Symbols

Cards (4)

  • Shadows and cries
    • become prominent as Blanche increasingly descends into madness
    • dramatise Blanche's breakdown and departure from reality
    • especially noticeable at the start of Scene Ten, when Stanley and Blanche start to fight
  • Varsouviana polka
    • indicates Blanche feeling remorse for her husband's death by suicide
    • only ends after Blanche hears the sound of a gunshot in her head
    • evokes Blanche's loss of innocence and the beginning of her mental decline
    • heard whenever she panics or loses her grip on reality
  • The 'Paper Moon'
    • appears in Scene Seven
    • the lyrics sum up Blanche's approach to life
    • juxtaposed with Stanley telling Stella the true reason why Blanche left Laurel
    • reinforces Blanche's preference of fantasy over reality
  • Meat
    • appears in Scene One, when Stanley throws a packet of bloody meat for Stella to catch
    • sexual innuendo, which is picked up by Eunice and the Black woman
    • states Stanley's apparent sexual proprietorship over Stella
    • Stella's delight signals her own sexual infatuation with Stanley