After our discussion in class today about various parts of Scene 6.... just wondered how you all interpreted Blanche's revelation about her husband? I think it's most likely going to be the closest Blanche ever gets to telling the truth...
I really liked how her first love was described to consume her, as if she was thrown in at the deep end. I think that the symbolic references to light and dark worked really well...the light being used to describe how she felt inside. Williams's description of this scene is particularly vivid... describing Blanche's experience of falling in love as if the once shadowy world suddenly became illuminated with a 'blinding light'. I think it's important to remember that on a stage... this 'blinding light' would have been physically represented... with the 3/4 darkness that Blanche would be standing in to suddenly be lit up.
When we think of light, I associate it with knowledge, hope, understanding etc, but Blanche is very much in the shadows because she has a loss of purpose since her husband's suicide. She was 'blinded by the light of love' - does this not suggest that she was overwhelmed by it? Her marriage came and ended so abruptly, can we really blame Blanche for the way she is? She was a naive woman who did not understand love, and then suddenly she got too deep into love and it 'happened all at once and completely too much'.
This idea of light and dark is continued when we learn of Blanche's disgust at finding out her husband was gay... as she remarks 'the searchlight... was turned off again and never for one moment has there been any light that's stronger than this kitchen candle'. To me, that strongly implies the great love she really did have for this man. She was a young, excitable lady who was just married.. she had great love for this man... can we really blame her for being disgusted at finding out his secret? Williams has used the concept of light well... Blanche paradoxically uses light to live a lie and disguise herself and therefore her true self...but without light, without the physical light of her husband, Blanche has lived her life without a clear picture of the reality of her life. Since her husband's suicide, Blanche has resorted to (what appears to be) prostitution. What do you think about the use of light?
I also think that the locomotive which rattles past Blanche is a strong symbolism in the play. Continuing with this idea of light.. perhaps it could symbolise the light passing by... only for her to lose it as quickly as it came. Blanche claps her ears when it passes, then once it's out of sight she stands up and tells Mitch about how she went out with Allan as if nothing had happened. This could symbolise how she broke down when she discovered the truth about Allan, but then had to get on with it. Another symbolism could lie in that when Blanche walked in on Allan and the other man, they were most likely committing sexual acts. Blanche probably did literally crouch down and break down, before having to get up and leave. Perhaps the locomotive could be a phallus symbol showing the power and hardness of the phallus, which links to the revelation about her husband.
Anyway, I'll leave it there. Comment what you guys all think about what I've said, and also any alternative thoughts you might have, or just any thoughts about it in general :)
I absolutely agree with your interpretation there. Today was a detailed insightful lesson, and Ofsted even commented how wonderful it was.
ReplyDeleteMy interpretation is that due to Blanche being deeply involved with Allan - her former husband, she did in fact see the light (the truth came out in the end), connoting prosperity etcetera. The reasoning behind her unawareness I believe, was due to how involved and devoted she was - she was only young. Linking back to the point that you mentioned of his homosexuality that she was blinded by what she thought was a happy relationship. Behind the facade of love... Lurking in the shadows, her husband was in fact gay, which led to his suicide.
I find it rather ironic, that she uses light in such a way to represent her emotion about her memories with Allan. Now, she is almost in a shadow herself. It's a role reversal: Mitch is seeing light (prosperity in their relationship), however Blanche on the otherhand has dark secrets of her past hidden in the shadows.She does this by creating illusions using lighting (to make her seem younger than she appears), this fools Mitch into believing her 'trickery', also through diverted conversation - she's always in control.
In my opinion, I believe it's 'a taste of her own medicine', as she is deceiving Mitch the way Allan was behind her back, but she seems to be doing it in a spiteful, means to an end way. I feel the greatest sympathy towards Mitch due to his niavety; especially, when she spoke in French dialect asking for him to sleep with her, and then saying "what a pity".
What shall become of their 'relationship' will be quite interesting, I already have an idea based on the various reviews I have read...
I agree.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that from the little insight we get about Allan and Blanche's relationship, he did indeed act as the 'light' which Williams personifies. We do not get told much about Allan but it becomes very clear to us that Blanche loved him dearly, simply by observing the tenderness in which she speaks about him, and the fact that she is sharing all of this with Mitch - the man she wants to marry, the man she 'wants'.
Yes - what becomes clear is how much of a shock her husband's secrecy was too Blanche. The fact that Allan killed himself with a revolver creates very powerful imagery. 'Revolver' connotes this image of a duel, which is a battle between two people. With Allan, it's as if it's a battle with himself - the trouble he had with his sexuality, and how painful it must have been to tell Blanche, eventually leading to his suicide. It's as if Allan had to win this battle one way or another because being 'gay' was looked upon back then, and suicide was his way of winning this battle.
It is ironic with the use of light indeed. I like your idea about Mitch falling for the illusion. What I want to know is this - if this is a scene in which Stanley has ALREADY told Mitch about Blanche's past, why is he still acting like a gentleman as if nothing has happened? At the start of the scene it does seem a little cold and hostile, but I put this down to them having a bad time out (could this be down to Mitch knowing about Blanche's past)? I'm excited to see what happens when the play reaches a climax and it all comes out.... after reading ahead... I can safely say that tensions certainly arise!
(continued...)
I believe that Blanche's whole relationship with Mitch, whilst it may be based on some undertones of wanting security and real love etc, it's about her reliving her past and wanting Mitch just to stay afloat. Blanche has nothing left and Mitch can help with that - what Blanche wants is marriage, but is it for the right reasons? (I think we should discuss why Blanche is with Mitch in another post!) Mitch, certainly at this point, seems too much of a gentleman to deny Blanche.
ReplyDeleteI actually felt angry in response to what Blanche said to Mitch in scene 6. The French when translated means 'would you like to sleep with me tonight? You don't understand? Ah, what a pity!' I felt like Blanche was teasing Mitch because she was certain that he was not a well cultured enough man to understand what she was saying. This emphasises her control because she is able to distort what she is saying, and she changes the meaning and pretends she was talking about liquer. This shows her ability to deceive Mitch. The dicotiny of Blanche is clear here, because despite her having two types of character throughout, this scene makes it clear. Blanche has just kissed a newspaper boy and has been prepared to risk everything with Mitch for one little flirtatious episode. And then here she is again - she's just been out with Mitch, has been all prim and proper and lady like up to here, and then she asks if he wants to sleep with her? It's as if her past is catching up with her and she can't resist the temptation of messing around with men and seizing the opportunity to be almost prostitute like (which adds to my suspicion about her past). And her two-fold character becomes clearer when after her French, 2 pages or so later she asks him to be a gentleman!! She lets Mitch take slight control of the conversation when regarding his weight to make her feel good and to allure him, but also by boosting his ego she's making him feel more masculine and in control, as if he was a stereotypical man - when in fact it's always Blanche who is in control.
I personally can't wait for all of this to come out in the open. I feel no sympathy for Blanche despite her troubled past because I feel like she's brought all of this upon herself because she acted upon her problems in the wrong way. Is retribution and what she deserves around the corner? We shall see...
I shall create another post I feel will be relevant, in response to 'Blanche's illusion.'
ReplyDelete