Streetcar Named Desire

1. Streetcar Named Desire Scene 9

2. Scene Nine • This scene marks a decisive stage in Blanche’s disintegration. • She is drinking heavily and the past symbolised by the insistent polka music is pressing own upon her • This scene is effective melodrama as Mitch’s hostility and Blanche’s half hearted protestations lead up to the ending when he tries to sleep with her

3. Scene Nine • This scene also reveals what was motivating Blanche. • Surrounded by the memories of her dead husband and dying members of her family, she felt so afraid of death’s proximity that she sought the opposite - DESIRE • To Blanche desire symbolises life, youth and everything that is pleasant • Ironically Blanche dies inside as a result of her moral decay • This scene is also the final confrontation between Blanche and Mitch

4. Characterisation : Blanche • Blanche’s strange behaviour at the beginning (drinking and huddled on a chair) coupled with the Polka music symbolises the premonition of a disaster which is about to occur • Blanche’s incessant chatter at the beginning conveys how nervous she is and is perhaps her attempt to postpone their inevitable confrontation – once again, she prefers illusion to reality

5. Characterisation : Blanche • Blanche’s admission that “I don’t want realism” conveys that she wants to live in a make-believe world because it is not so painful. • This is why she does not always tell the truth. She only tells what she thinks ought to be the truth and in her mind this is not really lying

6. Characterisation : Blanche • Blanche’s drinking symbolises her inability to cope and her “desire” to blot things out. • Ironically the liquor is called “Southern Comfort”. • Blanche has arrived in the southern states looking for comfort but neither the alcohol or her stay with Stanley and Stella are giving her any. • Her journey to New Orleans was her quest for a new life, but has resulted in what seems to be her final downfall

7. Characterisation : Blanche • This scene also offers an insight into Blanche’s character. For the first time we are given insights into her behaviour at Laurel. • She admits her lies, but she also tells unequivocally the truth about herself. • When her fantasies meet with incomprehension and brutality, she turns for good to her world of make-believe as Blanche says, “I don’t want realism”

8. Characterisation: Mitch • Ironically, he could have accepted her lies about her age, but he cannot accept the truth about her past and the lies she has told to cover this up • Mitch’s refusal to marry Blanche show that she is no longer able to escape her past • Mitch hurrying out of the apartment represents Blanche’s last chance for stability in her life disappearing

9. Imagery: The Paper Lantern • The paper lantern represents the dressing up of reality • Blanche’s fear of the light that Mitch wants conveys her fear and inability to deal with truth and brightness. • She does not want Mitch to see her in full light. The darkness creates an illusory world for Blanche where she feels she can hide the truth of her past and the truth of her age • Mitch tearing down the lantern conveys that Stanley has already metaphorically “turned on the light for Mitch”, but now he wants the truth for himself. • His tearing down of the lantern symbolises his extermination of the fake persona she has concocted

10. Imagery: The Paper Lantern • It is ironic that this scene shows a reversal of conventional symbols • For Blanche light is a cruel enemy while darkness is kind • Darkness is kind because not only is her appearance covered up but it hides the ugliness of the real world. • This enables Blanche to maintain her illusions. When her illusions go, so do her sanity

11. Language • Blanche’s high flown artificial language coupled with Mitch’s short, contemptuous and ungrammatical replies further symbolises the gulf between them

12. Stagecraft • The Varsouviana music is playing. This conveys Blanche’s loss of control. • With Mitch’s arrival the polka music stops. This symbolises that in Blanche’s mind, Mitch would have been able to deal with her problems • The appearance of the Mexican flower seller symbolises the death of Blanche’s relationship with Mitch and all the death that surrounded her at Belle Reve • After Mitch leaves, the Varsouviana is replaced by the melancholy sound of the blue piano which symbolises sadness and loss