Scene Three
Two a.m. the same night, Stanley, Pablo, Steve and Mitch play poker. Stanley is aggressive as he is drunk and Mitch says he needs to go home, as his mother is sick.
Stella and Blanche return home to find the poker game still in progress and on her way to the bathroom, Blanche meets Mitch. There seems to be an immediate attraction between the two and later Blanche asks Stella about Mitch. Blanche stands directly in the light while she is changing so the men can see her through the drapes. Stanley gets annoyed with the sisters for talking and putting music on and Stella stands up for herself and Blanche warns her not to start a row. Stella tells Blanche she is in the light but when Stella leaves, Blanche moves again so she is in view of the men. Mitch is caught looking and Blanche and this infuriates Stanley so there’s an argument. Mitch and Blanche talk of losing loved ones and have a cigarette together. Blanches asks Mitch to put up a paper lantern for her as she can’t stand a naked light bulb. Stanley hits Stella as she calls him a drunken animal and asks the guests to leave. The men have to hold Stanley back. Stella and Blanche leave to go to Eunice’s, the owner of the house. Stanley begs for Stella to return, which she eventually does. The scene ends with Blanche and Mitch, with Blanche thanking Mitch for his kindness.
Scene Four
It is early the following morning and Stella is lying in bed with her hand on her stomach. Blanche returns from Eunice's and immediately expresses her opinions to Stella. She cannot understand why Stella has returned and Blanche begins yelling at her. She tells Stella that she is married to a madman. Blanche decides that she must get both her and Stella out but Blanche is reluctant to the fact that Stella is not in any situation she wants to get out of. Blanche suggests that they go to her rich friend Shep Huntleigh and ask him to fund some kind of shop. Stella does not accept the offer and the two go on to talk about Stanley. Stella tells Blanche she has seen him at his worst but Blanche says she saw him at his best, offering his animal force. We learn that Stella and Stanley's marriage is based on sex and desire. Stanley overhears Stella and Blanche talking and they both agree he is common. Blanche seems to see this as a very bad point but Stella doesn't seem to mind. Blanche goes on to talk about what an animal Stanley is and implies that he is a survivor of the stone ages. Stanley leaves and re-enters, not mentioning the fact that he heard their conversation.
Scene Five
Blanche is again in the bathroom reading over a letter she has just written. It is a letter to Shep Huntleigh and it says how Blanche has been spending her summer with her sister with a continuos round of entertainments, teas, cocktails and luncheons. Upstairs Eunice and Steve can be heard arguing about a blonde at The Four Deuces, the local bar. There is a disturbance heard and Blanche enquires brightly "Did her kill her?" but Eunice soon heads for The Four Deuces. Blanche questions Stanley on his astrological signs and Stanley begins to question her on Laurel, which is where Blanche had recently come from. Blanche tells Stanley that she would never go into a hotel called the Flamingo, which has a bad reputation. We later learn that this was in fact where Blanche was staying. Blanche seems to be shaken by her questioning and asks Stella if she has heard any rumours about her. Blanche admits that she “wasn’t so good” during the last few years. She sought comfort with men and admits she was sexually intimate with them. Stella isn’t listening to Blanche’s confession, as she does not want to hear her being morbid. Stella gets Blanche another drink and Blanche admits she loves to be waited on. The two then go on to discuss Mitch and Blanche admits that she wants him. Stella leaves Blanche alone in the house and a young man arrives to collect money for a newspaper. Blanche flirts with the young man and tells him she wants to kiss him. Before waiting for a reply, she does kiss him and the young man leaves. Blanche admits she has to be good and stay away from children. Mitch arrives with roses and Blanche happily accepts them.
Scene Six
Later that same night, Blanche and Mitch return from a carnival. Mitch seems upset that Blanche has not really enjoyed the evening but Blanche says it’s her fault. Mitch asks to kiss her and Blanche says that a girl needs to protect herself. Mitch sys that Blanche is not like anyone he knows and Blanche speaks French to Mitch, which she knows he will not understand. The two then go on to discuss Mitch’s build and his “very imposing physique”. Blanche talks of her old fashioned ideals and asks Mitch if Stanley has said anything about her. She says how she believes Stanley hates her and how there is no privacy staying with Stella and Stanley. Mitch goes on to ask Blanche about her age but she deflects the question. They then go on to talk about Mitch’s mother and it is clear that Mitch is devoted to her. Blanche tells Mitch about her late husband – they had been teenagers when they married. The boy was attractive and talented and so Blanche had run away with him. She hadn’t realised that the boy had a secret and needed her help. She had found her husband in bed with another man and her husband went on to shoot himself. She could still hear the music they had been dancing to in her head. Mitch gets up with some awkwardness, possibly because of Blanche’s sudden openness. Mitch talks to Blanche and says that they both need somebody and that it could be each other. Blanche ends the scene by stating that sometimes there’s God so quickly.
Scene Seven
It is Blanche’s birthday, late one afternoon in mid-September. Blanche is bathing and Stanley arrives home with some disturbing information for Stella. Blanche can be heard singing “It’s Only A Paper Moon” while Stanley tells Stella of the rumours he has heard. After Belle Reve was lost, Blanche had moved to the Flamingo. They eventually kicked her out on account of all her male guests. She was involved with boys from the nearby military base and had lost her job because of an affair with a seventeen-year-old student. Stella is shocked by what she hears and does not seem to believe the rumours. Blanche notices Stella’s upset expression when she calls for a towel. Stella tries to pretend everything is fine. Stanley tells Stella that Mitch will not be attending dinner as Stanley has told him what he has heard. Stanley becomes irritated with Blanche as she is spending so long in the bathroom and Stanley says that she must leave. Blanche returns from the bathroom and Stella tries to act as though nothing has happened but Blanche knows that it has.
Scene Eight
It is three quarters of an hour later and Blanche, Stella and Stanley are sat around the table having dinner. There is an empty chair at the table, which was meant to be for Mitch. To lighten the mood Blanche asks Stanley to tell them a joke. He refuses and so Blanche tells one instead which doesn’t have its desired affect. Stella asks Stanley to clear the table and her tone infuriates Stanley. He throws his plate on the floor and Stella begins to cry. Blanche phones Mitch but she is unable to get hold of him. Stella goes to talk to Stanley and scolds him for telling Mitch what he heard. Stanley says he is looking forward to when Blanche has gone so they can make noise again. Stanley gets offended when Blanche calls him a “Polack” but then gives her a bus ticket back to Laurel. He tells Blanche that is a birthday present and Blanche runs to the bathroom to be sick. Stella tells Stanley of how trusting and tender Blanche was as a girl and Stanley talks of how happy they were before Blanche arrived. Stella is suddenly distracted and asks Stanley to take her to the hospital as the baby is coming.
Scene Nine
Later that evening Blanche is alone drinking. In her head she can hear polka music in her head. Mitch enters and he too has been drinking. Blanche offers him her lips, which he ignores. Blanche brushes aside the fact that Mitch stood her up and offers him a drink. He is cold towards Blanche and says that he doesn’t want any of Stan’s liquor. He also comments on the fact that Stanley told him Blanche has been lapping it up all summer like a wild cat. Mitch tells Blanche that he has never seen her in the light, as she won’t come out in the afternoons. Blanche gets scared when Mitch suggests switching the light on but Mitch switches it on anyway. Blanche screams and covers her face so he eventually switches it off. Mitch is angry with Blanche, as he believed she was "straight" but he now knows she was deceiving him. Blanche tells him that the name of her hotel was the Tarantula Arms, which we know is untrue. She admits about her many intimacies with strangers, as it was all she was able to fill her head with after the death of her husband. She tells Mitch about the seventeen-year-old boy and said that the reason for all the men was panic. She throws her head back with convulsive, sobbing laughter and has another drink. Blanche says how Mitch seemed so gentle – a cleft in the rock of the world that she could hide in. Mitch is not interested in this as she lied to him. Blanche tells him that she never lied in her heart and a Mexican woman can be heard outside selling flowers. Throughout the scene the polka music has been starting and stopping and at this point it starts playing again. Blanche then begins talking, more to herself than Mitch, about death. She is referring to what she witnessed at Belle Reve. Mitch tells her he wants what he has been missing all summer. She then asks Mitch to marry her as he has his arms around her but he refuses. He tells her that she is not clean enough to bring in the house with her mother. Blanche threatens that if he doesn’t go away, she will start screaming "fire". He remains staring at her and so she runs to the open window and cries wildly "Fire! Fire! Fire!” Mitch awkwardly clatters out of the building, leaving Blanche to listen to the piano music.
Scene Ten
It is a few hours later that night and Blanche has been drinking steadily since Mitch left. She has been packing her trunk and is dressed in a crumpled white satin evening gown and silver slippers. She places a rhinestone tiara n her head and begins talking to herself. She looks in the mirror and smashes it onto the table with such force that it smashes. Stanley arrives and she immediately asks how Stella is. Stanley informs her that the baby will not arrive before tomorrow and Blanche realises that they will be alone in the house Blanche tells Stanley that she has received a telegram from Shep Huntleigh, inviting her on a cruise of the Caribbean on a yacht. Stanley plays along at first and begins to question her on where her finery is from. He takes out the silk pyjamas he wore on his wedding night. They are for special occasions and he tells Blanche he wants to be wearing them when the hospital phones him to say he has a son. Blanche talks of how she misses her privacy and talks of Mitch’s visit. She says that he arrived with a dozen roses, begging for her forgiveness. She tells Stanley that she would not accept Mitch’s apology, as they are incompatible. Stanley tells her he knows she is lying about Mitch and the telegram. Her only reply while he is talking is “Oh”. He heads for the bedroom laughing and Blanche warns him not to enter. Blanche uses the phone to first try and contact Shep, and the Western Union. She is unsuccessful and tells to move so she can get by. He refuses and then goes on to say that it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to “interfere” with Blanche. Blanche grabs a broken bottle top to use as a weapon but Stanley forces her to drop it. She falls to the floor and Stanley tells her that they have “had this date with each other from the beginning”. He then picks her up and carries her to the bedroom where he rapes her.
Scene Eleven
It is several weeks later and the men are again playing poker. Stella is packing Blanche’s belongings while Blanche is bathing. Blanche has again been drinking and Stella has told her that she is going for a rest in the country, which we learn is untrue. Blanche appears to tell Stella that if anyone calls for her to tell them she will call back. She then decides what she is going to wear and disappears back into the bathroom. Stella tells Eunice that she isn’t sure she is doing the right thing but that she can’t believe her story and carry on living with Stanley. Eunice tells Blanche that she has to keep going and Blanche reappears from the bathroom. The same polka music begins to play. Blanche willing accepts a compliment from Eunice and asks if Shep has called her. Mitch is distracted by Blanche’s voice, which irritates Stanley. Blanche is shocked by the sound of his voice and speaks with sudden hysteria. She says how she can’t wait to get out of the place, as it is a trap. She then goes on to talk of how she will die on the ocean due to eating an unwashed grape. A doctor and nurse arrive and Blanche is unaware of who they are. The polka tune, the “Varsouviana” can be heard in the distance. Blanche tries to retreat to the bedroom but Stanley stands up to block her way. She says she has forgotten something and enters the bedroom. Lurid reflections appear on the wall in odd, sinuous shapes. Blanche says that she wants to be left alone and Stella begs Eunice not to let them hurt Blanche. Mitch threatens to kill Stanley as he blames him for the situation. Mitch collapses at the table sobbing while the matron catches hold of Blanche. Blanche scratches at her and then sinks to her knees. Blanche speaks to the doctor who tells the matron to let go of Blanche. She allows the doctor to lead her out of the house, telling him she has always depended on the kindness of strangers. Stella calls out to Blanche but she ignores her. Stanley goes to comfort Stella and Steve deals another hand of cards, as if nothing has happened.
Themes
A Streetcar Named Desire has several themes, which are apparent throughout the play. One of these themes is death. Blanche talks about it in the first scene of the play when she is talking of Belle Reve. She tells Stella how she stayed and struggled, witnessing their relatives dying one by one. It is again mentioned when she meets Mitch and he shows her the inscription on his cigarette case, which was once given to him by a dying woman. Blanche also talks of Allan, her husband who committed suicide. The Mexican woman is selling flowers that are usual for funerals and the dead, which leads Blanche to talk again of Allan.
Another theme in the play is the survival. In order to survive and remain with Stanley, Stella has to have her own sister taken away. At the start of the play Stella talks of how horrible it is when Stanley is away and that she needs him. In order for Stella to survive, she must hurt her own sister. Blanche had managed to survive at Belle Reve with all her relatives dying, yet she is the one in the worst situation at the end of the play. Her survival has driven her to insanity and she is taken away, unable to survive anymore with her mental state.
Desire is also a theme that we notice throughout the play. Blanche arrives on a streetcar that is in fact called “desire”. We again see desire when Mitch and Blanche meet, Blanche eventually admitting she “wants” Mitch. We learn the importance of Stella and Stanley’s physical relationship which Blanche comments is just desire. Blanche’s desire to marry Mitch and later to escape Elysian Fields is obvious, although none of her desires are fulfilled.