Marxist Approach
Literature in English: Cambridge International GCSE A Streetcar Named Desire, topic 6.2.3
Marxist Approach
Marxist literary criticism considers a Marxist view of history, in which class struggle is essential. Marxist criticism focuses on the connections between literature and the economic structure of the society in which it was written.
Working vs middle-class
- There is an axis in the play between the immigrant working-class world of Stanley and the more middle-class affluent world of Stella and Blanche.
- Stella has come down to Stanley’s level. But he hopes to transcend his class by working hard and providing for her.
Belle Reve
- Blanche has lost part of the Belle Reve estate that Stanley feels he and Stella were entitled to.
- It is this that motivates Stanley to investigate Blanche.
- This matter also complicates the class struggle issue further.
The street
- The background of the play (the street) is littered with other working-class characters who are trying to make their way in the world of the American Dream.
- They are forced to take menial jobs to get by and the dream seems to have turned somewhat sour.
Message about upper classes
- Although Blanche presents herself as middle class and refined, the audience is aware that she is down on her luck, and in fact, has less money and opportunities than Stanley or Stella.
- Williams may be suggesting that class issues are irrelevant and unimportant and that whatever class we are in, we can still feel sexual frustration and be unfulfilled.
Crossing social boundaries
- The play may say that it is dangerous to cross class boundaries: something that is embodied in Blanche’s rape and her incarceration in a mental institution.
Test yourself on Marxist Approach
What events in A Streetcar Named Desire warn about the dangers of crossing class boundaries?
What motivates Stanley to start investigating into Blanche's past?