The Napoleonic Code is mentioned by Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, in an effort to ensure he could benefit from any inheritance his wife Stella might share with her sister Blanche DuBois. "Nobody owns the land between the levee and the river. It is the property of all the people. That's the Napoleonic Code.
What does the Napoleonic Code mean in the Scarlet and the Black?
He thinks Blanche has swindled Stella out of her rightful share of the estate, which means that he has been swindled. In order to prove his own victimization, he refers to the Napoleonic code, a code of law recognized in New Orleans from the days of French rule that places women’s property in the hands of their husbands.
What does Stanley say about the Napoleonic Code?
He reminds Stella of the Napoleonic Code which states that anything belonging to the wife belongs also to the husband. Thus if the wife is swindled, then the husband is swindled and Stanley does not like to be swindled. Stanley looks at all the furs and jewelry Blanche has brought with her and demands to know where the money came from to buy these.
What is the setting of A Streetcar Named Desire?
A Streetcar Named Desire Summary. The play takes place right after World War II, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Kowalski apartment is in a poor but charming neighborhood in the French Quarter. Blanche meets her sister's husband, Stanley, for the first time, and immediately she feels uncomfortable.
What is the Napoleonic Code in the story Stella?
Answers 1. Add Yours. The Napoleonic Code is the French civil code established under Napoléon I in 1804. Stanley brings up the Napoleonic code, which says that what belongs to the wife belongs to the husband, and vice versa, and therefore if Stella was swindled then Stanley was swindled as well.
What does Stanley symbolize in A Streetcar Named Desire?
Stanley is the epitome of vital force. He is loyal to his friends, passionate to his wife, and heartlessly cruel to Blanche. With his Polish ancestry, he represents the new, heterogeneous America. He sees himself as a social leveler, and wishes to destroy Blanche's social pretensions.
Why was Belle Reve lost?
In the process of defending herself to Stanley, Blanche reveals that Belle Reve was lost due to a foreclosed mortgage, a disclosure that signifies the dire nature of Blanche's financial circumstances.
What is the main message of A Streetcar Named Desire?
A Streetcar Named Desire presents a sharp critique of the way the institutions and attitudes of postwar America placed restrictions on women's lives. Williams uses Blanche's and Stella's dependence on men to expose and critique the treatment of women during the transition from the old to the new South.
What is the significance of Belle Reve in A Streetcar Named Desire?
Belle Reve is the name of the sisters' family's plantation in their hometown Laurel . The name is again of French origin and means beautiful dream, which again emphasises Blanche's tendency to cling to her illusions. The term suggests an illusion, which is not quite true, for the plantation really once existed.
How is Blanche's name both ironic and symbolic?
Combined with her first name, her entire name would translate as “white wood”, which she explains to Mitch in scene three, “It's a French name. It means woods and Blanche means white, so the two together mean white woods” (Williams 150).
What does the ending of A Streetcar Named Desire mean?
The ending to A Streetcar Named Desire is all about cruel and tragic irony. Blanche is shipped off to a mental institution because she can't deal with reality and retreats into illusion—yet Stella is doing the very same thing by ignoring her sister's story about Stanley.
Why does Blanche bathe so often?
Blanche takes frequent baths throughout the play to “soothe her nerves.” Bathing is an escape from the sweaty apartment: rather than confront her physical body in the light of day, Blanche retreats to the water to attempt to cleanse herself and forget reality.
What is the significance of Elysian Fields in A Streetcar Named Desire?
Elysian Fields, the Kowalskis' street, is named for the land of the dead in Greek mythology. The street name is both a literal street in New Orleans and a symbolic resting place. It foreshadows Blanche's looming fate.
What does the white clothing symbolize in A Streetcar Named Desire?
The colour white symbolizes purity, innocence and virtue, specifically in the character Blanche. The name suggests a very innocent, pure, upper-class individual, but throughout the play it becomes obvious that these qualities contrast her actual character traits.
What does the Varsouviana polka symbolize?
The polka and the moment it evokes represent Blanche's loss of innocence. The suicide of the young husband Blanche loved dearly was the event that triggered her mental decline. Since then, Blanche hears the Varsouviana whenever she panics and loses her grip on reality.
What does the paper lantern symbolize in A Streetcar Named Desire?
In A Streetcar Named Desire, a Chinese paper lantern is used to symbolize a main character's own insecurities. Some would see the paper lantern as just a prop in this play but it is actually a reflection of how Blanche, the haughty and mysterious sister, really feels on the inside.
Why did Stanley call upon the Napoleonic code?
Calling upon the Napoleonic code enables Stanley to justify his feelings of entitlement toward Stella’s inheritance. In doing so, he shows that he is ignorant of legal technicalities, because Belle Reve, located in Laurel, Mississippi, wouldn’t fall under New Orleans jurisdiction. However, Stanley’s repeated references to ...
What does Stella tell Stanley to do when he walks in the door?
When Stanley walks in the door, Stella tells him that in order to spare Blanche the company of Stanley’s poker buddies in the apartment that night, she wants to take Blanche out, to New Orleans’s French Quarter. Stella explains Blanche’s ordeal of losing Belle Reve and asks that Stanley be kind to Blanche by flattering her appearance.
What does Stella say about Blanche losing Belle Reve?
Stella explains Blanche’s ordeal of losing Belle Reve and asks that Stanley be kind to Blanche by flattering her appearance. She also instructs Stanley not to mention the baby. Stanley is more interested in the bill of sale from Belle Reve. Stella’s mention of the loss of Belle Reve seems to convince Stanley that Blanche’s emotional frailty is an ...
What is the difference between Scene One and Scene Two?
Whereas Scene One stresses the sexual attraction that drew Stella and Stanley to one another despite class differences, Scene Two shows Stanley acting disrespectful to Stella and antagonistic to her sister. Meanwhile, our compassion for Blanche increases as Williams reveals just how destitute she is by showing that all of her belongings in the world amount to a trunk full of gaudy dresses and cheap jewelry.
What does Blanche represent in the New South?
They are incompatible forces—manners versus manhood—and peace between them is no more than a temporary cease-fire. Blanche represents the Old South ’s intellectual romanticism and dedication to appearances. Stanley represents the New South’s ruthless pursuit of success and -economic pragmatism.
What does Stanley pull out of Blanche's trunk?
Looking for a bill of sale, Stanley angrily pulls all of Blanche’s belongings out of her trunk. To him, Blanche’s glitzy evening dresses, feather boas, fur stoles, and costume jewelry look expensive, and he assumes she has spent the family fortune on them.
What does Stanley think of Stella?
As a man, Stanley feels that what Stella has belongs to him. He also hates Blanche as a woman and as a person with a more prestigious family name, and therefore suspects that Blanche’s business dealings have been dishonest. Blanche takes the first of many baths in this scene.
What does Stanley say to Blanche?
She is so open about it that Stanley says, "If I didn't know that you was my wife's sister I'd get ideas about you.". This scene therefore balances with the later scene when Stanley rapes Blanche. Blanche's attempt to flirt with Stanley is her only known way of achieving success with men. She tries to use her charms.
What does Stanley want to see in Belle Reve?
But Stanley wants to return to the loss of Belle Reve. He wants to see a bill of sale or some papers. He reminds Stella of the Napoleonic Code which states that anything belonging to the wife belongs also to the husband.
What does Stanley look at in the movie?
Stanley looks at all the furs and jewelry Blanche has brought with her and demands to know where the money came from to buy these. Stella tries to explain that it is all just artificial stuff and very cheap. But Stanley is going to have a friend evaluate it all. Stella goes out on the porch so as to end the discussion.
What does Blanche tell Blanche about the other papers?
He wants to know what the other papers are and at the same time snatches them. Blanche tells him that they are love letters and the touch of his hands insults them.
Why is Stanley annoyed with Stella?
He is annoyed because he has to eat a cold plate which Stella placed in the ice box. She tells him that they have lost Belle Reve and that Blanche is upset and it would help if Stanley could admire Blanche's dress.
