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How does the relationship between Blanche & Stella develop as the play progresses? How could this be shown dramatically? At the beginning of the play, Blanche & Stella are under misapprehensions about each other’s circumstances. The opening scenes show the differences between their two worlds & tensions begin to build as the two worlds are set to collide. As Tennessee Williams has constructed the play as, effectively, a series of one-act plays (a speciality of his), each scene stands alone & reveals a different aspect of their relationship. This is the drama of the play: the plot is minimal – moving “from hope and frustration to destruction & despair” (Tischler). There is an irony here – “They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, & then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks & get off at –Elysian Fields!” (Scene 1,Blanche) From this first scene, Blanche’s interior world of a lost past, fantasies, & desperate hopes (Belle Reve) is contrasted with Stella’s life in the present tense; her passionate love for Stanley has her rooted in the modern world. The struggle between Blanche & Stanley for Stella’s character takes us through from crisis to crisis until the unbearable last act when Stella finally chooses Stanley to the ruin of Blanche. Blanche’s preoccupation with ageing & death also contrasts & collides with Stella’s pragmatic existence in the present, her embracing of life (the baby) and her sacrifice of her previous cultured world to her physical passion for Stanley. The main dramatic tools Williams uses to emphasise the contrasts & tension are lighting & music. Harsh lighting & bright colours are used for the modern world of Stella & Stanley. The ubiquitous Blue Piano shows the undercurrent of louche sexuality that pervades their lives. Blanche, on the other hand, has soft misty lighting & otherworldly clothes. The frantic polka music, appearing as she remembers her disastrous marriage, accompanies her slide into madness & disconnection with the present. The occasional shrieking of a cat or cries from the street emphasises tension & danger. Scene 1 In this scene, we learn that Blanche is not to be trusted (the secret nip of whiskey, the half-truth that she wishes to stay with her sister rather than in an hotel). We also see her instability & her defensiveness (the way she attacks Stella with reproaches about leaving her to attend to family deaths whilst revealing that she has lost everything).
Approximate Word count = 1526
Approximate Pages = 6.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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