5.1.3
Recurring Motifs
Recurring Motifs
Recurring Motifs
Williams is famous for using symbols. These symbols work as recurring motifs in the play, which offer the reader and audiences insights into characters and events. Some examples include:


Blanche avoiding light
Blanche avoiding light
- Blanche’s avoidance of light – she likes to be seen in the shadows.


Blanche's bathing
Blanche's bathing
- Blanche’s continual bathing – perhaps she hopes to wash away the sin of her past.


Blanche's closed trunk
Blanche's closed trunk
- Blanche’s closed trunk as a metaphor for hiding her past and closing it off.


Shadows
Shadows
- Williams’ wider use of shadows as a dramatic method.


Meat
Meat
- The use of meat as a metaphor. This puts Stanley in the position of the caveman who leaves the home to hunt food.


Gambling terms and cards
Gambling terms and cards
- The use of gambling terms and cards as descriptions of real-life events on stage.


Mexican woman
Mexican woman
- The Mexican woman selling flowers signifies Blanche’s downfall and suffering.
1Context & Overview
1.1The Author
1.2Social Context & Setting
2Scene Summaries
2.3Scene Three
2.5Scene Five
2.6Scene Six
2.7Scene Seven
2.9Scene Nine
2.10Scene Ten
3Character Profiles
3.1Blanche DuBois & Stanley Kowalski
3.2Stella Kowalski & Harold Mitchell (Mitch)
4Key Ideas
4.1Sex & Gender
4.2Appearances, Fantasy & Reality
5Writing Techniques
5.2Genre, Form & Language
6Critical Debates
6.1Early & Modern Reception
6.2Feminist, Psychoanalytic & Marxist Approach
7Ideas About Tragedy
7.1Ideas About Tragedy
Jump to other topics
1Context & Overview
1.1The Author
1.2Social Context & Setting
2Scene Summaries
2.3Scene Three
2.5Scene Five
2.6Scene Six
2.7Scene Seven
2.9Scene Nine
2.10Scene Ten
3Character Profiles
3.1Blanche DuBois & Stanley Kowalski
3.2Stella Kowalski & Harold Mitchell (Mitch)
4Key Ideas
4.1Sex & Gender
4.2Appearances, Fantasy & Reality
5Writing Techniques
5.2Genre, Form & Language
6Critical Debates
6.1Early & Modern Reception
6.2Feminist, Psychoanalytic & Marxist Approach
7Ideas About Tragedy
7.1Ideas About Tragedy

Unlock your full potential with GoStudent tutoring
Affordable 1:1 tutoring from the comfort of your home
Tutors are matched to your specific learning needs
30+ school subjects covered