‘Capricorn the goat’ conveying his unbridled lust and
highlighting their different responses to male hegemony
TW normalises sensuality and domestic violence in New South which may have strong biographical influences
as he was born to an alcoholic, womanising father
‘There is such a thing in this state of Louisiana as the Napoleonic code, according to which whatever belongs
to my wife is also mine - and vice versa’
Interrogative statements evidence Stanley’s desire for control which leads to Stella’s economic dependency
(similar to women in 1940s post-war America)
‘Every Man is a King! And I am the king around here.’
Parallelism in exclamatory and declarative statement highlights Stanley’s authority, reflecting patriarchal
framework in which he operates
Allusion to Huey Long’s book ‘Every Man a King’ reinforces Stanley’s authoritative characterisation:
Long used aggressive tactics in political domain and established rapport w/ working class through his 1934
Share our Wealth programme akin to Stanley, being aggressive in domestic domain and member of working
class who pursues American Dream
‘I don’t listen to you when you are being morbid’
Stella’s short sentences, contrasting Blanche’s emotional outpour in Scene 5, evidence her simple detachment
from her Old South ‘upbringing’; her identity becomes shaped by social forces rather than her ancestry
‘You done the right thing, the only thing you could do. She couldn't stay here; there wasn't no other place for
her to go.’
Provides ironic coda as Stella accepts Stanley raping his sister as it secures her surival in New South
, Play's concern w/ human adaptation shows empathy is subordinate to instinct for survival thereby
communicating economic dependency and social subordination of women in 1940s post-war America which
necessitated submission to male hegemony
Similar to Stella, TW rued inability to support his sister Rose who underwent a lobotomy; perhaps he is therefore
critiquing the silencing of those who do not conform to social order
Social order is portrayed as a conflict b/w Old South and New South to communicate decline of
aristocracy and rise of working-class in 1940s America
TW uses expressionistic descriptions to depict New Orleans in opening scene
‘Cosmopolitan city where there is a relatively warm and easy intermingling of races in the old part of town’
Play is set within French Quarter of New Orleans which had been ceded by French to Spanish from 1763 to
1803 before being sold to Americans in same year therefore creating multicultural backdrop which contrasts
Old South
‘Blue Piano expresses the spirit of the life which goes on in here’
Expressionist use of music alludes to dixieland jazz that developed in New Orleans to further liberal portrayal
and cultural divide w/ conservative Old South
TW uses costumes to reflect character in opening scene
Blanche is ‘daintily dressed in a white suit as if she were arriving at a cocktail party’
and her ‘appearance is incongruous to the setting’
‘It’s a French name. It means woods and Blanche means white. So the two together mean white woods.’
Blanche’s identification w/ non-urban, solitary environment is juxtaposed w/ New Orleans' description as a
'cosmopolitan city' to highlight her lack of assimilation to New South
Costumes reveal Blanche’s attachment to antiquated Southern Belle (stock character who was innocent,
decorous and demure)
Stanley Kowalski and Mitch are ‘dressed in blue denim work clothes’
Primary colours used as uniform of working class men present New South as dominant culture whilst
Blanche’s subdued outfit conveys the simultaneous decline of the Old South
TW proposed ‘The Primary Colours’ as a title for the play highlighting its significance as a vehicle to portray
contemporary social class changes in mid-20th century America
‘The Kowalskis and the DuBois have different notions’
Shows arrival of Blanche disrupts equilibrium of Stella and Stanley reflecting post-war American cultural
tensions b/w Old South and rapidly modernising, industrial New South
Conflict b/w classes, intensified by claustrophobic setting of two-room flat, establishes play as social realist
drama
‘The poker players…are men at the peak of their physical manhood, as coarse and direct and powerful as the
primary colours’
Primary colours, which Stanley ‘still has on’ prior to raping Blanche, reinforce his characterisation as primal
Tenessee Williams incorporates expressionistic oil painting in ‘The Poker Night’ alongside realism of male
dominance to intensify Blanche’s subjection in male hegemony
Scene 3 'Poker Night' was considered title of play highlighting TW intent for play to offer critique on raw
masculinity of New South
,Social order is focussed on sexual desire to criticise a society that forces women to appeal to men’s
desires as a survival strategy
Steve and Eunice’s marriage illuminates that of Stanley’s and Stella's
‘Steve's arm is around Eunice's shoulder and she is sobbing luxuriously and he is cooing love-words. There is
a murmur of thunder as they go slowly upstairs in a tight embrace’
Steve and Eunice become precursors to dysfunctional relationship in New South where violence is followed by
passion (which is symbolised by thunder)
‘Stella slips down the rickety stairs in her robe…they come together with low, animal moans’
Stella’s response to Stanley’s domestic violence mirrors Eunice’s response to Steve’s domestic violence
showing their acquiescence to male desire as a survival strategy
Stella is driven towards eros (Freudian symbol for life) as she acknowledges her sexual and economic
dependence on Stanley, reflecting contemporary attitudes to marriage
‘Carries a red-stained package from a butcher’s’
Expressionsitic device conveys Stanley’s eroticism and primal behaviour, foreshadowing rape of Blanche
Stanley derived from old English for 'Stan' meaning stoney and 'Lea' meaning meadow which denotes his
strength and virility, exemplified during Poker Night as he is his ‘bellowing for his wife’
‘Stella for Star! How lovely to have a baby!’
Symbolises hope for Stella and bright future b/c of drive to life, contrasting trajectory of Blanche
Baby being wrapped in ‘a pale blue blanket’ in Scene 11 indicates he was a boy and illustrates necessity for
Stella to embrace patriarchal norms to secure her future
‘Gaudy seed-bearer’
Conveys Stanley’s overt sexual drive and virility, as embodiment of eros and inheritor of New South
‘He was as good as a lamb’
Stella’s simile in Scene 4 ironically portrays Stanley as innocent and gentle following his violence towards her
during the Poker Night, showing she overlooks his flaws due to her desire to survive
Sibilance conveys Stella’s silent acceptance and willingness to accommodate Stanley’s volatility b/c she is
driven by eros
Contrasts Blanche’s astrological reference to Stanley as ‘Capricorn the goat’ conveying his unbridled lust and
highlighting their different responses to male hegemony
TW normalises sensuality and domestic violence in New South which may have strong biographical influences
as he was born to an alcoholic, womanising father
‘There is such a thing in this state of Louisiana as the Napoleonic code, according to which whatever belongs
to my wife is also mine - and vice versa’
Interrogative statements evidence Stanley’s desire for control which leads to Stella’s economic dependency
(similar to women in 1940s post-war America)
‘Every Man is a King! And I am the king around here.’
Parallelism in exclamatory and declarative statement highlights Stanley’s authority, reflecting patriarchal
framework in which he operates
Allusion to Huey Long’s book ‘Every Man a King’ reinforces Stanley’s authoritative characterisation:
Long used aggressive tactics in political domain and established rapport w/ working class through his 1934
Share our Wealth programme akin to Stanley, being aggressive in domestic domain and member of working
class who pursues American Dream
‘I don’t listen to you when you are being morbid’
Stella’s short sentences, contrasting Blanche’s emotional outpour in Scene 5, evidence her simple detachment
from her Old South ‘upbringing’; her identity becomes shaped by social forces rather than her ancestry
‘You done the right thing, the only thing you could do. She couldn't stay here; there wasn't no other place for
her to go.’
Provides ironic coda as Stella accepts Stanley raping his sister as it secures her surival in New South
, Play's concern w/ human adaptation shows empathy is subordinate to instinct for survival thereby
communicating economic dependency and social subordination of women in 1940s post-war America which
necessitated submission to male hegemony
Similar to Stella, TW rued inability to support his sister Rose who underwent a lobotomy; perhaps he is therefore
critiquing the silencing of those who do not conform to social order
