BLANCHE DUBOIS
She is the PROTAGONIST of the play.
She is a Tragic Character.
APPEARANCE & COSTUME
It is evident that Blanche comes from a different social status.
Southern Belle Façade
“Her appearance is incongruous”- Highlights class difference and superiority, shows she
doesn’t belong. Foreshadows upcoming tension with Stanley.
“White suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace, ear-rings of pearl, white gloves and a hat” –
Innocent, Old fashioned.
“Delicate beauty” – Old, Fragile could reflect her mental state.
PERSONALITY
Fragile
Insecure
Vanity
Artificial
Racist – Sense Of Superiority
Mentally Instable
Sexual Desire
Vulnerable
TRAGIC CHARACTER
PAST HISTORY
Husband Committed Suicide
Slept With Her Student
Was A Teacher
Hints To Her Being A Prostitute
KEY QUOTES
“They told me to take a street-car named Desire, and transfer to one called Cemeteries, and ride
six blocks and get off at – Elysian Fields!”
Blanche’s allegorical journey reflects how she has ridden Desire which has ended her social
life/status
Could also relate to the journey that Stella has taken to what she thinks is her best life with
Stanley, but it’s still as good as death.
Shows contrast to what Blanche and Stella/Stanley see as normal
“her hands tightly clutching her purse as if she were quite cold […] A cat screeches. She catches
her breath with a startled gesture.”
Blanche’s insecure body language shows her alert and on guard
Her erratic/ neurotic nature is revealed and portrays her to be pray-like.
“I thought you would never come back to this horrible place! What am I saying? I didn’t mean to
say that. I meant to be nice about it and say – “
Reveals the extent of Blanche’s façade and her need to rehearse compliments and being
nice
“Now don’t get worried, your sister hasn’t turned into a drunkard”
Dramatic irony
Detachment as a form of coping mechanism to not face her alcoholism
“You haven’t said a word about my appearance”
, Insecure about her fading looks
Fishing for compliments
“Polacks?”
Offensive / Profane Language
Sense of supremacy
Creates a division between Stanley and her.
“Yes, accuse me! Sit there and stare at me, thinking I let the place go! Where were you! In bed
with your – Polack!”
Blanche subconsciously feels the guilt – her high regard for appearances is revealed as to
what it looks like she’s done.
With this, the real issue is revealed in that Blanche feels abandoned for the lower-class
Polish Stanley
“You were married once, weren’t you? (The music of the polka rises up, faint in the distance)”
Plastic theatre symbolises Blanche’s remorse, and her descent into fantasy as her
emotional trauma intensifies into insanity as the music becomes more frequently.
“Blanche comes out of the bathroom in a red satin robe”
Connotes to sexuality as well as danger – foreshadowing as in front of Stanley?
“How do I look?
You look all right?”
The dichotomy between Blanche’s expressionist tendencies and Stanley’s pragmatism
naturalism shatter Blanche’s façade that she upholds as a defence mechanism.
“It looks like my trunk has exploded”
Blanche’s fixation of appearances leads to her vulnerability upon her clothes being
exposed
“I like an artist who paints in strong, bold colours, primary colours. I don’t like pinks and creams
and I never cared for wishy-washy people.”
Blanche’s words act to encourage Stanley’s primitive assertions of sexuality
Do nothing to reflect Blanche’s identity
Bold colours reflect sexual desire as contrasted by the innocence of white and her name
“our improvident grandfathers and father and uncles and brothers exchanged the land for their
epic fornications—to put it plainly!”
Presents the destruction that desire can cause as the theme is prologues throughout the
play
Shows that Blanche’s inability to express sexual desire is one that belongs to the family as
the polysynthetic demonstrates the patriarchy within society
“The blind are – leading the blind”
Foreshadows the end for both Stella and Blanche
Stella is blind in seeing anything but the good in Stanley – found in Bible with “If a blind
man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit”
“And if God choose, I shall but love thee better – after – death!”
Part of Elizabeth Barret-Browning’s sonnet
The inscription speaks to Blanche as after her husband’s death
She’s been plagued by guilt and polka music
“Sick people have such deep, sincere attachments. Sorrow makes for sincerity, I think.”
She is the PROTAGONIST of the play.
She is a Tragic Character.
APPEARANCE & COSTUME
It is evident that Blanche comes from a different social status.
Southern Belle Façade
“Her appearance is incongruous”- Highlights class difference and superiority, shows she
doesn’t belong. Foreshadows upcoming tension with Stanley.
“White suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace, ear-rings of pearl, white gloves and a hat” –
Innocent, Old fashioned.
“Delicate beauty” – Old, Fragile could reflect her mental state.
PERSONALITY
Fragile
Insecure
Vanity
Artificial
Racist – Sense Of Superiority
Mentally Instable
Sexual Desire
Vulnerable
TRAGIC CHARACTER
PAST HISTORY
Husband Committed Suicide
Slept With Her Student
Was A Teacher
Hints To Her Being A Prostitute
KEY QUOTES
“They told me to take a street-car named Desire, and transfer to one called Cemeteries, and ride
six blocks and get off at – Elysian Fields!”
Blanche’s allegorical journey reflects how she has ridden Desire which has ended her social
life/status
Could also relate to the journey that Stella has taken to what she thinks is her best life with
Stanley, but it’s still as good as death.
Shows contrast to what Blanche and Stella/Stanley see as normal
“her hands tightly clutching her purse as if she were quite cold […] A cat screeches. She catches
her breath with a startled gesture.”
Blanche’s insecure body language shows her alert and on guard
Her erratic/ neurotic nature is revealed and portrays her to be pray-like.
“I thought you would never come back to this horrible place! What am I saying? I didn’t mean to
say that. I meant to be nice about it and say – “
Reveals the extent of Blanche’s façade and her need to rehearse compliments and being
nice
“Now don’t get worried, your sister hasn’t turned into a drunkard”
Dramatic irony
Detachment as a form of coping mechanism to not face her alcoholism
“You haven’t said a word about my appearance”
, Insecure about her fading looks
Fishing for compliments
“Polacks?”
Offensive / Profane Language
Sense of supremacy
Creates a division between Stanley and her.
“Yes, accuse me! Sit there and stare at me, thinking I let the place go! Where were you! In bed
with your – Polack!”
Blanche subconsciously feels the guilt – her high regard for appearances is revealed as to
what it looks like she’s done.
With this, the real issue is revealed in that Blanche feels abandoned for the lower-class
Polish Stanley
“You were married once, weren’t you? (The music of the polka rises up, faint in the distance)”
Plastic theatre symbolises Blanche’s remorse, and her descent into fantasy as her
emotional trauma intensifies into insanity as the music becomes more frequently.
“Blanche comes out of the bathroom in a red satin robe”
Connotes to sexuality as well as danger – foreshadowing as in front of Stanley?
“How do I look?
You look all right?”
The dichotomy between Blanche’s expressionist tendencies and Stanley’s pragmatism
naturalism shatter Blanche’s façade that she upholds as a defence mechanism.
“It looks like my trunk has exploded”
Blanche’s fixation of appearances leads to her vulnerability upon her clothes being
exposed
“I like an artist who paints in strong, bold colours, primary colours. I don’t like pinks and creams
and I never cared for wishy-washy people.”
Blanche’s words act to encourage Stanley’s primitive assertions of sexuality
Do nothing to reflect Blanche’s identity
Bold colours reflect sexual desire as contrasted by the innocence of white and her name
“our improvident grandfathers and father and uncles and brothers exchanged the land for their
epic fornications—to put it plainly!”
Presents the destruction that desire can cause as the theme is prologues throughout the
play
Shows that Blanche’s inability to express sexual desire is one that belongs to the family as
the polysynthetic demonstrates the patriarchy within society
“The blind are – leading the blind”
Foreshadows the end for both Stella and Blanche
Stella is blind in seeing anything but the good in Stanley – found in Bible with “If a blind
man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit”
“And if God choose, I shall but love thee better – after – death!”
Part of Elizabeth Barret-Browning’s sonnet
The inscription speaks to Blanche as after her husband’s death
She’s been plagued by guilt and polka music
“Sick people have such deep, sincere attachments. Sorrow makes for sincerity, I think.”
