Blanche appears in the amber light of the door. She has a tragic radiance in her red satin robe following the sculptural lines of her body. The Varsouviana rises audibly as Blanche enters the bedroom. With reference to the above stage direct

Streetcar Named Desire Angus Frew

Essay Question: Blanche appears in the amber light of the door. She has a tragic radiance in her red satin robe following the sculptural lines of her body. The “Varsouviana” rises audibly as Blanche enters the bedroom. With reference to the above stage direction, discuss Williams’ presentation of Blanche in the final scene of the play.

Deluded and hysterical, Blanche has fully unraveled, her complexity stripped away for the audience to see her as she really is. Blanche’s ultimate demise is imminent, which is to be witnessed cruelly by the whole cast. However her strength still shines through; she hasn’t yet been defeated. In the final scene of “A Streetcar Named Desire” the playwright Tennessee Williams gives a more simple presentation of Blanche which he achieves through his use of various dramatic strategies.

With nowhere else to turn for solace Blanche attempts to create illusions which become blurred with reality. At the beginning of the scene Blanche is “bathing” no longer trying to “cleanse” her conscience instead her baths become a desperate attempt to wash off the horror of Stanley’s violation. Whilst in the bath Stella says “she’s got it mixed out in her mind with Shep Huntleigh”. Blanche believes that she is to go away on vacation with her imagined lover Shep Huntleigh who, for Blanche, represents an escape for the brutal, aggressive world of the Kowalskis. She has created a vivid illusion around herself in an attempt to avoid the reality of her situation, as she has done from the beginning of her arrival in New Orleans. When Blanche asks “is the coast clear?” it is her way of making sure no one is around to see her in the state that she is now in. After being reassured Blanche then exits the bathroom described in the stage direction as having a “tragic radiance”. Although Blanche has now become unhinged she still has some sense of strength about her as shown by the noun “radiance”. However the fact that this is “tragic” illustrates that she exudes affliction. She wears her “read satin robe”, the same piece of clothing she used to try seduce Stanley in Scene two. However in contrast to Scene two she no longer wears it in a provocative manner; Blanche has lost her need to be seductive and flirtatious.

Requiring constant reassurance of her appearance Blanche obviously lacks any sense of security. With “faintly hysterical vivacity” Blanche states that she “just washed [her] hair”. The adjective “hysterical” portrays Blanche’s manic state of mind, manifesting itself in the form of her over-energetic, vivaciousness. In appliance with Stella’s imperative “tell her how well she’s looking” Eunice states “such fine hair!” Blanche needs to feel reassured by Eunice’s various compliments due to her insecurity and self-doubt.

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Holding on to images of purity Blanche longs to be considered innocent and virtuous by society. Blanche talks of the “old Madonna pictures” obviously invoking a sense of irony. Recalling Blanche’s earlier mention of her being born “under Virgo” the audience sees that Blanche clings to her belief that she is still pure and virginal despite her promiscuity. Although she is the most corrupt character in the play she still believes she can still attain a sense of purity. When Blanche asks “are these grapes washed?” she doesn’t wish to poison her pure soul with unclean grapes. The sound device of the “cathedral bells” and Blanche description of them being the “only clean thing in the Quarter” reinforces her attempts to be seen as clean and holy. Her wish to be buried at sea in a “clean white sack” emphasises her desire to be clean and pure.

Scarred deeply by Stanley’s act Blanche has lost any connection with reality; attempting to hide from those who have caused her fall from grace. The dramatist’s stage direction “the sound of this new voice shocks Blanche” portrays her immense fear of Stanley due to his violation of her. Due to the rape Blanche has become terrified by Stanley and the world he represents; the cruel, bestial, rational world of men. When Blanche states that she doesn’t “want to pass in front of those men” this idea is emphasised. She wishes to hide from Stanley as his companions in an attempt to keep cold reality at bay, to not have to face those that had caused her so much pain. This is a direct contrast to the start of the play when Blanche tried to seduce Stanley and his mates demanding their attention. The fact that Blanche is described as having let Stella and Eunice “push her into a chair” in Williams’ stage direction illustrates her submission to the aggressive, modern world. Blanche’s repetition of the verb “die” illustrates that Blanche’s life has always been full of death. Her meaningless rabbling of how she “shall die of eating an unwashed grape” illustrates that she is completely deluded, engulfed in some deranged fantasy of her own.

Unable to play out her own illusion Blanche is forced to accept reality as it is. When Eunice states that “there’s a lady with him” Blanche’s “voice dies out nervously”. She can no longer continue to act out her fantasy and must therefore admit the reality of her situation. In contrast to the poker scene when Blanche says “please don’t get up” the men “stand awkwardly”. Now that Blanche has become deluded the men decide to act pleasantly towards her. Mitch however “remains seated” as he is unable to see Blanche how she now is; he doesn’t want to accept that she is insane. The end of Blanche’s illusion is shown when she states “you are not the gentleman I was expecting”. Her fantasy is crumbling around her. Blanche knows that it’s up as shown by her “frightened whisper”. As the “lurid reflections appear on the wall” the audience is reminded of Stanley’s violation of her and feels sympathy for her. When Stanley “seizes the paper lantern, tearing it off the light bulb” Blanche’s deception ends and her artifice is stripped away. The paper lantern that symbolized Blanche’s attempts to keep cold reality at bay has now been destroyed and she can no longer hide in the shadows of deception. Stanley is unable to accept Blanche’s deceptive nature and destroys her illusion “as if the lantern was herself”. The lantern is therefore a metaphor for Blanche’s personality which in the end Stanley cruelly destroys. Despite her delusion Blanche is allowed to leave with her dignity by the doctor who is able to stabilize her. Although the rest of her has been taken from her during her stay in the Kowalski world Blanche is able to leave with her honour and dignity.

Blanche, now deluded and scarred due to Stanley’s act, is left disconnected from reality creating illusions to keep this reality at bay. In her degradation Blanche retains a core of dignity about her, but is crushed by a world that is harsher and more ruthless than she can cope with.

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