● Stanley becomes a catalyst for Blanche’s descent into madness
- One can interpret Blanche’s supposed madness as a gendered response to Stanley’s
masculine violence.
- For example, in Scene 10 Stanley physically violates Blanche’s “inert” figure in an act of
brutal violence
- This scene represents the final fracture of Blanche’s psyche, and signals her transition
into becoming a shell of a being
- Stanley’s justification that “we’ve had this date with each other since the beginning”
suggests that the destruction of the “delicate” by the “primitive” was a Darwinian
inevitability and simply a part of nature
- This scene can be interpreted as Blanche’s metaphorical death.
- The predatory metaphor of Stanley as a “survivor of the stone age” and “primitive” is
enhanced by the use of Plastic Theatre with the “jungle noises” being played in this
scene. This reflects Blanche’s internal chaos and psychological rupture
● Blanche’s madness rooted in her anachronism and cultural displacement
- Blanche’s mental decline is a result of her being a relic of the Old South forced into a
modern industrial New Orleans
- Her madness is a defense mechanism
- The New South is represented by Stanley’s raw realism and is hostile to her aristocratic
values
- She retreats into a fantasy world of chivalry
- In her first scene she is “daintily dressed in white” This suggests that she is an
anachronism
- “Incrongruent to the setting” She no longer belongs in the world
- Her external environment doesn’t match with her internal state
● Blanche’s uses aestheticism as a defence mechanism against her madness
- Blanche uses her illusion and fantasies as a coping mechanism to deal with the brutal
reality of her situation
- Instead of acknowledging the “loss” she has experienced with the death of her husband,
and the loss of Belle Reve, she hides behind a fragile facade
- This facade is can be seen with her physical appearance and her avoidance of light
- Throughout the play we see how Blanche “can’t stand a naked bulb” and uses a “paper
lantern” to filter the light. This can be interpreted as Blanche attempting to hide her
appearance due to her insecurities about her age and looks which we see in her first scene
with Stella.
- However, another interpretation of this is that light is a metaphor for reality and truth. In
Blanche’s case specifically, light represents the truth of her past she is desperately trying
to hide.
- She is not successful in hiding her trauma completely.
- Through the use of Plastic Theatre, Williams showcases how Blanche’s attempts to hide
her past has not been successful and has only led to more
- One can interpret Blanche’s supposed madness as a gendered response to Stanley’s
masculine violence.
- For example, in Scene 10 Stanley physically violates Blanche’s “inert” figure in an act of
brutal violence
- This scene represents the final fracture of Blanche’s psyche, and signals her transition
into becoming a shell of a being
- Stanley’s justification that “we’ve had this date with each other since the beginning”
suggests that the destruction of the “delicate” by the “primitive” was a Darwinian
inevitability and simply a part of nature
- This scene can be interpreted as Blanche’s metaphorical death.
- The predatory metaphor of Stanley as a “survivor of the stone age” and “primitive” is
enhanced by the use of Plastic Theatre with the “jungle noises” being played in this
scene. This reflects Blanche’s internal chaos and psychological rupture
● Blanche’s madness rooted in her anachronism and cultural displacement
- Blanche’s mental decline is a result of her being a relic of the Old South forced into a
modern industrial New Orleans
- Her madness is a defense mechanism
- The New South is represented by Stanley’s raw realism and is hostile to her aristocratic
values
- She retreats into a fantasy world of chivalry
- In her first scene she is “daintily dressed in white” This suggests that she is an
anachronism
- “Incrongruent to the setting” She no longer belongs in the world
- Her external environment doesn’t match with her internal state
● Blanche’s uses aestheticism as a defence mechanism against her madness
- Blanche uses her illusion and fantasies as a coping mechanism to deal with the brutal
reality of her situation
- Instead of acknowledging the “loss” she has experienced with the death of her husband,
and the loss of Belle Reve, she hides behind a fragile facade
- This facade is can be seen with her physical appearance and her avoidance of light
- Throughout the play we see how Blanche “can’t stand a naked bulb” and uses a “paper
lantern” to filter the light. This can be interpreted as Blanche attempting to hide her
appearance due to her insecurities about her age and looks which we see in her first scene
with Stella.
- However, another interpretation of this is that light is a metaphor for reality and truth. In
Blanche’s case specifically, light represents the truth of her past she is desperately trying
to hide.
- She is not successful in hiding her trauma completely.
- Through the use of Plastic Theatre, Williams showcases how Blanche’s attempts to hide
her past has not been successful and has only led to more
