How does Williams present Blanche in Scene 1 and 2 of a Streetcar Named Desire?

by sandhya23jkgmailcom (student)

How does Williams present Blanch in Scene 1 and 2 of a Streetcar Named Desire?

Williams immediately presents Blanche Dubois as an outsider, one who is “incongruous” to the setting of the French Quarter, not only in her delicate appearance, but in her prejudices against the working class. He also reveals her the fragility in her character, shown not only in her “delicate beauty” but also foreshadowing her weak mental health. Williams explores Blanche’s difficulty to fit in in Scenes 1 and 2 of a Streetcar named Desire.

Blanche is presented as an outsider in the world of Stanley and Stella. Her name itself translates to white in French which displays nominative determinism as it holds connotations of purity and innocence. However, as we learn later, this is ironic in the case of Blanche. The play begins with Blanche arriving at the chaotic Elysian Fields. Her dainty image “in a white suit with a fluffy bodice” contrasts with “the atmosphere of decay” that surrounds New Orleans. This juxtaposes Blanche’s obsession with cleanliness as she is often bathing in the play. This could be linked to Blanche wanting to present herself as pure and delicately beautiful in order to “wash” or hide away everything that has tarnished her past. She asks Stella to “look at [her] figure”, which shows that relies on compliments as “reassurance” for her looks. She desperately attempts to uphold a refined reputation and appearance of superiority. This is also shown in her potential alcoholism when she hides that she “tosses down” a “half tumbler of whisky” before replacing it carefully and later taking more. This suggests that she has had a rough past and has turned to alcohol frequently in the past to calm her “nerves”. This dramatic irony highlights to the audience that she is an untrustworthy and manipulative woman under her innocent appearance. The emphasis that she puts on keeping this disguise foreshadows the distress she feels when Stanley exposes the reality.

Blanche is shown to be driven by desire and led by attraction. Williams uses the metaphor of a “moth”, who is constantly attracted to the light but ultimately killed by this pursuit. Ironically, the harshness of light is a running theme throughout the play. Blanche both avoids the light to hide herself, and is drawn to it. Her tendency to do this foreshadows that it may lead her astray later on in the play. This theme is also symbolised in Blanche’s journey on a streetcar named Desire, and onto Cemeteries. This suggests that her fate at the end of ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Prejudice is also a big theme in “A Streetcar named Desire” and Blanche is presented as prejudiced against Stanley and the culture of Elysian Fields. She calls Stanley a “polack” multiple times which is evidently offensive, but she ignorantly ignores this. She also mocks Stanley’s “civilian background”. She also looks down on Stella and Stanley’s apartment, calling it a “horrible place” directly to Stella. This shows how insensitive and judgemental Blanche is to her sister. Williams uses Blanche’s dominance in dialogue to show their relationship is built on intimidation and overpowering Stella. She often uses her authority to order Stella around, for example telling her to “run to the corner store”. This could imply that Blanche is in a state of denial over losing Belle Reve and therefore all their servants and “white columns” and compensates for this by having Blanche serve her. This ability to overpower and manipulate someone younger foreshadows a darker incident that comes out later on in the play.

Blanche is also displayed as an emotional and melodramatic character. This is shown by her sporadic shifts in topics of conversation and her “anxious”, “hysterical” and “feverish” behaviour. This could speak to instability of her character. She also blames her insecurities about the loss of Belle Reve on her sister. Accusing Stella of leaving and putting the “burden” on her shoulders. Ironically, Blanche takes the position of the victim and accuses Stella of “accusing” her for the loss of their prior home. Blanche is also shown as theatrical in her speech about all that she went through without Stella.

The repetition in “I saw! Saw! Saw!” shows how much Blanche wants to victimise herself. The imagery of “the struggle for breath and bleeding” is horrific and the entire speech is hyperbolic. This means that Blanche loses sympathy from the audience, even though she has suffered. It also implies that Blanche is suffering with trauma and foreshadows the deterioration of Blanche’s mental health.

Overall, Williams presents Blanche as out of place, melodramatic, dominating and prejudiced in the first scenes of the play and sets up the character for a tragic destiny led by desire.

How does Williams present Blanche in Scene 1 and 2 of a Streetcar Named Desire?

This is a preview of the whole essay

Document Details

Related Essays

How does Williams present the character of Blanche in scenes 1-3 of A Stree...

How does Williams present conflict in A Streetcar Named Desire?

Tennessee Williams: A Streetcar Named Desire.

In 'A Streetcar Named Desire' how are the characters Stanley, Stella and Bl...