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Summary presentation of Blanche in a streetcar named desire
detailed character analysis of Blanche in the opening of a streetcar named desire
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How is Blanche portrayed in the opening of the playIn the opening of the play, Blanche is portrayed as a conceited, peremptory woman who cares
profoundly about her class and status. She openly calls Stella's flat a 'horrible place' which, through
the simple yet extreme adjective, implies that she is disgusted by the life her sister has created for
herself. The dramatic assertion paired with the plosive in 'place' accentuates Blanche's disapproval
as the harsh, aggressive sound mirrors her critical view towards Stella's home and New Orleans in
general. Williams, again, insinuates the fact that Blanche believes herself to be too good to stay in
Stella's flat as she denigrates the 'conditions' in which she will have to stay in. Through utilising this
noun, Williams has inferred that Blanche is dissatisfied as 'conditions' are usually used in the
semantic field of factories or work-places. This allows the audience to understand that Blanche views
Stella's flat as uncomfortable and lacklustre. The repetition of the disparaging statements makes it
intelligible to the audience that Blanche cares profusely about her surroundings and believes they
should be of a higher standard, magnifying her supercilious nature. Furthermore, the fact Blanche
feels confident enough to mock the life Stella has built for herself in the 'cosmopolitan city' alerts the
audience that she is dominant in the relationship and therefore even thinks of herself as better than
her sister who derived from the same class and family as her.
Williams portrays Blanche as a superficial character who prioritises her appearance and image over
anything else. In the stage directions, she is described as 'daintily dressed in a white suit' which
immediately establishes the fact she takes pride in her semblance. Williams utilises the alliterative
description to not only create a graceful, poetic feel to allow the audience to assimilate how proper
and delicate Blanche is but to also to infer that Blanche takes time and effort in making herself look
smart as the adjective 'daintily' is often connoted to intricacy and charm. Williams paints Blanche to
juxtapose the 'weathered grey' and 'rickety' houses in New Orleans to pose questions to the
audience as to how she will fit in and be able to cope in a city with such different principles.
Moreover, when alone Blanche isn't afraid to 'spring up' and '[toss]' the bottle down which creates a
sense of nonchalance and even toughness as the fervid verbs chosen delineate a picture of urgency
and desire, typical masculine behaviour. However, she 'carefully replaces the bottle' which hints at
her secrecy as 'carefully' highlights the fact she is deliberately making an effort to make sure her
reputation is not damaged by the fact she is drinking. The contrast between Blanche's behaviour
when alone and around others indicates to the audience that she is desperate for approval and feels
like she needs to put on a feminine, pure persona to achieve this.
Behind her fragile, angelic appearance, Williams portrays Blanche to be rather manipulative and
unpredictable. During her introduction, she is described as having delicate beauty which at first
glance could be interpreted as lady-like and elegant however on a closer reading allows the audience
to realise that Blanche is extremely frangible, prognosticating some sort of pain or suffering. This is
reiterated as Williams writes her character 'suggests a moth' which symbolises the fact she is
impulsive and attracted to danger whilst being silky and wholesome on the outside. This point is
accentuated as the name Blanche DuBois translates to white wood which visually show the duality
between the pure, angelic colour and the mysterious, surreptitious woodland. Blanche's dual
personality intrigues the audience and makes them wary of her and her real intentions.
Furthermore, Blanche blames Stella for the fall of Belle Reve taking the responsibility away from
herself in order to gain sympathy. She claims that 'all the burden descended on [her]' which, by
pairing the hyperbolic predeterminer 'all' and the weighty noun 'burden', implies Blanche had to
suffer hardship at the cause of her sister leaving. By exaggerating the toll this experience took on
her, Blanche has attempted to accuse her sister for causing her pain which emphasises her true
malicious, wily nature
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