A Streetcar Named Desire. Scene 10

Explore how Williams builds up to the inevitable rape of Blanche in Scene 10. Consider his use of setting, character and stage directions in your answer.

Old and new, weak and aggressive, intellect and brute force: Blanche and Stanley. The battle between old and new America in the 1940’s was in full flow and the triumph of the new was assured. The constant battle between Tennessee Williams’ ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’s main characters, Blanche Du’Bois and Stanley Kowalski, reflects the changing of America. “Stanley carries his bowling jacket and a red-stained package from a butchers.” This quote gives us the first impression of the man of the play. There is huge significance in the fact that Stanley sports a ‘red-stained package.’ It shows that he is the one who goes out hunting, he brings home the ‘meat’ in this household and he is the primary hunter who is always the top of the food chain. He controls what happens in his territory. This and the quote describing Stanley as a ‘Richly feathered bird,’ symbolises an animalistic and primeval man of prehistoric times. There are many references to Stanley’s wild manner throughout the play, by Stella describing him as ‘a different species’ and the constant ‘grunts, ‘roars and ‘bellowing’ that he vocalises. Blanche’s introduction to ‘Streetcar’ gives us the opposing battle. “She is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and hat, looking as if she were arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party.” Her whole attire suggests purity and innocence. ‘Daintily dressed’ in white clothing tells us that the character of Blanche takes the form of a delicate young woman of a higher class. “Something about her uncertain manner, as well as her white clothes, that suggest a moth." Being compared to a moth shows us more about Blanches character in many ways. The most obvious of which is that of her white clothes. Being compared with a moth tells us that she is physically delicate and that shying from the light is one of Blanches common actions. It could also tell us that as Blanche shies away from the light as not to show her true age, when she is drawn into the light, bad things happen (as moths are attracted to light, but when they get too close, death falls upon them). Another meaning of the moth links would be that Blanche is attracted to danger. Her strong desires lead her into trouble, as Williams’ shows when Blanche gets too close to the men in the story. All these characteristics link back to the fact that she represents Old America in the play. In scene three and four, Blanche shows us that she is trying to use her younger sister Stella. The reason for this is that she wants herself to be needed. She wants Stella to need her older sister to love and take care of her. When Blanche runs into Stella’s bedroom and cries “ Baby. My baby sister!” – she is being far too over the top. Stella reacts by ‘drawing away from her.’ All Blanche wants is to be needed and desired by others. During Blanches first conversation with Mitch, all she does is flirt. She informs him of the meaning of her name ‘white woods’ and compares it to ‘an orchard in spring’ to make herself seem more beautiful and appealing to him. She lies to him about her age, telling him that ‘Stella’s somewhat older than I.’ Again creating a more seductive view of herself. Blanche asks Mitch to put a lantern over a lightbulb. This is yet again a ploy to increase Mitches attraction for her. Covering a light - which can also be metaphoric for covering the truth – prevents people form seeing truly how Blanche appears and protects her from her true age. Stanley confronts Blanche and her past unfurls after Blanche asks Stanley of his star sign. He plays along, asking her in turn of hers – ‘Virgo the virgin…’ He laughs ‘contemptuously’ – which shows his knowledge that she is not. Stanley then goes on to enquire about a man who was under the impression he met Blanche in Laurel, to try and prove her virgin stories wrong. ‘Her face expresses a faint shock’ and ‘answers carefully,’ tell the reader that she is surprised he is aware of her previous acts but she beats him with her intelligence as she thinks before answering. At The start of scene nine Blanche is sitting in ‘a hunched position in a bedroom chair that she has re-covered with diagonal green and white stripes.’ The fact that she is hunched up, shows there is still tension about and could also portray Blanche being an animal, cowering away from the beast that is Stanley. She has also ‘re-covered’ a chair. This shows that Blanche has settled in and even if she is wary of Stanley, she is still playing games by affecting his and Stellas lives. She is drinking and listening to ‘rapid, feverish polka’ and talking/singing to herself. All this suggests that the ‘sense of disaster’ is indeed ‘closing in upon her. After 6 pages of Mitches confrontation, Blanche asks him what he wants and he replies, ‘what I’ve been missing all summer.’ But when Mitch says he does not wish for her hand in marriage, Blanche gets upset and threatens him. Now Mitch knows about all the other men she has been with, he expects her to sleep with him, rather than to act the innocent and keeping him waiting. It’s as if Mitch sees it as an insult. Even though Mitch is the only person Blanche has opened up to, Mitch doesn’t see nor hear that she is being truthful. The fact that Mitch fails to seduce Blanche, also ‘bigs up’ Stanley, making him look greater in comparison and shows that Stanley wouldn’t have approved of Mitch marrying Blanche anyway. Blanche begins to wind Stanley up when she refers to him as a ‘swine.’ She then goes on to tell Stanley about her and Mitches end of relations – all of which was a lie. Unluckily for Blanche, Stanley already knew of her untruths and asks her is she ended with Mitch before of after she received a telegram from her beloved Shep Huntleigh. Stanley is also aware that the telegram was made-up and confronts Blanche about it. Williams then build up tension by Blanch repeating ‘Oh!’ in shock as Stanley continues to reveal her truths. There are then a number of short, sharp sentences which help quicken the pace of the play enlarging tension for what is about to happen.

‘The bathroom door is thrown open and Stanley comes out in his brilliant silk pyjamas.’ The point that Stanley ‘throws’ open the door shows his beast-like force and his ‘brilliant’ pyjamas show his likeness to simple but bold and strong things. When Blanche attempts to pass Stanley and escape form his control, music begins and Williams describes the setting as ‘the inhuman jungle voice rise up, he takes a step towards her, biting his tongue which protrudes between his lips.’ This puts primitive Stanley in his element. He controls the jungle and its voices and having a protruding tongue gives the impression of a snake. Snakes being symbolised for slippery and sly, this is a good comparison to Stanley and his future actions. ‘He springs towards her’ – like a predator, hunting and catching its prey New America was inevitably going to succeed against Old America as the New was strong, had new ideas, was energetic and alive much the same as Stanley’s character. Old America was dying becoming decadent and stuck in the past, as Blanche was. The ending that Blanche is taken away, proves just how much power Stanley has over her and just how much power the new has over the old.