Symbols in
Significance Streetcar Significance
SYMBOL for deceit and disobedience, growing independence, increasing
appetite for self autonomy
- foreshadowing that she is willing to keep secrets
- dramatic irony
- internalises acting one way with Helmer and another way by herself
Helmer asks if Nora has been eating macaroons at the start of the play, and
she denies.
- in control when she consumes the macaroons - independence - After
performing the tarantella she asks for macaroons, indicating a relationship
between the macaroons and Nora’s inner passions (of finding a sense of self,
and becoming more independent), both of which she must hide within her
marriage. Nora’s desire to overcome and rebel against the ideal set by
Helmer (Healthy shaped body, unspoiled teeth) The macaroons symbolize
the social expectations of women in society. The macaroons represent the
idea that women are expected to be polite, obedient, and content with their
lives. Also Nora's increasing appetite to be her own governing body and
independent. Macaroons represents Nora's disobedience and deceit, which
also foreshadows her rebellious side towards Torvald, which foreshadows
lead to the downfall of their marridge. Her growing independence, represent
her increasing appetite of governing her own body. Lies so lightly. This
shouws how Nora has nternalised deceit as a normal state in a marridge, She
Macaroons dosen't worry about the deception and disobedience. Alcohol
The letterbox symbolises Helmer's power and how he is able to control the
flow of information as only he has the key to it. "letter is a SYMBOL of the
Letterbox/ Krogstad's truth, now existing in physical form, which only Helmer has the key for
letter - Nora can't reach it. she's under the power of plot development; helpless" Blanche's letters
Krogstad's letter symbolizes the end to Nora being with Helmer, as she fears
that once the letter is discovered she cannot be with Helmer.
This fear stays through the middle of the play, where Nora's reaction to it
shows her readiness to commit suicide. Right After the letter is put in the
letterbox she is scared that Helmer would take responsibility, but later in the
Letterbox/ Krogstad's play she is determined to die for her husband her fear towards the letterbox Bus ticket back to
letter and the letter decreases. Laurel
The tarantella dress is a costume. It symbolises the role that Nora has to play
in her marriage (aesthetically pleasing and entertaining--"serve" her
husband). Nora says "I wish I could tear it into pieces"--she is done playing
this role. Difficulty in playing this role in dancing frantically in this costume. At
the end, Nora takes off her Tarantella dress and wears her normal clothes
instead which shows her successful discardance of this suffocating role she
Tarantella dress had to play. Ballroom costume
The Tarentella symbolises the relationship between Nora and Helmer.
Originally performed due to Torvald's request, the dance shows that way that
Nora's duty is to follow her husband's every order in order to please him. It
demonstrates how the relationship between Nora and Torvald is dependent
on Nora's ability to stay relevant in her marriage by entertaining her husband.
As Nora uses the act of Torvald teaching her the Tarantella to distract him to
stop him from ruining her plan to cover-up her situation, it furthers presents
the idea that Nora's sexuality is what keeps her alive and by adhereing to her
husband's request to showcase this, she is able to survive. However, during
the performance, as Nora dances more wildly, much to Torvald's dislike, it
highlights how Nora is eventually able to break past Torvald's expectations of
her and become her own woman. As the original Tarentella dance revolves
around the idea of shaking away the poison one gets from a spider bite,
Nora's eventual wild dancing shows how she is able to "shake off" Torvald's Music- Blue Piano
Music- the tarantella ideals and expectations. vs Varsouviana
Nora pleasant clothing throughout the play symbolises her subordination to
Torvald. Willliams imply she was not dressed like this because its her own will
rather to please Torvald .Her husband is intoxicated by the sight of Nora
weating the Tarentwella dress and doing the dance, as Nora belives this will
distract him from opening the letter from Krogstad so she obliges. In doing so
Williams highlight Torvald's vision and treatment of her as doll-like.
symbolises freedom
towards the end of the play Nora changes her clothing to outdoor clothing
signifiies she no longer loves Helmer enough ti allow herself to be treated like
Nora's Clothes a doll Blanche's Clothes
Helmer's house is seen to be a sanctuary for Nora. She is able to feel safe
with Helmer since she is treated like a child and spolied with luxury goods.
However, once Helmer's true colours are revealed, the house becomes a
symbolism of hostility and insecurity. She realised that she is unable to feel
safe with Helmer, since he treats her like a child and doesn't acknowledge her Kowalski's
Helmers' house efforts to help him. appartment
Significance
Symbol of escapism. Blanche hides that she is an alcoholic. She drinks to attempt to
forget her past, escape from the shame of her past, which reflects her poor mental
state. Stanley figures out that Blanche drinks and tries to uncover her truth. Core self:
ashamed, dependent, broken, traumatised
- not in control when she drinks - dependency "Alcohol emphasises the power
dynamic between Stanley and Blanche (working class vs wealthy) as alcohol helps
Stanley become more dominant (symbolising working class’s eventual rise) and
Blanche more unstable (symbolising the upper class’s decline)
When Stanley gets drunk, he becomes more physically violent and brutal
Blanche has to hide her alcoholism (especially because she’s a woman and women
are held to stricter moral standards), using drinking as an escape mechanism
Her increased drinking marks her increased descent into madness" Williams uses
Alcohol as a means of escape, this is shown as Blanches uses it to distract herself
from her harsh reality and retreat further into her world of fantasy and desires! Drinks
in secerey in order to forget.. Blanche wants to forget, as a form to escape from the
past. she is ashamed , she is dependent ON THE alchohol she is broken, she is
weakened.
Blanche's letters are an embodiment of her fantasies of living her life in the way she
wishes to. The letters of her old lover remind her of a time where she had what she
wanted most (or what she has been taught to want most) - the love of a man.
However, as it is revealed that her young husband never loved her in that way, the
letters become a symbol of lies and deceit as all the words he said to her would have
not been genuine. The fact that Blanche treasures her late husband's letters in this
way shows that she is okay with living in a fantasy as reality is too harsh for her.
It symbolises the end of her life at Stella and Stanley's place and is a result of the
exposure of everything she has done.
The ticket back to Laurel was given by Stanley to Blanche in the climax scene to
completely destroy her in all ways. Earlier in the play it is stated that she does not like
riding the bus. She also cannot go back to Laurel because she was kicked out from
her job and lost their house.
The ballroom costume Blanche wore symbolises her Southern Belle past. At the end
of the play, Blanche wears her tattered ballroom costume as she dances by herself.
She is desperately clinging onto a past, innocent and pure version of herself, showing
that she cannot let go of her old self. (dresses in a costume in an attempt to relive the
time when she was innocent and happy) (her dress is grotesque to the audience while
tarantella dress is aesthetically pleasing)
The Varosouviana polka and the moment it evokes represent Blanche's realistic
emotions. While the Blue Piano is played WIlliams reveals her sense of desperation
and lonliness in her character. The Varsouviana Polka is implemented to signify
Blacnhe's confrontatiion with her desperating past and convey her anxieties. The
suicide of her yougng husband that Blache loved dearly triggered her menrtal decline.
The music from the Blue Piano is heard whener Blanche panics and loses her grip of
her reality.
Williams uses this tool to bring back the readers' attention to the reality of Blanche's
fantasy world
Blanche's constant concern over her appearance including her clothes represrnt her
constant need to be seen as innocent and pure, and is used as a tool to strengthen
her insecurity and self-awareness of her appearance. to cover up her true nature and
conceil herself from the truth of her past life. Williams aplso depict her clothes to be
white paired with fox furs, tiaras to symbolose Blanche's feeling of superiority over
those around her.
clothing is also significant tool Williams use to aid readers to distinguish the classes of
the character. this is crucial as a major theme of Streetcar is how characters react to
classism and prejudice
Blanche is attempting to mask her sordid
past and present appearance
She is able to do so (when Mitch hangs it
- very chaotic & exposed to the outside world as the continuous distruptions allows the over the lightbulb), but only temporarily
characters to walk in and out of the house freely (when stella runs off to eunice's and this is a solution that can be ripped
apartment or stanley leaving the house to go bowling), creating a very open off at any moment (when he takes it off)
environment as if there were no secrets to hide between the characters and their Her inability to tolerate light symbolizes
community, however, we know in fact that that isn't true. the idea of being exposed to how her grasp on reality is coming to an
the outside world where everyone knows what is happening results to blanche feeling end
unsafe and uncomfortable when she is in the house, allowing us to link back to the The darkness allows her to indulge in her
point where blanche is afraid of light. Paper lantern dreams and fantasies

Shows to be a kind a caring mother but also as a wife that listens to whatever
Nora's entrance her husband says, Blanche's entrance usual 'pure' values of the Deep South.
Nora's exit was opposed with Blanche's exit, full of empowerment and
demostrating the strenght and independence of herself as a person.
However, Nora's exit would not have been seen to be respectable in her time,
since it is a woman's responsbility to care for her husband as well as her
Nora's exit children, which is against her societal roles. Blanche's exit
This is a symbol of economic dependence of Nora on Helmer, and also the
confidence that Nora has,
Nora shops to buy cheap goods as possible to make money to pay for her
Nora's shopping in act debt, the act makes her more confident that she is independent and able to
1 work with money. poker
The lamp brought in after Dr Rank confesses his love to Nora embodies both
morality and truth. The light from the lamp breaks through the semi-darkness
Nora and Dr Rank were sitting in. The fact that this breaks the original setting
(or relationship) between the two, it demonstrates how their relationship is no
longer the same and how it pushes Nora to refuse to ask Dr Rank for help.
The physical barrier of the lamp shows how now that Nora is aware of Dr
Rank's feelings for her, she refuses to go any further due to her moral
obligations towards her own husband. Furthermore, the lamp cuts through the
darkness exposes Dr Rank physically, highlighting how he is revealing his
true feelings now. The ambiguity of the darkness is now removed with the
lamp, exposing both characters for their true selves. The fact that Nora's true
self is unwilling to be unfaithful to her husband and to due the moral thing
The lamp brought in makes the audience admire Nora even more. Paper lantern
Symbolizes family happiness and unity. At first Nora is excited about it but
during Act 2 the candles are out and the tree is not in a good shape,
foreshadowing how the Helmer family will also break apart. However, this
can also be considered a good thing, as the reason for this is that Nora gains
Christmas tree independence and acknowledges her own agency. The Streetcar
Actual dolls house
Williams shows Blanche with 'delicate beauty' and as being draped in 'white'
reminding people of/bringing out images of purity and easily-broken quality within her
personality. This, however compares two things next to each other the 'weathered'
and 'warm' description of New Orleans, in comparison to this medicine-based white,
importance and focusing the importance of Blanche's entrance as she represents the
Blanche's exit was when she was sent to the psychiatric ward. The men who were
playing poker stood up as she was accompanied by the doctor, which shows their
respect for her. Blanche was still seen to be playing a civiized and elegant woman
until the end by Mitch, and is mature and accepting of her fate.
The unpredictability and volatile nature of safety and success in life, shown by the line
from the poker game as Blanche is being leaves the scene
The paper latern covering the light bulb represents Blanche's insecurities. Like
Blanche, light bulb is bright and soft, but it is extremely vulnerable. Instead of letting
herself shine(as a light bulb), Blanche covers the truth with lies and fake stories. The
paper lantern creates an illusion of something beautiful, vibrant. It helps Blanche put
on the facade of a pure and innocent woman seeking for protection(Mitch). The paper
lantern symbolises Blanche's desire to hide from the truth and the light Blanche places
the paper lantern over the light bulb to try to cover her past and only show her
present. She also said“I don’t want realism––I want magic!”, when Mitch tears off the
paper lantern and able to see Blanche's face. The paper lantern is a significant symbol
that represents Blanche's attempt to conceal her true self from the people around her.
Blanche fears the light because of the harsh realism she will be forced to face
because it will shatter her fantasies of being young and beautiful. Her denial and
stubborn statement that she "can't stand a naked lightbulb" shows how much she Williams creates a plastic theatre through
does not wish Mitch to know the truth about who she really is. (Mitch is her last lifeline) the use of Varsouviana Polka. The music
BUT Ironically, he's the one who will tears off the paper lantern later in the play. could only be heard by Blanche, which
"Blanche is attempting to mask her sordid past and present appearance reminds her of her deceased husband-
She is able to do so (when Mitch hangs it over the lightbulb), but only temporarily and Allen Grey. It appears whenever Blanche
this is a solution that can be ripped off at any moment (when he takes it off) is reminded of the tragedy that happened
Her inability to tolerate light symbolizes how her grasp on reality is coming to an end to Allen. The music is often interrupted by
The darkness allows her to indulge in her dreams and fantasies" Tarentella symbolizes the Varsouviana
self that NoraPolka
could not show.
the sound
She isoffree
a gunshot.
from being an ideal Victorian woman wife only wh
Also foreshadows Blanche's eventual demise. DIfference is that in this case it is bad
for Blanche.