A Streetcar Named Desire: Blanche - Key Quotes

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  • Created by: Charlotte
  • Created on: 29-12-16 11:24

Blanche's Initial Appearance

"Her appearance is incongruous to the setting."

  • Blanche is unfamiliar with buzzing and lively New Orleans where there is a melting pot of different races and cultures. It is a drastic change for Blanche as she is a typical southern belle with a refined taste who was never been exposed to surroundings like this. New Orleans is an example of the changing face of America - a city with very liberal views and is accepting of all people who have different lifestyles.
  • The adjective 'incongruous' is foreshadowing as this lexis shows Blanche's discord with her new setting thus establishing her as the outsider and setting up her fall from grace.
  • She is dressed in white which is a direct contrast with the 'atmosphere of decay’. The colour white connotes innocence and purity - an image which Blanche tries to portray which is ironic as from the onset of the play the audience are aware that she is by far the opposite. It also emphasises her aristocratic nature as the colour white is often seen as heavenly showing how she sees herself above others when in reality she has nothing but her suitcase of clothes. The colour makes her stand out from her dingy surroundings of mundane New Orleans and represents how she is a social outsider, which reinforces how at times she feels like a victim and why possible audiences may feel sympathy for her.
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Blanche and Light

"Turn that off! I won't be looked at in this merciless glare!"

  • Imperative verb 'won't' is a demanding, aggressive and erratic response to the light being switched on - Blanch is unable to look at herself in the light and is evidently sensitive about her age/appearance which initially provokes sympathy from the audience. This could be a satirical comment aimed at the pressures placed on women at the time - in a patriarchal society women were often subdued and oppressed. Blanche may be afraid of not meeting these social expectations and therefore is unable to look at herself in the harsh light.
  • The adjective 'merciless' could reflect how in society women like Blanche who were widows who became spinsters were shunned particularly in the deep South where women were supposed to be the embodiment of rigid innate values of which Blanche is the opposite. This could be a reflection of Williams’ himself in Blanche as many of female protagonists contained elements of their author - Williams was a homosexual in a time where it was illegal and sinful therefore creating parallels with Blanche as she feels society is merciless towards her as did Williams.
  • The light could represent love as she describes love as a 'blinding light' - love is 'merciless' as it took her late husband from but also represents reality as Blanche is known for her lies.
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Blanche and Alcohol

“She springs up and crosses to it, and removes a whiskey bottle”

  • The first thing Blanche does when she arrives at her sister’s house is to look for a drink highlighting how alcohol is at the forefront of her mind.
  • The use of the verb “springs” makes it seem like a drink for Blanche is a necessity and she deceives herself in to thinking it will get rid of all her problems.
  • She repeatedly denies her intimacy with alcohol saying “One’s my limit” or “I rarely touch it” which is ironic as the audience know fully well that she drinks as they have seen her already have multiple drinks within the first few scenes. She experiences difficulty when confronted with her past (which was full of pain) and it’s later revealed that she drinks as a coping method in attempt to forget the past and move past it.
  • Blanche’s alcoholism may be modelled of William's own personal experiences as he was known for modelling his most memorable characters off aspects of his own life. William's father was a heavy drinker and he loathed his father, which may be an explanation as to why he created Blanche in an obnoxious manner.
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Blanche's Bathing

"Blanches is bathing." 

  • Blanche’s has a developing obsession with bathing. 
  • Throughout the play we see Blanche bathe many times it is her way of coping with the past as she says it relaxes her.
  • It may be symbolic of how she is trying to cleanse and purify herself from her sins, perhaps the sin of lust as she has had "many intimacies with strangers".  
  • She is yet again trying to deceive herself into thinking that she is pure and innocent and this is representative of the internalized guilt that she feels.
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Blanche and Lies

"Put it over the light bulb! Will you, please?" 

  • Mitch places the paper lantern over the naked bulb as requested by Blanche. He honestly believes all the things Blanche tells him. 
  • She has created a “phony world” and her compulsive lying has become second nature to her - even her character believes in them.
  • She lies about her drinking, about her age, about the loss of the family estate and why she lost her job and it is these cold, hard and unpleasant truths that Blanche is unable to cope with. 
  • The paper lantern dims the light, enabling Blanche to hide from the truth and reality more easily.
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Blanche and Lies (cont.)

“tears the paper lantern off the light bulb”

  • The light is symbolic of the truth and reality, - something Blanche has been hiding from throughout her stay with the Kowalski’s. 
  • The verb “tears” is the first mildly aggressive action we see from Mitch, which emphasises the frustration the other characters feel due to her countless “make-believe” stories. 
  • The plastic theatre of the light representing the truth connotes that of an interrogation light, shone in the faces of those when the truth is trying to be revealed.
  • For Blanche it means she can see herself for who she is, she can’t pretend to be young, as the light shows her true age – she can’t hide from the truth.
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Blanche's View of Herself

“slams the mirror face down with such violence that the glass cracks”

  • The verb “slams” shows how she is horrified by her reflection in the light or rather reality. That fact that she chooses to put the reflective side down stresses how she cannot deal with the person she has become and her past in Laurel disgusts her. Her only way to deal with it is to pretend none of it is real.
  • Yet again she deceives herself, by telling Stanley that she has been invited on a cruise by Mr Shep Huntleigh – a blatant lie that Stanley picks up on immediately.
  • She doesn’t “want realism” – it, in its own tragic way, is too hard for her to comprehend, her reality is the “Varsouviana polka” music playing in her head again and again (and for the audience to hear which allows them to empathize with Blanche) which is suggestive impending doom as it was the last thing she heard before the gunshot of her late husband’s suicide. She can’t escape it no matter how hard she tries.
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