Towards the end of scene one however, we see Blanche as heavy drinker. This is because as she is left alone in her sisters house she looks for a bottle of whisky, then when her sister offers a drink she pretends that she doesn’t know where the bottle is and insists that she does not drink: “Now don’t get worried, you sister hasn’t turned into a drunkard!” This is basically telling the audience that in fact she does have a drinking problem, and does not want other people to know. This is why she lies about her drinking, for instance when she is asked by Stella if she wants another drink she replies “No, one’s my limit”. Which the audience know is not true. The audience therefore get the impression that Blanche has had a very hard past, and is trying to hide away from reality by drinking.
After her drinking problem we find out more about Blanches troubled life. She has always been surrounded by death, this is suggested in scene one: “Why, the Grim Reaper had put up his tent on our doorstep!” She is explaining to her sister how she has lost their plantation “Belle Reve”. This is again is symbolic because it means “beautiful dream” in French, but this dream is lost just like Blanches dream is lost. This again foreshadows to the audience that things are not going to go well for Blanche who is trying to find reality in her imagination.
This is point is again succeeded when Blanche arrives in New Orleans at the beginning of the scene. She travels in a streetcar named “Desire” and then changes into one-called “Cemeteries”. “Desire” is ironic and symbolic because it represents Blanches desire to escape from her past into a new life. However as the play progresses we are told in scene four that the streetcar is old and falling apart: “that rattle-trap streetcar that bangs around the corner,” This suggests that her desire is also falling apart. Also in scene six when she is talking to Mitch, Blanche asks: “Is that streetcar named Desire still grinding along the tracks at this hour?” The streetcar is not getting anywhere, it is just going up and down in the quarter, and this is exactly like her dream, it is not getting anywhere. In scene four: “up one narrow street and down another”. The streetcar however is also used as a euphemism for sexual experience. This can be seen in scene four when Blanche is arguing with Stella following the event of the Poker night, she is shocked how Stella can still stay with Stanley after what he has done to her: “What you are talking about is brutal desire-the name of the streetcar!” She thinks that Stella’s relationship with Stanley is purely physical and that there is no love involved, which is true.
The area of New Orleans in which Blanche has come to stay is called “Elysian fields”. This is the place where Greek heroes go after death this is why it is viewed as heaven. However this is ironic because Blanche has come here to find heaven, but the audience can tell that she is certainly not going to achieve this. Therefore Williams has again used symbolism to foreshadow events to the audience.
However our views of Blanche are changed as we progress through the play. The audience finds out even more about Blanches past. After she has lost their plantation of Belle Reve she was left moneyless and on the streets. She saw that her only way out was to take to the streets. This is a constant regret with which she has had to live with all her life. She tries to seem and look as pure as a lily, but in reality she is different. This is foreshadowed to the audience when she spills coke on her white dress in scene five “Heavens right on my pretty white skirt!” She wants to give the appearance of a virgin but the coke stain symbolises truth. Everything has started to look hopeful but we know it is not. This coke stain might also represent a bloodstain from her husband’s murder. This shows the audience that whatever she does she will always have this guilt on her. Now however she is following her dream and is looking for a new beginning with her only living relative: Stella. In order to forget all of her bad deeds Blanche bathes. This can be seen throughout the book when Blanche is going through hard times, but especially in the last chapter where she is trying to recover from her rape. “If anyone calls while I’m bathing….” Here Williams uses bathing as a symbol of physical washing to clear out her mind of past things. She is trying to rid herself of her old life and to ignore the reality of her current situation. This is just like the cleansing of Pontius Pilot when he condemned Jesus to death. It also shows the audience that she is probably going through a mental breakdown.
Blanches character is also affected by the music throughout the play. The music that is most commonly played when Blanche is troubled is the “Varsouviana”. She explains the meaning of this piece to Mitch in scene six; it was playing during the time when her husband Allan killed himself. She blames herself for his death throughout the book because it was her who found out about his homosexuality and as they were dancing she cursed him and blamed him for what he had done. This also gives the modern day audience an insight as to the attitude of people towards homosexuality in the time the play was written. However it also makes us feel sympathetic towards the playwright who was also homosexual. The playwright’s choice of music helps the audience realise the feelings that Blanche is going through. However it also adds tension to the action that is about to happen.
Also in scene six we find out why Blanche has always had to cover up bare light bulbs with paper lanterns. It is because when her husband died they were on a dance floor where the light was very bright, therefore when she sees a bright light she is always reminded of this event. “The searchlight which had been turned on the world was turned off again and never for one moment since has there been any light that’s stronger than this-kitchen-candle..”
Another reason why Williams has used a paper lantern in this play is because it represents Blanche. She makes things look pretty, however they are very simple. Paper lanterns are also very fragile, and can easily be broken. We see this in scene eleven when Blanche is about to breakdown completely; Stanley tears the lantern off the light bulb. Blanche responds by “she cries out as if the lantern was herself” This shows the audience that what has just happened to the paper lantern will also happen to Blanche very soon.
Williams has used symbolism throughout “A Streetcar named desire”. He added tension and foreshadowed a numerous amount of events. He even used symbolism to create sympathy for Blanche by passing on information to the audience, which only the audience knew about- not other character in the play was aware of the facts. By using symbolism Williams also added historical facts to the play and even made comparisons between events from his life and the play. However I have come to the conclusion that the best use of symbolism to add to the dramatic impact was to foreshadow. This made the audience more aware not only about what was going to happen but also gave them a deeper insight into the present situation of the play.
