She is also tells Mitch of her ability to “adapt to circumstances” whilst in reality she is only willing to use men to rescue her from this social downfall that has left her “incapable of dealing with the demands of life”. Blanche’s delusion and second step in her mental instability is portrayed here she believes herself to be adaptable, telling Stella that she is going to be “sensible” and make herself “a new life”. This adaptability is mirrored in ‘Gone With the Wind’ through Scarlett O’Hara, the strong, female lead who adapts quickly after the Civil War decimates her lifestyle as a Southern Belle. Here we see a contrast between her and Stella, as Stella “left” her elder sister Blanche to care for the family estate and their relatives, whilst she adapted to the modern world by marrying the “Polack” Stanley Kowalski and changing her lifestyle in order to survive. Finally the “crescendo of hysteria” is reached when Blanche confesses the struggles she has been through by staying at the family home with “all that sickness and dying”. This use of didascalie is prevalent throughout the entire play as it allows the audience to grasp more symbolical messages that aren’t as clear to grasp simply through the actor’s dialogue. The loss of Belle Reeve has been so emotionally traumatic for Blanche it is the first step in her mental deterioration as she references being “on the verge of lunacy” combined with her “shaking”, stuttering “the loss-the loss” and finally, William’s use of the recurring “blue piano” music to highlight moments of particular intensity. This is reinforced through the French translation of ‘Belle Reeve’ meaning ‘beautiful dream’ as now that the DuBois sisters have lost their property, it has an enchanted and mystical element to it. The property has been in the family for generations, a souvenir of their “French by extraction” heritage that she boasts about to Mitch in Scene 3 and makes him feel inadequate by her speaking French in Scene 6. The use of the word “lost” is important as it is used by Stella and Stanley to place the blame on Blanche, as though she has carelessly misplaced it or forgotten it somewhere highlighting their infantilization of Blanche. The analysis of Blanche’s character is depicted through her fall from grace, as we learn from Blanche’s first conversation with her sister, Stella, despite being brought up as a ‘Southern Belle’, a common caricature of the wealthy and white privileged Southern female, to a once affluent American family, Blanche has now “lost” their property, Belle Reeve, symbolic of the loss of her lifestyle, dreams and security.
Playwright Tennessee Williams presents Blanche as a typical 1940s privileged, upper class woman in this 1947 Southern Gothic with key uses of didascalie and plastic theatre in order for the audience to fully grasp the symbolical complexity of our antagonist.
Through her unattainable ambitions of her former glory, crippling insecurity, false sense of superiority as well as her loss of mental stability she demonstrates a poignant spiral from adored Southern Belle to mentally incapacitated, abused and “desperate” victim highlighting sexual prejudices held against her such as her inferiority and promiscuity, as a woman, as well as her own prejudices against male characters throughout the play. Explore the Presentation of Blanche in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’:Ĭapturing the dichotomy between the dying culture of the ‘Old South’ and a growing, progressive America, seen through the “cosmopolitan city” of New Orleans, the “flighty” Blanche DuBois has captivated audiences for decades.