A Streetcar Named Desire: Scene 1

Summary

—We are introduced to the New Orleans area and the way of life there.

—We are introduced to Stella, Stanley and Eunice.

—We meet Blanche as she arrives unexpectedly at Stella and Stanley’s house.

—Through dialogue we start to learn about the character’s backgrounds and we are told that Blanche and Stella’s family have all died and the family home, Belle Reve, has been lost.

—We are also told that Blanche’s husband died.

Key Quotations

—“Her appearance is incongruous to this setting. She is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and hat.”

—We are told immediately that Blanche is “incongruous” to the setting which suggests that no matter what happens she will never truly fit in. Blanche is “daintily” dressed which suggests fragility and care over her appearance and her clothes are all white which gives the illusion of purity and innocence. Her “fluffy bodice” and her “necklace and earrings of pearl” clearly demonstrate her wealth and imply that she is of an upper class.

—“Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light. There is something about her uncertain manner, as well as her white clothes, that suggest a moth.”

—Here we are told that Blanche’s “delicate” beauty must avoid a strong light which gives us the illusion that she is fragile and of an upper class. It is also the start of the theme of light which is referred to throughout the whole play. The comparison of Blanche to a moth is important as it not only becomes an antithesis later on in the play, but it implies connotations of intrusion and dislike. Moths are attracted to light as they believe there is eternal darkness behind the light and similarly Blanche is “attracted” to Stella and Stanley’s home (the light) as she believes that it is there that she will find comfort and protection (the darkness).

—“They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at- Elysian Fields!”

—Here we are introduced to the idea that desire leads to death which then leads to the after-life. In Greek mythology, Elysian Fields was the resting place for the most heroic and virtuous individuals and is described as a form of paradise. Blanche presumably knew this and so it explains her shock and disbelief when she arrives at Stella’s apartment as she is expecting a place that resembles paradise. 

—“Blanche sits in a chair very stiffly with her shoulders slightly hunched and her legs pressed close together and her hands tightly clutching her purse as if she were quite cold… She pours a half tumbler of whisky and tosses it down.”

—Here we are immediately introduced to both Blanche’s anxiety and her dependence on alcohol. The adverbs “stiffly” and “tightly” suggest tension and fear whilst her shoulders being “slightly hunched” and acting as if she were “quite cold” suggests that she is fragile and is attempting to make herself as small as possible in order to protect herself. Her use of alcohol to release tension is something that is introduced very early on and is also something that is a recurring theme throughout the play. The word “tosses” implies that she is in desperate need of a release and that she is also conscious to disguise it.

—“Well, Stella- you’re going to reproach me, I know that you’re bound to reproach me- but before you do- take into consideration- you left! I stayed and struggled!”

—Blanche’s use of a discourse marker indicates that there is going to be a change in mood and topic. The use of a diacope of the word “reproach” suggests that Blanche assumes the worst and that she has convinced herself that Stella will be disappointed in her. Blanche’s hyphenated sentences demonstrate her anxiety and worry as does her use of exclamatives. The use of sibilance in “stayed and struggled” not only expresses Blanche’s distress but also gives an almost sinister tone to her words. 

—“I stayed and fought for it, bled for it, almost died for it!”

Blanche’s use of a tricolon as well as amplificato really reinforces her point that she never left Belle Reve. Williams’ lexical choices of “fought”, “bled” and “died” create a semantic field of a battle which shows us that Blanche views the loss of Belle Reve to be a horrific thing. This choice of semantic field also helps Blanche to emphasise her point of how she tried really hard not to lose Belle Reve despite probably knowing that she could never save it on her own. Blanche is trying to make Stella feel guilty for leaving the family home and she succeeds in doing this by creating the image that she desperately needed help but Stella wasn’t there to help her. 

—“He sizes women up at a glance, with sexual classifications, crude images flashing into his mind and determining the way he smiles at them.”

The fact that Stanley sexually classifies women tells us that he is a shallow person and is extremely sexually motivated. His first impressions of a woman are very important to him as they determine his behaviour towards them which suggests that he is not someone to hide his feelings towards a woman. The act of classifying another person suggests feelings of superiority and a need for control over other people.