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A Streetcar Named Desire - Context

Key Concepts:

Terms in this set (13)

American South
The southern states of America (for example, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, North and South
Carolina and Louisiana) were those which depended on plantation agriculture and slavery in the pre-Civil War era.
The American Civil War (1861-65)
The war between the northern or Union states and southern states.
Union states (northern states)
the states which formed the United States of America and where the national or federal Government was based
Confederate States of America
In February 1861, southern states broke away from the Union to form the Confederate States of America (the Confederacy).
Slavery
A key factor in the Civil War (although not the
only one) was the issue of slavery, with the
northern states supporting the abolition of
slavery, on which plantation agriculture and the
wealth of the plantation owners, depended.
Plantations
Although slavery had been abolished in 1865 at
the end of the Civil War, segregation was still
legal. Southern plantations still relied on cheap black labour. The northern states had a more liberal attitude to integration following the Great
Depression, the 2nd World War. This created antagonism between north and south American which can still be seen today.
Decline of 'the Old South'
In the post war period there was a sense that the old South was dying and it was becoming like the rest of America. This created a sense of fear that a way of life was being lost.
Southern Belle
A young woman of the American Deep South's upper socio-economic class. Southern belles were expected to marry respectable young men, and become ladies of society dedicated to the family and community. The 'southern belle' archetype
is characterised by southern hospitality, a cultivation of beauty, and a flirtatious yet chaste demeanor.
Antebellum
Pre-civil war period.
Nostalgia
Interest in a romanticised view of the antebellum era.
The Great Depression
Depression years (1929 - 39) served to undermine the economic stability of men, questioning their ability to provide for their families.
World War II
Women left at home needed to fulfill many of what were once men's roles. However, once men returned from war there was a backlash and a return to heteronormativity. In the 1950s the ideal of domesticity reached its heyday, it was only at the home the men ceded authority to women.
Sex and Sexuality
While the expectation was for men to be sexually experienced, women were expected to remain virgins until marriage. Men desired women to be 'obediently serviceable' and compliant.
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