When Blanche is talking to Stella she says a comment that enhances the metaphor of the moth. “ I wont be looked at in this merciless glare!”. There is obviously a reason for her behaviour here, but at this point the audience are left to guess what it is. She could be, a very vain character who has to look perfect to everyone, or she could have something to hide. Whatever her reasons, Blanche gives the impression of being a fragile person as well as showing she has a dark secret which she doesn’t want discovered. She seems to shy away from the truth by hiding from the light.
As the older sister of Stella, Blanche shows a bossy authority in her mannerisms towards her sister. In appearance Blanche is timid looking, but in the conversations with Stella she seems to be the dominant of the two. This is shown when Stella says: “ You never did give me a chance to say much, Blanche.” Stella seems to be the more passive character. Blanche fits easily back into the role of the big sister, and is very patronizing towards Stella and also very critical of her looks and her home. “ You messy child, you, you’ve spilt something on that pretty white lace collar.” There is also a great deal of resent in her tone when Blanche says; “ The summer dad died and you left us…” She must have had reasons for this resent so something must have happened after Stella left that makes Blanche act like this.
When she isn’t criticizing her sister, Blanche likes the subject of conversation to be about herself and her appearance. In the stage notes Stella is shown to be complimenting her sister because she feels she ought to. “ (a little wearily) It’s incredible, Blanche, how well you’re looking. …(Dutifully)” At this point it is clear that Stella is obviously lying because later Blanche says, “ as you must have noticed - I’m not very well…” Although she has been fishing for compliments about her looks, even Blanche herself admits her isn’t looking so good.
As the scene progresses Blanche becomes more and more upset about what she has had to deal with when Stella left her. “ All the burden descended on my shoulders” Eventually she shouts hysterically at the shocked Stella, about her fears, and distresses of how she suffered alone haunted by death. How she had watched her house decaying and her family dieing and was left with no money. She seems very bitter as a result of her suffering. There is also a suggestion here that she isn’t quite sane anymore. Or at least she has a problem that she is finding very difficult to deal with alone.
After Branch’s outburst Stella is very distraught and has to go into the bathroom to wash her face. By Stella’s reaction Blanche has never done anything like this before, so this new, unsettled, hysterical, and almost unstable person has become this way as a result of an incident that has happened recently.
In the stage notes Stella’s husband Stanley is described as a show-off, a wild character that has dirty mind and looks at women sizing them up, with sexual classifications. As soon as he sees Blanche he looks at her in a way she is not comfortable with, “ (drawing involuntarily back from his stare)” Straight away, Blanche doesn’t seem to like him, although she pretends to. Stanley has judged her within minuets. When she says she rarely drinks he says; “ some people rarely touch it, but it touches them often.” He doesn’t believe her. Throughout their conversation until the end of the scene Blanche appears very uncomfortable and uneasy with Stanley presents, although he seems very relaxed and outgoing. “ (He grins at Blanche. She tries unsuccessfully to smile back. There is a silence.”) Even after a few minutes together there is a strange feeling of tension between these two characters, and suspense for the audience.
In this first scene Blanche is characterised effectively, and a lot is learnt about her by the way she is described and the was the other characters respond to her,
