Recurring Motifs
Literature in English: Cambridge International GCSE A Streetcar Named Desire, topic 5.1.3
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’s avoidance of light – she likes to be seen in the shadows.
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 as a metaphor for hiding her past and closing it off.
Shadows
- Williams’ wider use of shadows as a dramatic method.
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
- The use of gambling terms and cards as descriptions of real-life events on stage.
Mexican woman
- The Mexican woman selling flowers signifies Blanche’s downfall and suffering.
Test yourself on Recurring Motifs
Who likes to avoid being in the light?
What action does Blanche repeat?