How far is the play’s ending presented as predictable?
Central conflict mirrors New vs Old South
● Dramatic irony - audience is aware New South ultimately destroys what’s left of the
Old South traditions
● Already alerted to the crumbling facade of the Old South - mismatched genders of
“Belle Reve” and the discordance between the public and private reality of the
romanticised antebellum already preempts idea that B’s image will fall apart
○ “Blood stained pillow slips” - intimate discord with public image of
respectability and status - contrasts with her “furs” and “columns”
● Emphasised by the preempted/fated nature of their conflict: “We’ve had this date with
each other since the beginning” - Stanley’s eventual conquering of her (reminiscent
of war - he’s earned territory) is fated
○ Reinforces trope of survival of the fittest - the animalistic, predatory Stanley is
naturally set to overpower B
Foreshadowing throughout play
● Varsouviana and blues piano mirror clash between nightmarish memory and vibrant
reality that B finds herself in
● Clash suggests she can’t exist in this world because she’s torn between two warring
forces (which eventually causes her demise)
● “the inhuman jungle voices” - non diegetic noises suggest she’s fully retreated into
her own mind and insanity
○ Idea that she’s sensorily overpowered conveys her lack of self-control
● Play’s ending therefore is predictable because she’s been snatched from reality by
the grip the past and her imagination has on her
● Also the symbols of the streetcar: “Cemeteries” preempts her metaphorical death, the
fact it brought her “where I’m not wanted, and where I’m ashamed to be” - her wish is
fulfilled when she’s rejected - brutal irony.
Tragic conventions
● B as tragic hero: immediately alerted to fact she’ll lose the conflict
● Even though she’s left, permanent scar of destruction remains in her wake
○ Image of the nuclear family critiques soc that lauds this as its aim
● Reinforced by location of Elysian Fields - she’s finally reached her own version of
Heaven (forgetting/escape from the past)
Central conflict mirrors New vs Old South
● Dramatic irony - audience is aware New South ultimately destroys what’s left of the
Old South traditions
● Already alerted to the crumbling facade of the Old South - mismatched genders of
“Belle Reve” and the discordance between the public and private reality of the
romanticised antebellum already preempts idea that B’s image will fall apart
○ “Blood stained pillow slips” - intimate discord with public image of
respectability and status - contrasts with her “furs” and “columns”
● Emphasised by the preempted/fated nature of their conflict: “We’ve had this date with
each other since the beginning” - Stanley’s eventual conquering of her (reminiscent
of war - he’s earned territory) is fated
○ Reinforces trope of survival of the fittest - the animalistic, predatory Stanley is
naturally set to overpower B
Foreshadowing throughout play
● Varsouviana and blues piano mirror clash between nightmarish memory and vibrant
reality that B finds herself in
● Clash suggests she can’t exist in this world because she’s torn between two warring
forces (which eventually causes her demise)
● “the inhuman jungle voices” - non diegetic noises suggest she’s fully retreated into
her own mind and insanity
○ Idea that she’s sensorily overpowered conveys her lack of self-control
● Play’s ending therefore is predictable because she’s been snatched from reality by
the grip the past and her imagination has on her
● Also the symbols of the streetcar: “Cemeteries” preempts her metaphorical death, the
fact it brought her “where I’m not wanted, and where I’m ashamed to be” - her wish is
fulfilled when she’s rejected - brutal irony.
Tragic conventions
● B as tragic hero: immediately alerted to fact she’ll lose the conflict
● Even though she’s left, permanent scar of destruction remains in her wake
○ Image of the nuclear family critiques soc that lauds this as its aim
● Reinforced by location of Elysian Fields - she’s finally reached her own version of
Heaven (forgetting/escape from the past)
