A Streetcar Named Desire Scene 2

1. The music of ‘The Blue Piano’ occurs again in scene 2, what is it representative
of?
2. Blanche is bathing at the beginning of scene 2. Stella says “She’s soaking in
the tub to quiet her nerves”. How is bathing likely to settle Blanche’s nerves
and why do you think this is something she is so obsessive about?
3. Stanley begins to talk about the “Napoleonic Code” and shows his first signs of
mistrust towards Blanche. What is the Napoleonic Code and what does this tell
us about Stanley?
4. Stanley goes through Blanche’s things “and pulls up a fist-full of costume
jewellery”, what is significant about this costume jewellery and indeed about
Stanley believing they are real?
5. Stanley reveals to Blanche that Stella is pregnant and the stage directions
inform us that “The rooms fade to darkness and the outside wall of the
house is visible.” What is the significance of these stage directions in
emphasising Blanche’s reaction?
6. An important quote in scene 2 is when Blanche defends herself to Stanley
“There are thousands of papers, stretching back over hundreds of years,
affecting Belle Reve as, piece by piece, our improvident grandfathers and father and
uncles and brothers exchanged the land for their epic fornications—to put it plainly! . . .
The four-letter word deprived us of our plantation, till finally all that was left—and
Stella can verify that!—was the house itself and about twenty acres of ground,
including a graveyard, to which now all but Stella and I have retreated.” What does
this tell us about Blanche and indeed her ancestors?
7. “Oh, I guess he’s just not the type that goes for jasmine perfume, but maybe he’s
what we need to mix with our blood now that we’ve lost Belle Reve.” What does
this quote tell us about Blanche’s opinion of Stanley, of her own family’s situation and of
society as a whole?
8. It could be said that in scene 2 we see Stanley and Blanche begin to fight for Stella.
Discuss examples of when both Stanley and Blanche fight for Stella, why they do it and
what it tells us about them as a character.
9. Our opinion of Stanley changes dramatically from scene 1 to scene 2. Discuss the
change and explain why this is with detailed reference to the text.
10. How would you describe Stella? Answer with detailed reference to the text.