Key Quotations (AQA A-Level English Literature A): Revision Notes
Key Quotations
Understanding how to use quotations effectively is essential for success in your exam. The Assessment Objectives require you to show your knowledge of the text by referring to specific details and quotations. However, it's important to remember that you can demonstrate your understanding in several ways: summarising events, paraphrasing dialogue, referencing individual words, or using direct quotations. All these approaches are equally valid.
The key is developing a strong understanding of the play itself, rather than memorising quotations without context. Your knowledge of the text enables you to select the most effective references for any question you encounter.
When revising quotations, organise them by character or theme to help you see connections and patterns throughout the play.
How to use this guide
Below you'll find key quotations organised by the major themes of A Streetcar Named Desire. Each quotation includes:
- The quotation itself with scene reference
- Meaning and context explaining when it appears in the play
- Analysis exploring its significance
- Paired quotations where relevant, showing connections or contrasts
Paired quotations are particularly valuable for essay responses. These are two quotations that illuminate connections, changes or contrasts within the play. Memorising these together strengthens your understanding of character development and thematic progression.
Examiner tips
For passage-based questions: Examiners will reward you when you link ideas and themes from the given extract to other parts of the play. An excellent strategy is to include quotations from elsewhere in A Streetcar Named Desire that demonstrate connections, contrasts or character development related to the passage.
For essay-based questions: Paired quotations are especially effective. These show your ability to trace themes, changes and relationships across the entire play.
Sex and desire
Desire functions as a central driving force throughout the play. This theme is powerfully symbolised by the streetcar named Desire that brings Blanche to Elysium Fields, representing one of her most powerful emotions and ultimately contributing to her downfall. Physical desire also lies at the heart of Stella and Stanley's relationship, binding them together despite the violence and conflict.
Blanche's journey
They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at – Elysian Fields! – Blanche, Scene 1
Meaning and context
This is the first line Blanche speaks to Eunice when she arrives at the Kowalski apartment. It describes her journey from the train station.
Analysis
Elysian Fields takes its name from the land of the dead in Greek mythology. Therefore, Blanche's journey from the train station becomes an allegorical (symbolic) representation of her life story up to this point. Her pursuit of sexual desires has led to her social death and banishment from her hometown. The Cemeteries represent this death, while Elysian Fields becomes a kind of afterlife where she must face the consequences of her past.
This opening quotation establishes the play's symbolic framework. The journey through "Desire" to "Cemeteries" to "Elysian Fields" maps Blanche's entire trajectory: her past desires, the death of her old life, and her arrival in a kind of liminal space where she must confront everything she's fled from.
The DuBois family legacy
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 – Blanche, Scene 2
Meaning and context
Blanche delivers this speech to Stanley in Scene 2 after he accuses her of swindling Stella (and therefore him) out of her inheritance. She shows him paperwork proving that Belle Reve was lost due to foreclosure (the lender taking property when mortgage payments aren't made).
Analysis
Blanche directly links her family's decline into poverty with the behaviour of its male members over generations, specifically describing their sexual adventures as epic fornications. Like Blanche herself, the DuBois ancestors maintained an outward appearance of refinement and respectability whilst secretly pursuing their sexual desires. She represents the last in a long line who cannot express sexual desire in a healthy manner, ultimately leading to the family's complete collapse.
Key vocabulary:
- Improvident: lacking foresight, not planning for the future
- Fornications: sexual relationships outside marriage
Stanley's masculinity
Since earliest manhood the centre of his life has been pleasure with women, the giving and taking of it, not with weak indulgence, dependently, but with the power and pride of a richly feathered male bird among hens – Stage directions, Scene 1
Meaning and context
These stage directions introduce Stanley before he first encounters Blanche in Scene 1. He enters loudly, throwing open the screen door, described overall as a gaudy seed-bearer.
Analysis
The stage directions establish Stanley as both masculine and dominant. For him, masculinity and sexuality are inseparably connected. The reference to taking women's pleasure foreshadows his eventual rape of Blanche. He views women primarily as sexual objects, determining their value on this basis alone. Stanley shows no interest in anything else women might offer. His description as having the power and pride of a richly feathered male bird suggests his arrogance and his belief that he should be the centre of any woman's universe.
The animal imagery used throughout the play – particularly comparing Stanley to birds and later to primitive animals – reinforces his physicality and instinctual nature. This contrasts sharply with Blanche's attempts to maintain civilised, refined behaviour.
Desire and dependency
Paired quotations:
But there are things that happen between a man and a woman in the dark – that sort of make everything else seem – unimportant – Stella
What you are talking about is brutal desire – just Desire! – the name of that rattle-trap street-car that bangs through the Quarter, up one old narrow street and down another... – Blanche
Haven't you ever ridden on that street-car? – Stella
It brought me here. – Where I'm not wanted and where I'm ashamed to be... – Blanche, Scene 4
Meaning and context
This exchange occurs when Stella tries to explain to Blanche why she stays with Stanley despite his violence towards her. The sisters speak in metaphors about desire and their different relationships with it.
Analysis
For Stella, love and physical attraction cannot be separated. The sexual dynamic she shares with Stanley keeps their relationship together despite everything else. Blanche can recognise desire but tries to pretend she cannot understand it, refusing to get on board that particular streetcar. She speaks of desire with disdain (contempt), linking it directly with shame. This is because her own desires brought her to her current difficult predicament at the Kowalski apartment, where she is unwanted and ashamed.
This paired quotation reveals the fundamental difference between the sisters. Stella has found a way to accept and embrace desire as part of her life, while Blanche views it as something shameful that has destroyed her. Yet ironically, Blanche admits she has "ridden that street-car" – she cannot escape the very thing she condemns.
The consequences of desire
Paired quotations:
You're not clean enough to bring in the house with my mother – Mitch, Scene 9
Tiger – tiger! Drop the bottle-top! Drop it! We've had this date with each other from the beginning! – Stanley, Scene 10
Meaning and context
The first quotation comes from Mitch's visit to Blanche after learning the truth about her past. When Mitch attempts to have sex with her, Blanche insists he must marry her first. This is his response. The second quotation occurs just before Stanley rapes Blanche. She has broken a bottle in feeble self-defence, waving it at him before the stage directions indicate he carries her to the bed.
Analysis
When Mitch arrives, Blanche clings to the illusion that he might still marry her and that she remains a Southern Belle (idealised image of refined Southern womanhood). However, Mitch believes he has been deceived. For him, Blanche is simply a liar pretending to be virtuous. The lack of understanding between them is emphasised by their different language: Mitch speaks plainly whilst Blanche continues using poetic expressions, highlighting the different worlds they represent.
Stanley's words suggest the inevitability of what happens from the moment they first met. Blanche was always aware of his dominant masculinity and responded flirtatiously. Stanley breaks multiple taboos by raping his sister-in-law whilst his wife gives birth to their child. This final violation sends Blanche into insanity.
These paired quotations show how Blanche's past catches up with her from two directions. Mitch's rejection destroys her hope for conventional respectability and marriage, while Stanley's assault represents the brutal reality of male power she can no longer evade through fantasy or charm.
Fantasy versus reality
One of the fundamental tensions driving the play is the conflict between romantic fantasy and harsh reality. This opposition is most clearly embodied in Blanche as the romantic fantasist and Stanley as the realist. Blanche's dependence on fantasy and illusion contrasts sharply with Stanley's down-to-earth worldview, which ultimately triumphs over her fragile imaginings.
The paper lantern
Paired quotations:
I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than I can a rude remark or a vulgar action – Blanche, Scene 3
And so the soft people have got to – shimmer and glow – put a – paper lantern over the light – Blanche, Scene 5
Meaning and context
The first line occurs during Blanche's initial interaction and flirtation with Mitch. She has purchased a paper lantern from a Chinese shop and asks Mitch to place it over the light bulb. The second quotation comes when Blanche realises Stanley has begun investigating her past. She starts constructing a defence of her actions.
Analysis
Both Mitch and Stanley later tear down this paper lantern, symbolising the destruction of the illusion Blanche has created around herself. It represents the reality she has constructed: that of a genteel (refined and respectable), virtuous woman of good manners and breeding. The quotations suggest that Blanche cannot bear harsh truth, symbolised by the naked light bulb, so she softens and blurs it with the paper lantern. She appears unable to face the ugly realities of her life directly.
The paper lantern becomes one of the play's most powerful symbols. It represents not just Blanche's need to hide her aging appearance, but her entire philosophy of life – the belief that softening and beautifying harsh reality is not just acceptable but necessary for survival.
Key vocabulary:
- Genteel: polite, refined, respectable in manner
Magic versus truth
Paired quotations:
I don't want realism – Blanche, Scene 9
I'll tell you what I want. Magic! Yes, yes, magic! I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don't tell truth, I tell what ought to be truth – Blanche, Scene 9
Meaning and context
Blanche argues with Mitch during his visit after he has learned about her past. He insists on turning on the light to see her properly, as she normally remains in shadow or muted lighting.
Analysis
For Blanche, it doesn't matter whether the magic is real or even whether she believes in it herself. She prefers fantasy and illusion to the harsh brutality of reality. In her world of make-believe, she can believe in and hope for something kinder and more refined than the real world offers. She retreats to this imaginary world when she cannot face reality or her shame.
Blanche believes her lies present people with the truth they really want and wish for. In Mitch's case, that would be a wife to care for him after his mother passes away. She sees her deceptions not as harmful lies but as gifts of a better reality.
This quotation is crucial for understanding Blanche's character. She doesn't see herself as dishonest but as someone who creates beauty and hope in a brutal world. Her statement "I tell what ought to be truth" reveals her belief that her fantasy world is morally superior to harsh reality.
Stella's choice
I couldn't believe her story and go on living with Stanley – Stella, Scene 11
Meaning and context
Stella speaks this line after arranging for her sister to be taken to a mental hospital. She explains that she had no choice but to believe the rape story was invented by a mentally unstable woman.
Analysis
This line reveals that Stella has more in common with Blanche than initially appears. She has chosen to believe a version of the truth that allows her to survive, particularly since she now has a new baby to care for and depends financially on her husband. However, her guilt and devastation as Blanche is taken away suggest she knows the truth deep down. This mirrors how Blanche also knows the truth but covers it with her metaphorical paper lantern.
Stella's choice to believe Stanley over Blanche shows how economic dependence and social constraints force women to accept convenient fictions. Like Blanche with her paper lantern, Stella creates her own version of reality to make her life bearable.
Gender roles
Williams addresses gender stereotyping throughout the play, reflecting the emerging post-war American ideals that championed masculinity and patriarchal values. The play also uses Blanche and Stella's dependence on men to critique women's treatment and position in society.
Key vocabulary:
- Patriarchal: relating to a system where men hold primary power and authority
The Napoleonic code
In the state of Louisiana we have the Napoleonic code according to which what belongs to the wife belongs to the husband and vice versa – Stanley, Scene 2
Meaning and context
Stanley attempts to explain the Napoleonic code to Stella when he learns that Belle Reve has been lost.
Analysis
Stanley's explanation reveals both his ignorance and his fundamental belief in his own superiority. He reacts suspiciously to anything he perceives as threatening this superiority. His suspicions also reflect a profound mistrust of better-educated people. These lines underscore how Stanley and Stella conform to traditional gender stereotypes, with Stanley asserting his legal rights over his wife's property.
The irony of Stanley's misunderstanding of the Napoleonic code highlights his limited education. While he believes he's asserting his rights, he doesn't fully understand the law he's citing. This scene establishes the legal and economic framework that gives men power over women in 1940s America.
Women and poker
Poker shouldn't be played in a house with women – Mitch, Scene 3
Meaning and context
Mitch repeats this line twice during the poker game scene: before and after Stanley explodes in violent rage and strikes Stella. It suggests he thinks women, poker and gambling make a dangerous combination.
Analysis
This line reveals Mitch as someone who fundamentally believes women are soft, gentle creatures who should be protected from anything unpleasant or rough. It also highlights his inherent patriarchal values. Notably, he doesn't blame Stanley for his violent actions but instead blames the game itself, as though it stirs something in a man that he cannot control or help.
This quotation is significant because it shows how even the "gentler" male characters in the play uphold patriarchal values. Mitch doesn't hold Stanley accountable for his violence; instead, he blames the presence of women for disturbing the masculine space. This reveals how deeply ingrained gender stereotypes excuse male violence.
Blanche's challenge to masculinity
Thousands and thousands of years have passed him right by, and there he is – Stanley Kowalski – survivor of the stone age! Bearing the raw meat home from the kill in the jungle! And you – you here – waiting for him! Maybe he'll strike you or maybe grunt and kiss you! – Blanche, Scene 4
Meaning and context
Blanche delivers this speech whilst berating Stella for staying with Stanley despite his physical abuse.
Analysis
This forms part of a longer speech where Blanche tries to remind Stella of her upbringing and higher social status. It reveals how Blanche sees Stanley: as primitive and animalistic. This speech subverts (overturns) traditional gender roles, as Blanche argues against patriarchal values and attempts to make Stella recognise she deserves better treatment. However, her efforts ultimately fail.
Blanche's description of Stanley as a "survivor of the stone age" connects to the earlier stage directions comparing him to a "richly feathered male bird." Both use animal imagery to suggest Stanley represents raw, primitive masculinity that hasn't evolved with civilisation.
Key vocabulary:
- Subverts: undermines, challenges or overturns established norms
Reversing gender expectations
I want to kiss you – just once – softly and sweetly on your mouth...It would be nice to keep you, but I've got to be good and keep my hands off children – Blanche, Scene 6
Meaning and context
A Young Collector arrives at the Kowalski apartment whilst Blanche is alone, drinking and waiting for her date with Mitch. Blanche flirts with him and kisses him.
Analysis
This quotation exemplifies Williams subverting normal gender stereotypes. Instead of an innocent girl being corrupted by a more experienced man, Blanche is the one doing the corrupting. The quotation references her many previous liaisons (romantic or sexual relationships) with young men, suggesting she was the instigator. This includes her affair with a 17-year-old student that resulted in her dismissal from her teaching position.
Here, Blanche is in control as she orders the young man away. This contrasts sharply with her eventual rape by Stanley, where she has no control whatsoever.
This scene is crucial for understanding how Blanche challenges gender norms in some contexts while remaining trapped by them in others. She can be sexually aggressive with younger, less powerful men, but she's ultimately vulnerable to Stanley's physical dominance. This highlights how her subversion of gender roles is limited and conditional.
Key vocabulary:
- Liaisons: romantic or sexual relationships, typically brief or secretive
Dependence on men
Whoever you are – I have always depended on the kindness of strangers – Blanche, Scene 11
Meaning and context
Blanche speaks this line as she is being led away to the mental hospital by the doctor.
Analysis
This line suggests Blanche sees the doctor as the gentleman rescuer she has longed for throughout her life. Despite her masculine trait of overt sexuality, Blanche still yearns to be saved by a man. The line carries deep irony: Blanche's dependence on the kindness of strangers is precisely the reason her life has unravelled. In reality, strangers have only shown her kindness in exchange for sexual favours, not genuine compassion.
This final line has become one of the most famous quotations in American theatre. Its tragic irony lies in the fact that the "kindness of strangers" has consistently failed Blanche throughout her life, yet she maintains this delusion even as she's led to her ultimate fate. The doctor is not a rescuer but another person taking her somewhere against her will.
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
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Quotations demonstrate understanding: Direct quotations are just one way to show text knowledge; references, paraphrasing and summarising are equally valid.
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Context matters: Always understand when and why a quotation is spoken. The speaker's circumstances and motivations affect meaning.
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Learn paired quotations: Memorising quotations together helps you trace character development and thematic connections across the play.
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Link across the text: In passage-based questions, connect the extract to other moments in the play using relevant quotations.
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Quality over quantity: Understanding the text deeply enables you to select the most effective references for any question, rather than relying on memorised quotations without context.