A Streetcar Named Desire: Character Profile – Blanche
Insecure
Manipulative
Flirtatious
Aristocratic
Corrupt
Blanche
Deluded
Frail
Sensitive
Lustful
Vulnerable
Summary:
Blanche, one of the two main protagonists of the play, is an extremely complicated
character whom we see struggle with internal conflicts throughout the play. Upon first
meeting her, we learn that she is more cultured and sophisticated then the people
who live in ‘Elysian Fields’ and her surname of French origin, ‘DuBois’ immediately
reveals her as being from the upper class of society. She appears to be ‘daintily
dressed in a white suit’ with ‘white gloves’, all of which suggests purity and
innocence but it doesn’t take long to realise that Blanche is nearly always putting on
a pretence. Her pathetic attempt at covering up her drinking problem and hiding her
recent promiscuous activity all foreshadow the eventual destruction of her character
as she is sent away to a mental asylum by the end of the play.
However audiences are meant to feel sympathy towards Blanche’s character. After
having suffered the loss of her young homosexual husband to suicide and the loss of
the final generation of the DuBois family and their estate ‘Belle Reve’, it is no
surprise that Blanche had been affected by these tragic events. She has tried to
avoid the guilt she feels for her husband’s death by having ‘intimacies with strangers’
to ‘fill her empty heart’ and attempts to avoid realism and prefers ‘magic’ by telling
‘what ought to be the truth’ rather then the truth itself. Her insecurities about her
fading beauty are continuously emphasised by her need to be hidden from bright
lights and her need for sexual admiration by men to maintain her self-esteem is
emphasised by her flirtatious actions towards not only Mitch, but Stanley as well. We
also see Blanche continuously bathe herself which is her means of attempting to
wash away her licentious past.
Blanche has come to New Orleans to find refuge with her sister Stella as she is her
only living relation left. She also has a final last hope to find some one to help
alleviate the emptiness she feels and Mitch seems to be the man until he finds out
about her past. Mitch’s refusal to be with Blanche along with the ultimate act of
cruelty, Stanley’s rape of Blanche both increase Blanche’s descend into insanity.
Quotations & Analysis:
Page
117
Quotation
Blanche: They told me to
take a streetcar named
Desire, and then transfer
to one called cemeteries
and ride six blocks and
get off at Elysian Fields!
Analysis
Desire and death are two aspects
that became important in the latter
part of Blanche’s life. The literal
death of her husband along with the
metaphorical death of her social life
were both caused by her strong
carnal desires which have caused
her to be in the position she is in the
play. This eventually leads to her
downfall in Elysian Fields where she
gets off the street car.
117
Blanche: They mustn’t This quotation reinforces Blanche’s
have – understood - what fantasy view of the world. She
number I wanted…
refuses to believe that this is where
her sister now lives after their upper
class upbringing in the ‘great big
place with white columns’.
118
Eunice: You want to leave She does not trust the people in this
your suitcase here an’ go seedy area of New Orleans where
find her?’
she has come to and therefore
prefers to watch over her belongings
herself.
Blanche: No.
122,
136
Blanche: You haven’t said Blanche continuously needs to be
a
word
about
my complimented on her physical
appearance
appearance as she is aware that her
‘looks are slipping’ as she ages.
However her beauty is the only
means she sees herself as having in
Blanche: I was fishing for order to attract men to fulfill her
a compliment, Stanley.
sexual desires.
127
Blanche:..And
funerals
are pretty compared to
deaths. Funerals are
quiet, but deaths – not
always.
We as the audience, have no choice
but to symphathise with Blanche.
She has been through a lot in her
past which has driven her to become
the person she is today and she is
the one who ended up alone as
opposed to Stella.
129
Stanley:.. [He holds the
bottle to the light to
observe its depletion]
Have a shot?
138
[She sprays herself with
her
atomizer;
then
playfully
sprays
him
(Stanley) with it. He
seizes the atomizer and
slams it down on the
dresser. She throws back
her head and laughs.]
Blanche is not afraid of Stanley
which is a strength that her character
portrays. Throwing her head back
and laughing shows her signs of
flirting which is her means of
manipulating men. This helps
contrast to the way she acts around
Mitch where she is looking for
something more then just sexual
satisfaction.
139
Blanche: Poems a dead
boy wrote. I hurt him the
way that you would like to
hurt me, but you can’t!
This quotation reveals that Blanche
does feel guilty for the death of her
husband. She feels that it was her
final words to him that drove him to
suicide. However this quotation also
shows that Blanche is once again not
afraid to stand up to Stanley at this
point in the play this shows the
strength in her character that exists
currently but will later decline as she
descends into madness.
140
There are thousands of
papers, stretching back
over hundreds of years,
affecting Belle Reve as,
piece by piece, our
improvident grandfathers
and father and uncles and
brothers exchanged the
land
for
their
epic
fornications- to put it
In this speech, Blanche attributes the
loss of Belle Reve to the male
members of her family. She also
confronts Stanley by ‘[picking up a
large envelope containing more
papers]’ of his accusations that she
is ‘attempting some kind of treachery
on [her] sister’. Blanche also comes
across as the victim, having to
endure this these unfortunate
Blanche prefers to keep up a façade
hiding her true habits even when it’s
obvious that the people around her
know about her pretence. She does
this as she prefers to view life as a
Blanche: No, I – rarely pleasant dream as opposed to
having the ugly realities of life
touch it.
exposed.
plainly!
circumstances whilst her sister
escaped to start off a new life in New
Orleans. However Blanche probably
couldn’t have left Belle Reve even if
she wanted to as it appears to be
engraved in her to live the upper
class sophisticated life.
140
Blanche: … Here all of
them are, all papers! I
hereby endow you with
them! Take them, peruse
them – commit them to
memory, even! I think its
wonderfully fitting that
Belle Reve should finally
be this bunch of old
papers in your big
capable hands.
This quotation illustrates Blanche’s
victory over Stanley in their first
argument. Stanley who becomes
[...somewhat sheepish] after being
presented with all the papers quickly
diverts the conversation by bringing
up the topic of their child which he
was aware Blanche had not been
told about and once again reverts
back to talking about the ‘Napoleonic
code’ which states that its his duty to
‘take an interest in his wife’s affairs’.
141
Blanche: He’s just not the
sort that goes for jasmine
perfume! But maybe he’s
what we need to mix with
our blood now that we’ve
lost Belle Reve and have
to go on without Belle
Reve to protect us….
Blanche seems to acknowledge the
fact that her and Stella do not belong
to the Southern elite anymore and
that maybe some of Stanley’s raw
vitality would be good to mix with the
sophisticated upper class.
This relates back to William’s final
message which acknowledges the
decline of the upper class but
conveys the idea that some of
Stanley’s bourgeois class ideals,
mixed with others from Blanche’s
upper class is what we should strive
for. Unfortunately, with the way
society is going, we may not be able
to achieve this.
146/147 [She takes off the blouse
and stands in her pink silk
brassiere and white skirt
in the light through the
portieres.]
With the loss of Belle Reve, her
family fortune and her fading beauty,
Blanche feels as if she now has to
use her body in order to attract men.
She therefore draws attention to it by
undressing in the light where the
[Blanche moves back into men playing poker can clearly see
the streak of light. She the outline of her body.
raises her arms and
stretches, as she moves
indolently back to the
chair.]
150
Blanche: I can’t stand a
naked light bulb, any
more than I can a rude
remark or a vulgar action.
Blanche’s avoidance of light is due to
her fear of people seeing her clearly
which will lead to her real age being
revealed. Instead she continuously
avoids light by covering it up with
‘lanterns’ or staying in rooms with
dim light.
Additionally light will more clearly
expose the ‘rough’ society in that
Blanche is currently living in and
which she sees as being ‘beneath’
her, again giving her a reason to
avoid light.
155
Blanche: I’m not used to Blanche who is not used to Stanley’s
such –
violent displays of affection is
stunned by him ‘charg[ing] after
Stella’. However no one else around
her seems to feel as shocked as she
Blanche: Violence! Is so – does.
Blanche: Why! I’ve been
half crazy, Stella! When I
found out you’d been
insane enough to come
back in here after what
happened – I started to
rush in after you!
170/183 [Stella pours the coke into
the glass. It foams over
and spills. Blanche gives
a piercing cry.
[A locomotive is heard
approaching outside. She
claps her hands to her
ears and crouches over.
The
headlight
of
locomotive glares into the
room as it thunders past.
Blanche’s overreactions towards
little, everyday occurrences are an
indication of the fragility of her
current mental state. Her hyperbolic
actions suggest that once a major
event occurs Blanche’s loose hold on
sanity will be lost.
As the noise recedes she
straightens and slowly
continues speaking.]
180
Blanche: I guess it is just
that I have – old
fashioned ideals! [She
rolls her eyes, knowing he
cannot see her face.]
Blanche’s rolling of her eyes shows
that she is putting on a pretence. She
is not physically attracted to Mitch,
and after this act one cannot say if
she is emotionally attracted towards
Mitch either or if she is just attracted
to the idea of protection that Mitch
offers.
188
[In the bathroom the
water goes on loud; little
breathless
cries
and
peals of laughter are
heard as if a child were
frolicking in the rub.]
This childish mannerism displayed by
Blanche indicates her innocence. Not
sexual innocence but her naivety in
the sense that she cannot see the
real world for what it is. She must
continuously see the world in a
different light from everyone else.
Her need to act young also displays
her paranoia of ageing.
192
Blanche: Oh, I feel so
good after my long, hot
bath, I feel so good and
cool and – rested.
Blanche’s numerous baths and time
spent in the bathroom throughout the
play are all her attempts at purifying
herself of her past misdoings and her
way of escaping everyone and
everything and having time to herself
in private.
204/169 Blanche: I’ll tell you what I
want. Magic! Yes, yes,
magic! I try to give that to
people. I misrepresent
things to them. I don’t tell
them the truth. I tell them
what ought to be the
truth. And if that is singful,
then let me be damned
for it!
Blanche clearly says ‘I don’t want
realism.’ She would rather her view
of the world be like a constant dream
which is also her reason for
continuously keeping up a façade.
She only tells what ‘ought’ to be the
truth in order to avoid shattering her
own dreams by facing reality. She
feels as if she has never lied (‘Never
inside, I didn’t lie in my heart…) as
what she says is the way she
perceives things.
Blanche…-put on soft
colours, the colours of
butterfly wings, and glow
– make a little –
temporary magic…’
207
Blanche: Then marry me, Blanche’s loneliness and need for
Mitch!
225
companionship is displayed in her
plea for Mitch to marry her. It is not
important whether she truly loves
Mitch or not but more like a means of
a way out the trap she finds herself
in. There is evident pathos here as
she and the audience are well aware
that Mitch came to her house with
the intention of raping her. Her
willingness to marry a man who
would do this to her clearly illustrates
Blanche’s desperation.
Blanche: Whoever you Blanche’s dependence on strangers
are - I have always to fulfill the emptiness she feels has
depended
on
the only led her to the position she is in
kindness of strangers.
by the end of the play. Blanche’s
inability to accept that strangers have
only been kind to her in return for sex
reflects her magical perception of the
world. These being her final words in
the play, referring to the ‘kindness’ of
the doctor who is not the man (Shep)
she was hoping for, shows her
complete detachment from reality
and the pathos of her empty belief in
magic and kindness.
Role in the play:
Blanches role in the play is to represent the declining upper class and the rise of the
Bourgeois middle class in the America of Williams’ time. As a character she is used
to contrast directly with Stanley as her sophisticated, cultured and refined
background is directly at odds with Stanley’s vibrant, lively and raw working class
background. The key moment for Blanche is at the end of the play where she is lead
of ‘as if she were blind’ in order to be taken away to a mental asylum. This signifies
the end of the Southern elite that Blanche stood for as she is unable to support
herself anymore and relies on the Doctor for ‘support’ as she is ‘lead’ out. This
depicts the final destruction of Blanche’s character as her delicacy, sensitivity,
refinement, were all just too weak to survive in the real world. There was no place for
her illusions to exist in the Elysian Fields and the world of Stanley Kowalski and once
her illusions were destroyed, she was destroyed too.
Blanches sophistication and fantasy world are also used to raise an important
question by Williams: If Stanley’s world, although true, consists of violence to the
extent of rape, then aren’t some of Blanche’s aristocratic morals worth keeping?
A Streetcar Named Desire: Character Profile – Stanley
Opening Impressions
At the beginning of the play, we see the main male character Stanley Kowalski as a
hero as he is very loyal to his friends and very passionately in love with his wife.
However this love is quite different from what the audience expects. Instead of a
normal typical way of loving, Stanley and Stella live a life filled with sexual intimacy.
Like most men in the play, Stanley is a very primitive muscular person (as shown
when he throws a pack of meat at Stella) with a huge sexual drive for women. He is
also
a
very
dominant
figure
amongst
the
group.
Quotations & Analysis:
Page
Quotation
116
Stanley [bellowing]: Hey,
there!
Stella,
Baby!
Stanley:
Catch!
Stella:
What
Stanley: Meat!
Analysis
The first impression of Stanley comes from
these quotations. It clearly shows he is a
very primitive almost cave-man like
character who doesn’t treat women the
way that a woman should be treated.
Similarly he calls her “Baby” which also
gives an image of unequal status as she is
harmless and useless whilst he was
described with his friends as hard working
laborers in blue denim work clothes.
128
These animalistic connotations are of
relevance with the theme of men
overpowering women. The men in this
play, mostly represented by Stanley are
primitive, meaning they are more
animalistic than actual gentlemen. Like
animals in the wild, there is often an alphamale or the most dominant figure in the
group, or the pack leader. In this case,
Stanley is the pack leader. Many words
such as “animal joy” “since earliest
manhood” “richly feathered bird” are
evidence of Stanley being the most
dominant figure as a richly feathered bird
represents a peacock, and male peacocks
are usually the biggest and brightest of the
Stanley throws the screen
door of the kitchen open
and comes in. Animal joy
in his being is implicit in all
his
movements
and
attitudes. Since earliest
manhood…..
pleasure
with women…. Power and
pride…. Richly feathered
bird… heartiness… rough
humor… love of good
drink and food and
games… his car, his
radio..
gaudy
seed
bearer..
peacocks who show themselves off to the
females. In relation to Stanley, he is the
biggest and shows himself off by taking his
shirt off in some of the scenes.
Furthermore he is a worker in blue denim
clothes which give a muscular, hard
working image of a man. It’s interesting in
the fact that peacocks have bright feathers
to attract females relates to Stanley.
Blanche does not like to be revealed in
true light as it will show her age, but
Stanley constantly slowly reveals this and
the other truths she has tried to hide. Thus
metaphorically, he is as bright as a
peacock in that he is the light that will
reveal the truth behind Blanche.
129
[He starts to remove his
shirt]
Blanche: Please, please
do.
Stanley: Be comfortable is
my motto
Stanley is a flirtatious womanizer. Although
he doesn’t know Blanche well at the
beginning of the play, he already shows off
his upper body by removing his shirt.
Furthermore he gives evidence of
flirtatious behavior to all women despite his
passionately sexual relationship with his
wife. Additionally, it could be suggested
that Blanche can be seen here as taken
aback or mesmerized by Stanley’s body
after he takes off his clothes with the words
“please, please do.” This is where the
audience sees a first few signs of Blanche
not being as innocent as expected.
134
Stanley:
I
got
an
acquaintance who deals
in this sort of stuff…..
Stanley:
I
got
an
acquaintance who works
in a jewelry store.
Williams also portrays Stanley as very
childish. This is one example as he keeps
repeating “I’ve got an acquaintance” to
Stella about Blanche. He does this
because he doesn’t want to hear what
Stella is telling him and always tries to
show that It isn’t true. He doesn’t
understand the superiority of Blanche and
Stella’s past of superiority in the autocratic
society.
138139
Stanley: There is such
thing in this state of
Louisiana
as
the
Napoleonic code…
Stanley fears of Blanche’s use of
deception and persuasion skills to lure her
sister into her world. Stanley tries to
protect his wife by stating that a
Napoleonic Code applies to him meaning
whatever Stella owns, he owns. This is
clearly a way of protecting his wife as
Blanche sold her property in the past and
tries to persuade her sister to get away
from this society. By stating that men own
everything, it relates to the theme of men
overpowering women and the theme of
unequal rights for women as it was at that
time of the play.
148
Sit down!
Williams develops Stanley as the most
dominant figure in the play. To the
audience, he orders people around and
does not care about anybody else but
himself. This fact is also supported by the
fact that his appearance represents his
personality. He is very primitive and
muscular, but he also has a very strong
sexual drive for his wife.
190
Stanley: You’re goddamn
right I told him! I’d have
that on my conscience the
rest of my life if I knew all
that stuff and let my best
friend get caught!
Stanley is a very difficult character to
everybody, even with his wife and friends.
The quotation shows that Stanley told
Mitch about Blanche’s past in order to stop
him from marrying her. One interpretation
suggests that here he is trying to protect
Mitch from Blanche’s deception about her
past and so he tells him about her to stop
them from marrying, thus it makes him
seem more caring towards his friends and
a hero. However, a contradicting
interpretation suggests that Stanley
doesn’t care about Mitch and his feelings
but focuses only on one aim: to get rid of
Blanche. So he told her in order for Mitch
to think twice about marrying her and
destroying their relationship which makes
Blanche’s life even worse as she will lose
the only person in the story she has a
common life with.
213
Stanley: I’ve been on you Although Stanley is quite childish, spoilt
from the start!
and an uneducated worker in society, he is
still however quite cunning and streetsmart. He hates Blanche and when he
buys Blanche a ticket out of his world, he
expects her to go feeling destroyed. So
when Blanche tells Stanley of meeting a
millionaire he makes sure to discredit this
lie and remove even the pretence of dignity
that it would have given Blanche. We see
again that he isn’t fooled easily by her
words. We know that Blanche is very
deceiving as she does not show her true
side or her true appearance as she
constantly avoids the light. However, unlike
the other men, Stanley isn’t fooled. The
quotation further emphasizes the fact that
Stanley resembles a predator.
226
Stanley:
[voluptuously, Stanley doesn’t care anymore about what
soothingly]: Now, honey. happens to Blanche as she leaves. He has
Now, love..
won the war with Blanche and now can
turn back to Stella and his baby. The use
of the words “Now, honey. Now, love”
suggests that he is back in control and so
there will be peace and they are now
bonded together like before Blanche
invaded their home. Their bond has
tightened by the fact that Stella has had
her baby and it is the mixed blood of both
the world of Stella and the world of
Stanley. Furthermore, he doesn’t care
about anybody’s need except his own as
he reaches inside her blouse even though
she mourns the fact that her sister is
leaving.
Role in the Play:
Stanley can be seen both as hero and villain. Stanley represents the lively, vibrant,
industrial lifestyle that will take American forward into economic boom, but at the
same time could also be viewed as the villain as he rapes Blanche and destroys her
dreams as well as her life. Stanley is the main male character in the story thus giving
the story the balance of male and female but also he represents all men who live in
the society at that time – looking for women, hulky, hard laborers, dominant and
overpowering.
Key Moments:
Page 215
Stanley: Oh! So you want some rough-house! Tiger- tiger! We’ve had this date with
each other from the beginning
This is when Stanley finally rapes Blanche before she leaves. This is a key moment
because the quote “we’ve had this date from the beginning” suggests that the rape
was inevitably going to happen, and that Blanche’s fate has been sealed because of
Stanley’s hatred of her and the two opposing worlds that they come from. This
physical destruction of Blanche completes the verbal destruction began earlier by
revealing the truth to both her and Mitch about the illusory nature of Blanche’s
character and dreams. The rape represents the sudden end of these dreams and it
clearly rips her world apart and drives her insane. This relates to some of the main
themes of the play such as dreams vs. reality, and men overpowering women but
most importantly the theme of passion being destructive as the rape rips her dream
world apart.
A Streetcar Named Desire: Character Profile – Stella
Summary:
Stella is a very interesting character as she appears to be very simple and practical.
Throughout the play, she constantly has to listen to both sides of the story; her
character basically symbolizes the position of the audience torn between the
splendor of Blanche’s glamorous dreams and the passion she feels for Stanley’s
gritty, earthy, lively, vibrant world. Despite the various times Stanley beats Stella her
love for Stanley is astounding as she doesn’t mind his temper and considers it as
passion. Ultimately we are meant to see in Stella the plight of women in 1940’s
American society: Stella is dependent on men to the extent that she has to choose to
disbelieve that Stanley raped her sister so that she can go on living with him
because life without the support of a man is inconceivable.
Quotations & Analysis:
Page
Quotation
Analysis
116
“Don’t holler at me like that. Hi, She wants to show that she is a strong
Mitch”
character, however the fact that Stanley has
thrown a chunk of meat at her indicates how
she has no control in their relationship. She
is a submissive character who always ends
up following whatever Stanley wants her to
do as she chases after Stanley on his way to
the bowling alley
120
“You haven’t given me a
chance to, honey!” [She laughs
but her glance at Blanche is
little anxious]
121
[carefully pouring herself a Stella is very calm in comparison to Blanche
drink] “Tell you what, Blanche?” as she “carefully” pours her drink whereas
Blanche talks incessantly. It shows the
difference between the aristocratic society
and the working class society as Williams
through this stage direction indicates that
the working class society, through Stella’s
action, has a better grip on reality. Stella’s
calmness is also significant as it indicates
that there she has definitely chosen to live in
Stanley’s world, despite the occasional
violence
124
“You’ll get along fine together, if
you’ll just try not to – well –
compare him with men that we
went out with at home.”
The stage directions here might be showing
that Stella is feeling embarrassed about the
place she’s living in and maybe she wants to
make Blanche feel more welcome in the
house.
It clearly shows the difference between the
men in Bell Reve and New Orleans. It tells
us about how their society is changing from
the old aristocratic order to a new industrial,
working class society and how Blanche is
still stuck in the past. Therefore she’s not
used to the attitudes of the new order in
Elysian Fields.
[half to herself] “I can hardly Even when they are in a fight, the only thing
stand it when he is away for a that brings them together is love and sex.
night…”
The fact that she goes wild suggests
passion and that she cannot live without
“when he’s away for a week I him. As Stanley says later, she seems to
have loved being pulled down from those
nearly go wild!”
columns.
134
“Don’t be such an idiot,
Stanley!” and “You have no
idea…Now close that trunk
before she comes out of the
Stella is the caring one, wishing to protect
Blanche but Stanley can easily ignore her
orders. From the play we get the impression
that Stanley is cruel, arrogant, selfish, and
bathroom!”
contrasts
with an extremely dominating figure. If he's the
Stanley “Since when do you only one that's 'likely to get anywhere' it
give me orders?”
shows that to come out on top of society you
had to be all those bad things, in order to
survive.
“No. Stanley’s the one only
one of his crowd that’s likely to
get anywhere”
146
This is when Stella is told about Blanche’s
past, at first she doesn’t believe it but then in
the end she does. The stage direction
shows that Stella doesn’t want to show her
sister that she is weak and therefore turns
away. However this may also reflect the way
Stella turns her back on Blanche at the end
of the play when Blanche leaves. Both of
these actions are similar, as she again has
to believe Stanley that the rape didn’t take
place and also being forced to stay with
Stanley due to the baby.
192
[sadly and doubtfully from the
kitchen] “Do you, Blanche?”
and [turning quickly away]
“Why, nothing has happened,
Blanche”
135
[angrily] “Indeed they have, At first it seems like Stella actually has some
thank heavens! I’m going power over Stanley, however he straight
outside.”
away bounces back and says “every man is
a king! And I’m a king around here” This
further emphasises the stereotypically male
dominated society of Elysian Fields.
“Your face and fingers are Williams is trying to show us the weakness
disgustingly greasy…clear the of her character in comparison to Stanley –
it shows us how women were left with no
table”
choice and in the end had to follow/agree
with the male. In this case Stella believes
[Stella begins to cry weakly]
Stanley about all the accusations against
her sister.
194
However Stella actually doesn’t mind being
told what to do unlike her sister’s strategy of
living in a very glamorous past. She instead
chooses to face the realistic, rational and
flawed world just like how her marriage with
Stanley represents.
Basically Stella is like a character torn
between two worlds – that is the upper class
aristocratic society which she originally is
from and now the middle/low working class
of her husband. She has no choice but to
stick with Stanley due to their love and now
baby.
132 & “[To Eunice] Tell her how well
217
she’s looking” and she says to
Stanley “And admire her dress
and tell her she’s looking
wonderful. That’s important
with
Blanche.
Her
little
weakness!”
The two quotations show that Blanche is a
character who places a great deal of
importance in her outward appearance, as
someone from an aristocratic society would
do. Stella is being considerate towards her
sister because she knows that Blanche
would like to be appreciated for looking
good. Also the "her little weakness" shows
how Blanche is dependent on others in
society to maintain her character - she has
very little self-confidence - she seeks
approval - this is why she really wants a
man in her life because he would tell her
what to do.
217
“I don’t know if I did the right As the audience, we feel that Stella actually
thing”
knows the truth about Stanley’s rape of
Blanche and that she believes her sister
“I couldn’t believe her story and however because she is carrying Stanley's
baby and thinks that this marriage is worth
go on living with Stanley”
having or that she has no alternative but to
stay with him and thus has to try and make
herself believe that Blanche has became
insane.
224
“What have I done to my Given that Stella cannot imagine life without
sister? Oh, God, what have I Stanley, her willingness to sacrifice her
done to my sister?”
sister becomes predictable. By doing this
she will carry her guilt as a price to be paid
for the preservation of her marriage. She
cannot face the reality which she knows is
true. This is similar to her sister – Blanche
and how she detaches from reality and sees
life only as she wishes to perceive.
However, because she has seen reality
before, she cannot act as if she hasn’t and
thus goes insane.
Key Moment:
The key scene for Stella is the last scene as mentioned above. She has no choice
because of the baby and has to sacrifice her sister to live with a man who has raped
her sister on the day she was delivering her baby. This is further re-emphasized by
the stage directions [He kneels beside her and his fingers find the opening of her
blouse.] This clearly shows that Stella is living with a man who doesn’t care about
her feelings and just wants to satisfy his own sexual desires.