Blanche is introduced to the reader after Stanley, and his wife, Blanche’s sister have left for the bowling alley:
Blanche comes around the corner. Her expression is one of shocked disbelief. Her appearance is incongruous to this setting. She is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice…
Williams admits that Blanche stands out from the scene, and Blanche is disturbed by her new surroundings, suggesting she is unsuited to such an environment. To the audience, one can see that she obviously is from a different upbringing; she has high standards, and is unimpressed by the new setting. Her dress mimics this, increasing our awareness that she does not fit in. Williams goes as far to say that she looks as if ‘she were arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party’.
The first interaction between Blanche and another character is when Eunice asks her is she is lost, suggesting that even the character know that she stands out:
Blanche: They mustn’t have – understood- what number I wanted…
Eunice: You don’t have to look no further.
Blanche [uncomprehendingly]: I’m looking for my sister, Stella DuBois, I mean Mrs. Stanley Kowalski.
Blanche uses very short sentences, which suggests she is nervous. She also does not really understand what Eunice is saying, as is pointed out by the stage directions. This shows that she is unfamiliar with slang and colloquialisms, and that she uses a higher standard of English, with proper sentences and grammar, suggesting that she has had a formal education.
When left alone on stage, Blanche takes on another persona:
She pours a half tumbler of whisky and tosses it down. She carefully replaces the bottle and washes out the tumbler at the sink. Then she resumes her seat in front of the table.
Blanche is very secretive, in hiding the bottle of whisky, and later lying to Stella about it, one sees that she is no stranger to lying. Williams allows blanche to reveal her ‘true colours’ to the audience in this way, as it sets up her character very quickly, we instantly know that she is secretive and untrustworthy.
Blanche has a very simple relationship with her sister, Stella, as is shown through in their conversations:
Blanche: Stand up
Stella: Not Now.
Blanche: You hear me? I said stand up! You messy child, you, you’ve spilt something on that pretty white lace collar!
Blanche has a very obvious parent child relationship with her sister, but this probably due to the fact she is Stella’s older sister, and tends to mother her little sister, due to lack of a mother figure in their lives, or due to the fact Blanche has no children of her own to mother. Blanche also shows her vain side when talking to Stella, with her constantly craving attention and appraisal, especially concerning her fading looks, suggesting that she has a weak character and needs constant reassurance, or that she is in a depressed current state of mind and needs comforting.
However, her interaction with Stanley is very different:
Stanley: Didn’t know you were coming into town.
Blanche: I – uh –
Stanley: Where you from, Blanche?
Blanche: Why, I – live in Laurel.
Previously, in her conversation with Stella, Blanche had dominated the conversation, now, she seems very nervous and hesitant, revealing herself not to be as confident as she thinks she is.
Williams’s use of dramatic techniques, such as leaving Blanche alone on stage, and the constant musical beat of play, has quickly entered Blanche into the story, and explained her character very quickly to the audience, but perhaps setting her up for a fall, with all of the bad things he has shown her to be.
