You can tell by the way she is said as looking ‘fearfully’ after him that she does in her heart know that he has been told about her past, and that soon he will not want to be anywhere near her, ever again (which almost causes a breakdown before his very eyes), but she prefers to delude herself. She begins to create another complex illusion that she makes by talking quickly about nothing in particular:
‘But I forgive you. I forgive you because it’s such a relief to see you.’
Blanche is also beginning to unravel after Mitch asks her to turn the fan off, and she hastily agrees, desperate to be seen as able to comply in some way or another. This can be sensed by the way that music, which can be easily ‘caught in your head’, is about to take place. Music is played when a significant event is about to take place. This is represented by the ‘blue piano’ when the event is between two people, and the ‘Varsouviana’ when it shows Blanche’s sanity decreasing. To Blanche, this piece of music represents the moment in which her life, her sanity ended: the moment when her husband died. It brings back to her mind how she betrayed him, and caused his death.
BLANCHE: We danced the Varsouviana! … A few moments later – a shot!
She seems unable to concentrate upon the present if she can hear that music echoing in some part of her mind; she feels inexplicably unable to draw herself away from it, and instead must wait until she hears the shot.
‘[A distant revolver shot is heard, BLANCHE seems relieved.]’
The way that she seems ‘relieved’ suggests that she needs this moment to come in order to obtain some sort of finalisation; she cannot live without being reassured that this is the reality, not a dream. When she hears the shot, she is reminded once more that, despite all of her illusions, she must remain in touch with reality. It is quite effective since it manages to heighten the tension quickly, then swiftly stop it. When the shot is heard, it is like she becomes sane again, because the ‘voices in her head’ (which by a twist of dramatic irony are audible to the audience, but not to Mitch) have gone for the moment.
Towards the middle of scene, the tension that has steadily been mounting throughout the scene (due to neither character so far confronting the other with the main topic of conversation) comes to a head. Mitch notices something crucial about Blanche; he notices the perpetual darkness in which Blanche exists. This darkness is both literal and metaphorical; Mitch tries to rectify this problem by using another blunt phrase:
‘MITCH: I don’t think I ever seen you in the light.’
The way that he uses the word ‘light’ here could also imply that he has never seen Blanche’s true personality, let alone her soul; her complex illusions disguise it, just as her fine clothes disguise her body. Mitch desperately wants the rumours to be proved false, yet to do so he must persuade Blanche to reveal her true self. This section is effective in making the audience sympathetic towards Blanche and Mitch alike; Blanche because the audience knows she will lose her one true chance of happiness, and Mitch because he wants to be able to trust Blanche, but will never be able to. The symbolism of a paper lantern is again mentioned; the way that Mitch ‘tears the paper lantern off the light bulb’ could be interpreted as him stripping away the lies and the brightly coloured costumes; all that remains is the truth. Mitch is then able to see Blanche without all the sparkles, the colours, and see directly into her soul. This is similar to a previous conversation,
MITCH: How old are you?
[She makes a nervous gesture]
She then did not want to reveal the truth, but now she is forced to, which makes this scene seem much more violent and dramatic. It is the conclusion to the above extract, where he wanted to see reality, because unlike Blanche, he has no desire to lose his grip on it.
‘BLANCHE: I don’t want realism.
MITCH: Naw, I guess not.’
This is one of the most truthful things that Blanche has said in the entire play, which allows the audience to conclude that not only is she starting to get hysterical with fear and hurt, but also that the full truth is about to be revealed. The light has been made clear in order to prepare her soul to be exposed to all; all that is left to do is to turn the light on. Mitch seems to be saddened by the fact that this will destroy her, but sees it as unavoidable and prepares to continue in his illuminating mission regardless.
Blanche finally admits why she turned to prostitution, at the moment when the tension of revelations is approaching its peak.
‘BLANCHE: I’ll tell you what I want. Magic! […] I tell what ought to be truth. […] Don’t turn the light on!’
The way she calls it magic implies that there is no other way she can experience anything else quite so other-worldly, quite so amazing and intimate. This speech is one of her final sane speeches in which she reveals another side to her character. The italicisation of the word ‘ought’ shows that she thinks she has done no wrong, and thus, although there can be no redemption for her, she does not need to be exposed to the light of truth.
The light terrifies her, and she cannot even bear the thought of letting herself be shown bare underneath it, since it can strip away all the lies. Mitch accidentally encourages her with this earlier, when he puts the paper lantern upon the light.
BLANCHE: I can’t stand a naked light bulb…
Mitch then has to destroy this illusion, making it more effective because again, it concludes something that was begun earlier. She becomes increasingly hysterical throughout this speech, and seems to defend herself to more people than just Mitch, as if she is defending herself to an ethereal being. In the final sentence, she reaches a bitter end when all is revealed, despite her previous objections. As a whole, it gives the previous scenes more of a context as to the reasons for her being in disgrace, and lets the audience foresee a terrible future for Blanche.
This passage from ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ uses plot devices and dramatic elements to make the scene more effective, and more useful to the play. Symbolism gives this section a supernatural quality, when the lines between reality and illusion start to blur, and the characters struggle to define the lines for themselves. It allows the audience to make an informed decision on how they judge each character to be, but at the same time does not state how they should view it, but rather several options are provided. In the end, this scene can be seen as a turning point in that it leads directly towards to the tragic ending of the play.
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