Blanche embodies the ideas of the Old America and the fact that her clothes are still crisp and clean suggests that she has not yet been shaken by the effects of the New America, embodied by Stanley.
White is often associated with chastity and by being entirely dressed in this colour Blanche illustrates a sense of angelic purity. The audience later discovers, however, that her past is anything but pure as she confesses that she has had “many intimacies with strangers”, expressing the theme of appearance versus reality but also showing her mental fragility which is plainly obvious from her fragile moth-like figure on the outside.
Unlike the other characters, Stanley can see right through Blanche’s shield and this does not please Blanche because it makes her feel vulnerable to his overt masculinity. However her sister Stella loves Stanley, no matter how he treats her:
He heaves the package [a red-stained bag of meat from the butcher] at her. She cries out in protest but manages to catch it: then she laughs breathlessly.
- Scene One
Stanley does not have the same amount of respect for Stella as she has for him. Even so, she seems very happy with her current circumstances and has chosen Stanley – the New America – to rebel against the old ideals that she and Blanche grew up with. By doing this, Stella suggests that she is desperate not to be left behind in the archaic principles and she does not want to become the symbol of fading grandeur as Blanche has become. Stella tries to exclude the fact that she is not truly content with her situation from her mind, showing that she has smudged the line between appearance and reality given how she has lulled herself into a false sense of happiness.
There is a constant conflict between Blanche and Stanley, shown by their never-ending battle for dominance with witty insults from Blanche’s side and aggressive threats from Stanley. Blanche antagonises Stanley and feels that he is stupid due to the fact that he is of Polish decent. She can usually refrain from angering Stanley too far by keeping the racist and rude remarks at bay but sometimes she pushes him over the edge:
Blanche: These are love-letters, yellowing with antiquity... Stanley: [he snatches them] I’ll have a look at them first! Blanche: The touch of your hands insults them!
- Scene Two
By making offensive comments of this nature, Blanche implies that Stanley isn’t worthy of love and therefore Stella. Blanche can feel her sister slipping from her grasp and she feels she is no longer able to constrict Stella within the constraints of the old-fashioned ideas Blanche has for her. Both Stanley and Blanche try to convince Stella of the fact that they both love her more than the other, further demonstrating the theme of appearance versus reality because this is merely an act as they are only fighting for dominance.
Blanche soon becomes terrified by Stanley’s imperious figure and for her mind to be able to cope with the fact she is fighting a losing battle against the alpha male she begins to dissolve into a fantasy where people love her for who she is and not for what she makes herself out to be:
... a mood of hysterical exhilaration came into her and she has decked herself out in a somewhat soiled and crumpled evening gown and a pair of scuffed silver slippers with brilliants set in their heels.
- Scene Ten
Stanley feels that he is clearly the dominant figure and is determined to show Blanche this. He has had enough of Blanche pretending that she has a lot of wealth, mainly because he is sceptical about where she has gained it because Belle Reve was driven into bankruptcy. This is supported by the fact that what she wears is inexpensive. “Brilliants” are only cheap imitations of diamonds and the white gown represents a wedding gown and her failed loves, but these are fake and destroyed like her life has become. In a last attempt to prove to Blanche that she will never be able conquer his masculinity, he tries to attack her. The animalistic way in which he does this is reflected by the “jungle noises” that echo around them. In the struggle Blanche is brutally brought down to the reality of her situation as she tries to protect herself. However she is easily overpowered and this scene closes with Blanche’s “inert figure” in Stanley’s arms as he rapes her: the final hurdle for Stanley is his sexual superiority over Blanche.
In conclusion, Williams is effectively able to convey Blanche Dubois, a woman who in herself is the theme of appearance versus reality as she is determined to convey an appearance which masks her harrowing truth. The tragedy of her situation is demonstrated in the words “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers” and this regrettable statement brings the audience to realise that Blanche could have been saved from insanity, for all she really wanted was the consideration she deserved as a human broken over time.
Words: 993
by
cookiemargoulis (student)
