BLANCHE’S FANTASY VS REALITY
In Scene One, Blanche takes a streetcar named Desire through Cemeteries to reach Elysian Fields,
where Stella and Stanley live. Though the place names are real, the journey allegorically
foreshadows Blanche’s mental descent throughout the play. Blanche’s desires have led her down
paths of sexual promiscuity and alcoholism, and by coming to stay with the Kowalskis, she has
reached the end of the line. Blanche’s desire to escape causes her to lose touch with the world
around her. By the end of the play, Blanche can no longer distinguish between fantasy and real
life.
When Stanley tells Stella the sordid details of Blanche’s past, Blanche is offstage bathing and
singing “Paper Moon,” a song about a make-believe world that becomes reality through love. But
Blanche’s make-believe world does not overtake reality: her fantasy version of herself crumbles.
OVERALL
The tension between fantasy and reality centres around Blanche’s relationship with both other
characters and the world around her. Blanche doesn’t want realism-she wants magic. Although
Blanch tries to wrap herself in her former Southern belle self, she must eventually face facts, and
the real world shatters Blanche’s fantasies. Throughout the play, Blanche mainly appears in semi-
darkness and shadows, deliberately keeping herself out of the harsh glare of reality. She clings to
the false, illusion of the world of paper lanterns and satin robes: if she can keep up the appearance
of being an innocent ingénue, she can continue to see herself in this fashion rather than face her
past and destitute present. By maintaining an illusory exterior appearance, Blanche hopes to hide
her troubled interior from both herself and the world.
QUOTES
“They told me to take a street-car named Desire, and transfer to one called
Cemeteries, and ride six blocks and get off at—Elysian Fields!” – Blanche, Scene One, pg 3
“Sit there and stare at me, thinking I let the place go? I let the place go? Where were
you! In bed with your–Polack!” – Blanche, Scene One, pg 12
“After all, a woman’s charm is fifty percent illusion.” – Blanche, Scene Two
“I can’t stand a naked light bulb, any more than I can a rude remark or a vulgar
action.” – Blanche, Scene Three
“The kitchen now suggests that sort of lurid nocturnal brilliance, the raw colours of
childhood’s spectrum.” – Stage directions, Scene Three.
“Young man! Young, young, young man! Has anyone ever told you that you look like a
young Prince out of the Arabian Nights?” – Blanche, Scene Five
“I don’t want realism. I want magic!” – Scene Nine
“You left nothing here but spilt talcum and old empty perfume bottles–unless it’s the
paper lantern you want to take with you. You want the lantern?” – Stanley, Scene Eleven
“Please don’t get up. I’m only passing through.” – Blanche, Scene Eleven
In Scene One, Blanche takes a streetcar named Desire through Cemeteries to reach Elysian Fields,
where Stella and Stanley live. Though the place names are real, the journey allegorically
foreshadows Blanche’s mental descent throughout the play. Blanche’s desires have led her down
paths of sexual promiscuity and alcoholism, and by coming to stay with the Kowalskis, she has
reached the end of the line. Blanche’s desire to escape causes her to lose touch with the world
around her. By the end of the play, Blanche can no longer distinguish between fantasy and real
life.
When Stanley tells Stella the sordid details of Blanche’s past, Blanche is offstage bathing and
singing “Paper Moon,” a song about a make-believe world that becomes reality through love. But
Blanche’s make-believe world does not overtake reality: her fantasy version of herself crumbles.
OVERALL
The tension between fantasy and reality centres around Blanche’s relationship with both other
characters and the world around her. Blanche doesn’t want realism-she wants magic. Although
Blanch tries to wrap herself in her former Southern belle self, she must eventually face facts, and
the real world shatters Blanche’s fantasies. Throughout the play, Blanche mainly appears in semi-
darkness and shadows, deliberately keeping herself out of the harsh glare of reality. She clings to
the false, illusion of the world of paper lanterns and satin robes: if she can keep up the appearance
of being an innocent ingénue, she can continue to see herself in this fashion rather than face her
past and destitute present. By maintaining an illusory exterior appearance, Blanche hopes to hide
her troubled interior from both herself and the world.
QUOTES
“They told me to take a street-car named Desire, and transfer to one called
Cemeteries, and ride six blocks and get off at—Elysian Fields!” – Blanche, Scene One, pg 3
“Sit there and stare at me, thinking I let the place go? I let the place go? Where were
you! In bed with your–Polack!” – Blanche, Scene One, pg 12
“After all, a woman’s charm is fifty percent illusion.” – Blanche, Scene Two
“I can’t stand a naked light bulb, any more than I can a rude remark or a vulgar
action.” – Blanche, Scene Three
“The kitchen now suggests that sort of lurid nocturnal brilliance, the raw colours of
childhood’s spectrum.” – Stage directions, Scene Three.
“Young man! Young, young, young man! Has anyone ever told you that you look like a
young Prince out of the Arabian Nights?” – Blanche, Scene Five
“I don’t want realism. I want magic!” – Scene Nine
“You left nothing here but spilt talcum and old empty perfume bottles–unless it’s the
paper lantern you want to take with you. You want the lantern?” – Stanley, Scene Eleven
“Please don’t get up. I’m only passing through.” – Blanche, Scene Eleven
