Explore Williams’ presentation of setting in ASND.
Belle Reve - Ridicules/builds off the Southern tradition of mourning the loss of plantations
(and the power the wealthy slaveowners gained from them) through nostalgia and
romanticising them. Williams presents this through the symbol of BR, which is “lost” in the
New South - suggest nostalgic fantasies of a past that was built off cruelty are out of place in
modernity.
New Orleans - vibrant but harsh, partially responsible for B’s demise (but it could critique her
attachment to the past and delusions, or the city itself). Symbolises modernity.
Dichotomy - even though Blanche is in a freer society (New Orleans), she becomes trapped
- literally in apartment and mentally by the world she can’t relate to.
Symbol of Belle Reve
Gothic conventions - ancient mansion passed down through generations means it inevitably
comes with ghosts (metaphorical - the ghost of the past)
Idolised by Stanley, to whom it represents money, and his power (as he could pull Stella
away from there) and Blanche, to whom it represents a past in which she could assimilate.
However, the dichotomy between the nostalgia with which it’s presented and its grim reality
(“The Grim Reaper had put up his tent on our doorstep”) represents the duality between the
idealised vision of the antebellum South, paired with its genteel values, and the cruelty of the
slave trade it thrived off. The symbolism of “Belle Reve” suggests that the beauty itself is the
dream, and that behind the facade of columns and wealth, only a painful past exists - this
dichotomy is emphasised through the incorrect grammar of “Belle” reve, where it should be
“Beau”.
Kowalski’s apartment “What are you doing in a place like this?” To B, apartment represents Stella’s social fall
“Two rooms, did you say?” - she compares it to the regality of BR -
“There’s no door between the two rooms” suggests to her Stella has chosen squalor
and love over wealth and privilege - divide
between two sisters because B values class
more. Both could be argued to be rq.s - she
doesn’t expect/care about an answer
because she doesn’t respect the choice.
No door is a symbol of no privacy - SB
notions of respectability and decency are
compromised (AO3) - shows her
powerlessness in newer world.
Poker night “vivid slices of watermelon on the table, Men are monopolising traditionally female
whiskey bottles, and glasses” space (kitchen and domestic area) - the
“Poker should not be played in a house vibrancy and material objects shows the
with women” permanence of their control. Mitch’s
statement serves to exile them further -
relegates them out of the house for their
safety (AO3) but they have nowhere else to
go. Suggests Stella isn’t welcome in her own
Belle Reve - Ridicules/builds off the Southern tradition of mourning the loss of plantations
(and the power the wealthy slaveowners gained from them) through nostalgia and
romanticising them. Williams presents this through the symbol of BR, which is “lost” in the
New South - suggest nostalgic fantasies of a past that was built off cruelty are out of place in
modernity.
New Orleans - vibrant but harsh, partially responsible for B’s demise (but it could critique her
attachment to the past and delusions, or the city itself). Symbolises modernity.
Dichotomy - even though Blanche is in a freer society (New Orleans), she becomes trapped
- literally in apartment and mentally by the world she can’t relate to.
Symbol of Belle Reve
Gothic conventions - ancient mansion passed down through generations means it inevitably
comes with ghosts (metaphorical - the ghost of the past)
Idolised by Stanley, to whom it represents money, and his power (as he could pull Stella
away from there) and Blanche, to whom it represents a past in which she could assimilate.
However, the dichotomy between the nostalgia with which it’s presented and its grim reality
(“The Grim Reaper had put up his tent on our doorstep”) represents the duality between the
idealised vision of the antebellum South, paired with its genteel values, and the cruelty of the
slave trade it thrived off. The symbolism of “Belle Reve” suggests that the beauty itself is the
dream, and that behind the facade of columns and wealth, only a painful past exists - this
dichotomy is emphasised through the incorrect grammar of “Belle” reve, where it should be
“Beau”.
Kowalski’s apartment “What are you doing in a place like this?” To B, apartment represents Stella’s social fall
“Two rooms, did you say?” - she compares it to the regality of BR -
“There’s no door between the two rooms” suggests to her Stella has chosen squalor
and love over wealth and privilege - divide
between two sisters because B values class
more. Both could be argued to be rq.s - she
doesn’t expect/care about an answer
because she doesn’t respect the choice.
No door is a symbol of no privacy - SB
notions of respectability and decency are
compromised (AO3) - shows her
powerlessness in newer world.
Poker night “vivid slices of watermelon on the table, Men are monopolising traditionally female
whiskey bottles, and glasses” space (kitchen and domestic area) - the
“Poker should not be played in a house vibrancy and material objects shows the
with women” permanence of their control. Mitch’s
statement serves to exile them further -
relegates them out of the house for their
safety (AO3) but they have nowhere else to
go. Suggests Stella isn’t welcome in her own
