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A Streetcar Named Desire - Blanche and Stella relationship essay
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A Streetcar Named Desire - Blanche and Stella relationship essay
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Explore how Williams presents Blanche and Stella in Scene 1 of A Streetcar NamedDesire
Blanche Dubois and Stella Kowalski, the two sisters that are at the centre of Tennessee
Williams’ ‘quietly woven study of intangibles’ (Brooks Atkinson), A Streetcar Named Desire.
Both having grown up at Belle Reve, a plantation in Laurel, Mississippi, Blanche and Stella
share the ingrained southern values their childhood taught them. However, with the
deterioration of Belle Reve and its inhabitants, Stella fled to New Orleans where she met the
working class immigrant Stanley to start anew while Blanche remained to look after her dying
relatives. Stella’s life at Elysian Fields has allowed her to fulfill the expectations of a woman in
the 1940s - get married, look after your husband, and get pregnant. Blanche however is a
widowed nymphomaniac who uses a Southern belle facade to conceal her secrets. Blanche’s
secrets, as well as Stella’s, create a distinct tension between the sisters which becomes
prominent in Scene 1 and remains a fundamental flaw in the sister’s relationship.
As a modern tragedy, Williams sets out the flaws of the protagonist, Blanche, from the very
beginning. One of her flaws includes her undeniable insecurity about her appearance. Blanche
craves compliments and often receives them from Stella who replies “[dutifully],” as if Stella is
playing a role that she has maintained since childhood; she knows what to say to Blanche to
please her. Stella is also described as speaking “wearily],” which insinuates that she is tired of
reassuring Blanche with compliments, compliments that are perhaps not as sincere, thus
causing her to speak “[dutifully]”. However, despite the continuous flattery, routinely throughout
Scene 1, Blanche's insecure streak in her character causes her to be described as moving
“[Nervously]” and looking to Stella for “reassurance.” The adverb in the stage direction shows
that Blanche is uncomfortable lying and the topic of conversation brings up bad memories.
However, it is argued that this physical reaction could be Blanche acting to prove to Stella that
her “nerves broke” and so she acts “[Nervously]” to support this claim. This nervousness does
not deter Blanche from her web of lies that she weaves from the beginning which marks the
foundations for her downfall due to the difficulty she has in maintaining these lies. The idea that
she creates this web of lies could perhaps foreshadow the name of the hotel she stayed in at
Laurel, the “Tarantula,” where she deceived countless men. By Blanche not revealing anything
of her true reality, Blanche guards herself against criticism that, if she was looking upon herself,
would receive. This again reinforces the idea that Blanche is insecure yet the audience and
Stella don’t know the full extent to why this may be.
The paralanguage and unspoken interactions between the sisters are potentially the only times
the audience sees the reality of the tension between the sisters, built by the secrets they
conceal. In the stage direction, “[During the pause, Blanche stares at her. She smiles at
Blanche.],” the verb “stares” seems intense after Blanche has just ended the beginning of an
argument between the sisters. Blanche is trying to read whether she has insulted Stella too
much as Stella is Blanche’s last hope of a normal life. Furthermore, the verb “smiles” has
connotations of love and support which could perhaps hint that Stella is aware of Blanche’s
mental instability. This loving smile is the complete antithesis of how Blanche later “smiles at
him [Stanley] radiantly]” which shows the contrast between the sisters, Stella’s smile is
supportive however, Blanche’s is flirtatious. The adverb “radiantly” shows Blanche as trying to fit
into Stanley’s world of bold colours and bright lights. This light that Blanche emits through her
smile foreshadows that she is perhaps preparing herself to be truthful about Belle Reve to
Stanley. However, it could be used to show the real, flirtatious Blanche that uses her sexual
freedom as her power, therefore she seems radiant and full of life. When the Young Man leaves
Blanche in Scene 4, Blanche is described as looking “dreamily” which reinforces the idea that,
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