It is obvious that Blanche is attempting to escape or running away from something as the reason for her arrival is left ambiguous and this “desire” to escape is illustrated in her comment towards the end of scene 2; she says, “I ought to go [to the sky] on a rocket that never comes down.” As well as revealing Blanche’s need to hide from reality, this may also be a suggestion of the first signs of madness. Her closing comment at the end of that scene is then also quite interesting – “the blind are leading the blind” may be a reference to her voluntary blindness to the reality of her situation but it could also be interpreted as her view of how those around her, namely her sister, are blind to her lies. The fact that Blanche sees herself and her sister as being blind is also interesting to note as despite the different paths the two sisters have chosen to take, their similarities are always apparent. Stella is also blind, not only to Blanche’s past and situation but blind in terms of her husband and the commanding power which he has over her. Stella’s voluntary return to Stanley at the end of scene 3 later reinforces this idea and also seems to suggest a certain amount of subservience on Stella’ behalf.
Blanche’s world is sometimes described as an illusion and is again, to some extent, a form of escape for her. In scene 4, Williams “entirely contrasts” Blanche completely to Stella to reveal an important aspect of Blanche. Not only does Stella’s “serene” mood form a contrast to Blanche’s neurotic state but also to contrast Stella’s practicality with Blanche’s over-reaction and far-fetched plans – Stella’s comment that “people have got to tolerate each other’s habits” illustrates this well while Blanche’s “…thinking I’d meet someone with a million dollars” captures her entirely as does her use of the “sheet of Kleenex and eye-brow pencil” which are not only impractical but also reflect a part of Blanche which is obsessed with appearance – the use of a make-up tool is a subtle way of reminding us about Blanche’s obsession.
Although Blanche is usually presented to the audience in a sympathetic light, scene 4 – apart from the end where Stanley “grins” at Blanche – portrays Blanche at her least sympathetic. Her direct attack on Stanley – “He acts like an animal” – and he consequent persuasion of Stella not to “hang back with the brutes” reveals a very selfish and inconsiderate side of Blanche – she fails to realise that she doesn’t actually understand Stanley and at the same time does not understand the importance of the security that Stanley is offering Stella; though she does understand the importance of financial as well as emotional security clearly shown by her efforts to marry Mitch. Despite her lack of insight on Stanley, Blanche does raise some realistic issues on Stella’s subservience to her husband – “you here – waiting for him!” which comes into play later on at the end of scene 11 when Stella makes her decision to believe Stanley over Blanche. So although Blanche’s attempt at convincing Stella to leave Stanley is not completely selfish as it can also be a form of survival, and after all, one theme that Williams was clearly intending to convey is that of social Darwinism – only the strongest survive; and in this case, that would be Stanley as he is superior to Blanche in both physical and mental strength. This is clearly supported in his successful rape of Blanche, achieving complete domination over her in the one way she does understand – through the sexual act of raping her.
The opening of scene 5 is particularly revealing of Blanche’s metal state and interestingly enough, her attempt to escape reality is voluntary and as the play progresses her lying becomes almost pathological. Even he fact that she “laughs” at herself for “being such a liar” is important as it shows the way in which Blanche uses heavy irony to consequently trivialise the idea of lying which ultimately makes her feel better emotionally. This, strangely enough, is also used to show that Blanche is not immoral although her past actions may suggest that because by trivialising the idea of lying she is subconsciously admitting to herself the fact that lying is wrong and is consequently covering up this fact. Her continual reference to Shep Huntleigh, on one level exposes the extent of her “desire” to escape but on another level is used to reinforce Blanche’s “desire” for the financial security that a man of Shep’s means can provide for her.
I believe that Blanche’s encounter with the “young” collector is also a small detail which Williams incorporates to reveal the sexual frustration that Blanche has been suppressing as well as to question her priorities and highlight the events which led to her being fired from her teaching job – for her affair with a “young” high-school student. This event is also dramatically important as it is used to contrast heavily with Blanche’s behaviour at Mitch’s entrance – her exclamation of “Look who’s coming!” seems to suggest that she has in some way regained consciousness from a “dream”. Her infidelity and unsteadiness seem to suggest that Blanche’s need to escape has arisen from an overwhelming amount of emotion that she cannot cope with and by pretending and playing a part – “she curtsies low” – she is preserving what “ought to be” as well as diminishing the confused feelings which harsh reality has to offer to her.
The main driving force behind Blanche’s eventual “madness” is, I believe, the tragic death of her husband. By “turning on a blinding light” and experiencing love “all at once and much, much too completely” Blanche made herself vulnerable by allowing herself to be affected in every way by Allan. The fact that this is all taken away from her abruptly after the revelation of his homosexuality, which mirrors a certain aspect of Williams’ own life, creates void in Blanche’s life which she attempts to ‘fill’ with random sexual partners, in the end amounting to an overwhelming guilt on her behalf as well as a possible feeling of shame about her actions; after all, she does choose to hide them. The combined feelings of love and guilt (for she blamed herself for Allan’s suicide) led Blanche to escape from these powerful emotions. But in the end, the past catches up with her and Stanley’s rape is a painful reminder that she is not in control of her own destiny.
The opening of scene 10 depicts Blanche in a particularly unstable state; in a “mood and hysterical exhilaration” and her “murmuring excitedly as if to a group of spectral admirers.” This is used to illustrate the gradual downfall that Blanche’s sanity has taken and at the same time creates a striking visual effect that an audience can appreciate fully, especially in her attire of the “soiled and crumpled white satin evening gown” which is firstly symbolic of a “soiled” past as, as we have been told, her whole past is compromised in the contents of that trunk and she seems to be dragging out her past and to some small extent facing that inevitability of a pessimistic future. Her comments to Stanley about going on “a cruise of the Caribbean on a yacht” are not believed by him but may be, in some way, reassuring her that there is still a chance of hope, which I believe creates a greater amount of sympathy for Blanche – she, in actual fact, seems to believe her own words which also serves to highlight her neurotic condition and hint at possible signs of insanity. Even the small detail of “slam[ming] the mirror face down” and causing the glass to “crack” reveals how Blanche cannot even stand to look at herself in the mirror as it symbolically represents facing herself, and sadly enough she seems to dislike herself and the person she has become. The cracking mirror can also be used to suggest a certain superstition connected to the breaking of mirrors which fits in appropriately with the consequent events which take place.
Using madness to escape from feelings which are “too great…to contain” is strongly associated with Blanche but to some extent, I believe, with Stella. Although Stella decides to believe that Stanley is telling the truth and that Blanche is in actual fact “insane” is Stella’s own way of avoiding the actual truth of the events of scene 10. This is also a form of escapism which suggests that ultimately, Stella will follow the same tragic past as that of her sister’s; into mental ‘death’ following a newfound will to believe in lies. Williams uses Blanche to convey his themes as well as unleashing a certain amount of sexual frustration he was feeling. In the end, despite whether Blanche is really “mad” or not is still debatable but I don’t believe she is; after all, it was quite clear from the end of scene 3 that her sexual “desire” for Stanley overrode her affection for her sister. It is then no wonder that Blanche has “always depended on the kindness of strangers.”
