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Courtney Guth

Balachandran

ENGL433

11 May 2013

A Laborer and a Gentlewoman

Exploring the Old & New South Dichotomy in A Streetcar Named Desire

In A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams creates Blanche and Stanley as two

dichotomous characters, each representing the Old South and the New South respectively.

Although she did not live in the antebellum South, Blanche strives to embody its womanized and

pure characteristics in her fantasy world of madness. On the other hand, Stanley embodies the

New South, the rising industrial working-class in his manly and brutish character. Both of their

distinct characteristics play into their personal desires. Whereas Stanley is rooted in reality and

desires to gain respect from and control over the women of the house, Blanche is stuck in her

fantasy of the Old South where she desires to return to the great life she once had before the loss

of Belle Reve. Because of the instability of Blanche’s fantasy world, as evidenced by her need to

lie and the recurring score of the “Varsouviana,” Stanley easily overpowers her, thus asserting

the New South’s rising dominance over the Old South and the play’s theme of the deterioration

of Southern gentility.

From her first entrance on stage, Blanche is set apart from the environment of the play.

Williams’ opening description of Blanche notes, “Her appearance is incongruous to the setting.

She is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earring of pearl, white

gloves and hat, looking as if she were arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party in the garden

district” (Williams 7). This description reveals a lot about her character before she even utters

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her first line. Her white ensemble “looking as if she were arriving at a summer tea” serves as a

direct contrast to the working class neighborhood of Stanley and Stella. Furthermore, the pearls

and all white ensemble project an image of class and refinement while calling to mind notions of

purity often upheld by southern women.

As Anya Jarbour explains in her text, “Scarlett's Sisters: Young Women in the Old

South,” “Young white women of the slaveholding class, more than any other group, epitomized

the grace, leisure, and beauty of the mythical southern lady” (2). In other words, young women

of the south are often though of as the embodiment southern values. These values are found not

only in Blanche’s dress, but also within her actions and desires. Blanche represents this

“mythical southern lady” but also creates her own mythical fantasy world in an effort to return to

the Old South.

Blanche desires to return to the Old South because she equates it with the life she once

had. She reveals to Stella that she lost Belle Reve and did everything she could to save it

(Williams 15). In response to Stella’s reaction, Blanche asserts, “Yes accuse me! Stand there

thinking I let the place go! Where were you? In bed with your Polack!” (Williams 16). It remains

clear from her accusations that Blanche believes Stanley is of lower class since she refers to him

as a “Polack” and not by name. By bringing Stanley into the problem, Blanche establishes the

dichotomy between Stanley and herself, which will soon play out when they meet.

When Blance and Stanley meet, the difference between the two of them is clear. He

demonstrates his status as a more common and brutish man by taking off his shit and admitting

he “never was a very good English student” immediately opposing him against Blanche’s former

status as a teacher (Williams 18). As they are introduced to each other, Stanley pries into

Blanche’s past causing her to admit that she was once married before (Williams 19). It is with

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this admission that the aural effect of the “Varsouviana” is first introduced. The stage directions

instruct, “Distant lilt of the ‘Varsouviana’ is heard. Blanche, listening to music, moves choppily

‘I’m afrain I’m—going to be sick’ Music grows more insistent. She tries to deny the sound,

looking fearfully about her, as the lights dim. When the music reaches a crescendo, she suddenly

leaps to her feet pressing her hands against her ears” (Williams 19). Here the “Varsouviana”

serves as an indicator of her madness. Only Blanche can hear it, and as much as she tries to

escape it, it only gets worse. Blanche feels guilty for her husbands death, as to be explored later,

but for now, the effect denotes a sense of failure and marks her experience as a trigger. As Anca

Vlasopolos contends in her article, “Authorizing History: Victimization in A Streetcar Named

Desire.,” “Blanche’s Southern accent and plantation origin mark her inescapably for

victimization” (152). In other words, Blanche is a product of the failed domesticity of the

antebellum south. She has failed her family by losing the plantation and failed her husband by

pushing him to his death and is now slated for disaster.

Blanche tries to escape this disastrous route through her world of fantasy. One way she

plays into the fantasy are her possessions, such as the rhinestone tiara, furs, and pearls she packs

with her in her trunk. All of these objects are from her past when she was in the prime time of

her life. She keeps them to hold onto them as mementos and connections to that past. Thus, it is

important to note that Stanley is the one to ruffle through all her belongings and call to his wife,

“Will you just open your eyes to this stuff!” (Williams 23). Stanley wants Stella to open her eyes

to more than just the stuff in front of her; he wants her to open her eyes to the situation at hand—

Blanche’s world of illusion and deceit. Vlasopolos considers, “[In Blanche’s absence,] her

physical being is replaced by her wardrobe trunk…Stanley forces the trunk open and ravages its

contents in an attempt to convince Stella that his suspicions about Blanche’s fraud are well

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founded” (155). In making this comment, Vlaspolos draws a parallel between Stanley’s actions

with the trunk and his future actions with Blanche. In this scene, he raids and rapes the trunk just

as he will eventually rape Blanche in Act Three. These acts of rape serve to exhibit dominance

over Blanche’s world of fantasy and desire. By digging out the remnants of her past, Stanley

breaks down her southern gentility.

At this point in the play, Blanche is fully aware of the illusion she exudes. She

flirtatiously offers the idea that “After all, a woman’s charm is fifty percent illusion” (Williams

28). Basically, Blanche sees a woman’s importance as rooted in her charm, and doing whatever it

takes to radiate that charm is essential to her identity and a southern woman. Irina-Ana Drobot

argues for this illusion in her article, “Perception Of Reality In A Streetcar Named Desire.”

Drobot observes, “Blanche’s reality, at least concerning herself is that of the Southern Belle. She

plays this part, not only for others, but also for herself…she is always trying to look aristocratic

and attractive, wishing for the others to maintain her illusions” (154). Drobot’s point is that

Blanche sees herself as a Southern Belle, and although she has lost everything, she does all that

she can to preserve the life and domesticity that she once had. The costumes in the trunk serve as

props in her world of illusion. They are some of the last remaining tangible objects for her.

When Stanley touches these objects, he shatters a piece of the illusion. For example, the

Varsouviana plays again in scene two as Stanley removes love letters from the trunk (Williams

28). Blanche’s immediate reaction is “Now that you’ve touched them, I’ll burn them” and she

falls to her knees followed by “I am sorry. I must have lost my head for a moment” (Williams

28). Thus far, the tune has only played when Stanley mentions her past. It’s as though Stanley

has the power to trigger this emotion, which demonstrates his manly dominance over Blanche’s

effeminate Southern Belle dynamic.

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The difference between Blanche and Stanley becomes clearer as Act One continues. In

Scene Four, Blanche first introduces her fantasy of Shep Huntleigh, her ideal man (Williams 46).

The key components of this fantasy are that she “went out with him at college” and that “Texas

is literally spouting gold in pocket” (46-47). Her mention that she went with him in college

demonstrates Blanche’s desire to return to her past, a more stable time. Furthermore, the fact that

he is loaded with money shows Blanche’s desire for the comfortable southern plantation life she

once lived. Stanley stands in contrast to this ideal Southern man. Whereas Shep is well educated

and comes from money, Stanley is a working class man with little to no education. As far as

Blanche is concerned, Stanley is an animal; she even makes the comparison claiming, “he acts

like an animal, has an animal’s habits! Eats like one, moves like one, talks like one” and goes on

to compare him to an ape or primitive man (Williams 50-51). By making this comparison,

Blanche shows that she desires a man who falls more in line with her values as a southern

woman, and because Stanley does not, he is subhuman. As Drobot mentions, “Characters in A

Streetcar Named Desire act according to their perception of reality. The way they relate to one

another is also caused by the way they perceive reality” (Drobot 153). Based on this idea that

their relations are caused by reality, it makes sense that Stanley and Blanche would not relate to

each other. Because Blanche’s pseudo-reality is based in a world of the past and Stanley’s reality

is in the present, they cannot see eye to eye.

Blanche’s pseudo-reality is further developed in Act Two. Williams makes special note,

“the scene is a point of balance between the play’s two sections…the important values are the

ones that characterize Blanche: [the act’s] function is to give her dimensions as a character and to

suggest the intense inner life which makes her a person of greater magnitude than she appears on

the surface” (Williams 52). In this description, Williams ensures that directors and readers

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understand the importance of this scene. He hints at “important values” that “characterize

Blanche” these values are those rooted in southern tradition, which will be found in her fantasies

later in the act.

However, Stanley serves in direct opposition to these fantasies and tries to break them

down. He first hints at exposing her secret by mentioning his connection to a man named Shaw

who claims to know about Blanche’s past (Williams 54). This piece of information fuels

Stanley’s power over Blanche. Stanley’s breakdown of Blanche’s fantasy correlates with the

overall theme of the new South’s role in the deterioration of Southern gentility. In the article,

"Blanche's Destruction: Feminist Analysis On A Streetcar Named Desire." Feng Wei argues, “In

the south, the men as the center of the society control the money, power and even women. They

form their own standards to evaluate the society and other people (103). In other words, as a man

of the New South, Stanley sees himself as the head of the house and has formed his own

standards for order, which Blanche does not meet. Because Blanche steps out of this societal

norm and into her fantasy world, Stanley seeks to control her and bring her back to reality.

Blanche’s loss of reality can be attributed to the loss of her beloved Belle Reve. She

laments, “I haven’t been so good the last two years or so, after Belle Reve had stated to slip

through my fingers…I’m fading now. I don’t know how much longer I can turn the trick”

(Williams 56). For Blanche, Belle Reve represented the epitome of antebellum southern class.

Because she lost that, she now “turn[s] the trick.” This trick is her world of illusion, and she’s

now beginning to lose her grasp over it as it begins to unravel with Stanley’s discovery. Blanche

understands that men do have power in southern society, which is why she desperately seeks the

approval of Mitch. She admits to Stella, “[Mitch] thinks I’m sort of prim and proper, you know! I

want to deceive him enough to make him want me” (Williams 57). Basically, Blanche is aware

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of what she is doing and what she believes she must do in order to keep Mitch around for him to

marry her—she must put on the persona of a pure Southern Belle. Her decision to do so connects

directly to what Jabour explains as the idea that “Adult southern women tended to lead isolated

lives on remote plantations…[they] had relatively few shared and sequestered spaces in which to

safely develop a critique of the status quo” (Jabour 12). In other words, because Blanche lived

her whole life in the space of Belle Reve, she was isolated from reality until it came crumbling

down with the death of her husband. She now turns to fantasy to retrieve the only reality she

once knew and feels she must keep this fantasy going in order to convince Mitch she’s worth

marrying, and marriage/stability is something she values as a southern woman.

She tries to force this world of fantasy on their date together. When they return to the

apartment from their evening out, she proclaims, “We are going to pretend that this is a little

artist’s café on the Left Bank in Paris!” (Williams 63). Her emphasis on pretend shows her

difficulty to focus on the real. She feels the need to force this imaginary situation in order to cope

with the crumbling reality before her as Mitch begins to raise questions pertaining to that reality.

She dodges some of his advances protesting, “It’s just—well—I guess it is just because I have—

old fashioned ideals!” (Williams 65). The stuttering and gaps in her speech demonstrate

Blanche’s uncertainty. It’s as though she’s not only trying to convince Mitch, but also herself.

She feels the need to convince Mitch because he is her ticket to security.

As Blanche begins to trust Mitch, she reveals the full story of her husband’s death and

remarks that the Varouviana was playing just before her husband shot himself, thus explaining

the pieces significance throughout the play (Williams 68). The piece, of course, begins to play

again. After this dramatic confession, Mitch admits that they need each other followed by the

stage directions, “She turns to him. Looks at him. They embrace, kiss. Cut Varsouviana sharply”

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with the revelation “Sometimes there’s god so quickly!” (Williams 68). By cutting the music

abruptly, Williams suggests that she has found solace in Mitch, but unfortunately the play does

not end here and the Varsouviana will return to haunt her.

Because the play does not end there with that sense of hope, Act Three serves the purpose

of furthering the dichotomy between Blanche and Stanley that ultimately leads to Blanche’s

destruction. When Stanley is unable to handle Blanche’s irrationality, Stella comes to her

defense arguing, “Blanche and I grew up under very different circumstances than you did”

(Williams 70). This statement further elucidates the difference between the two of them. As

Vlasopolos suggests, “Throughout the play, Blanche’s displacement isolates her. Her confidence

is undermined by a setting in which she is unsure of the social conventions, the successful

manipulation of which is indispensible for gaining and maintaining authority” (Vlasopolos 154).

In making this comment, Vlasopolos furthers the idea of the dichotomy between the two; in

connection with Stella’s argument that the two of them grew up under different circumstances,

Vlasopolos believes that these different circumstances are the route of Blanche’s displacement

and isolation. The difference in class between the two of them cause her discomfort allowing

Stanley to easily infiltrate her fantasy world.

After a difficult conversation wuith Mitch in Act Three Scene Three, we find Blanche

fully immersed in her fantasy world where she “wears a rhinestone tiara in her disarranged hair.

A mood of hysterical exhilaration has possessed her, and she fancies herself…at a party at Belle

Reve” (Williams 88). Because Blanche’s one hope of stability has crumbled before her, she’s

once again brought back into her world of fantasy and pretend, her home of hope, Belle Reve,

reminiscent of her glory days. She lies to Stanley telling him she is overjoyed because she has

received a telegram from Shep Huntleigh inviting her on a cruise (Williams 89). As Wei

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importantly notes, “Without exception her luxurious life is again built on the support of men,

even in an illusion…[Shepp] stands for an ideal symbol that can bring material strength of

dependence and guarantee for women, more exactly for Blanche” (Wei 104). Because Blanche

lost the hope of marriage and stability with Mitch, she resorts back to her fantasy of a life as

Shepp’s mistress, drawing on her Southern values of support and stability.

Eventually Stanley has had enough of Blanche’s “lies, conceit, and tricks!” (Williams

92). As a realist, Stanley cannot stand the continuous fantasy; as a new southerner, Stanley

cannot stand the old south that Blanche represents. After being unable to take it anymore Stanley

physically overpowers her for “[they]’ve had this date with each other right from the beginning”

(Williams 94). It appears Stanley recognized the dichotomy right from the start; he did not

approve of her fancy gowns and pretentious southern desires. Vlasopolos makes the important

point that “The violence in A Streetcar Named Desire becomes symbolic of the necessary and

inevitable evolution from past to present” (Vlasopolos 151). Meaning, it’s Stanley who exerts

violence over Blanche to further the move from past to present as a means of deteriorating the

southern gentitlity.

The rape brings the audience to the finale of the play. In his article “"The Southern

Gentlewoman,” Signi Falk insists that “In A Streetcar Named Desire, the southern gentlewoman

the last representation of a dying culture, is too delicate to withstand the crudeness and decay

surrounding her. The conflict between her standards and those represented by primitive laborer

finally destroy her” (94). In essence Stanley destroys the southern gentility that Blance

possesses. By the end of the play Blanche becomes a helpless southern belle disillusioned with

reality. Jabour notes, “historians of the New South and Southern women have recently drawn

attention to the myriad ways in which southern white women participated in—and in some

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cases—led a regional movement to preserve class privilege in the post-Civil War South”

(Jarbour 281). This is just what Blanche does in her final moments. She serves as a form of

preservation but ultimately fails.

It’s important to note, that as the doctor takes her away “Varsouviana music rises…music

approaches a crescendo” (103). There’s no note to cut this music off as in other acts, just a note

that the curtain comes down slowly. Because the music does not end before the curtain falls, it

suggests that the conflict between new south and old south is not fully resolved. For now,

Stanley has destroyed the southern gentility, but the audience is left hanging as to what the future

holds not only for these characters, but also the southern space in which they live.

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Works Cited

Drobot, Irina-Ana. "Perception Of Reality In A Streetcar Named Desire." Scientific Journal Of

Humanistic Studies 4.7 (2012): 153-156. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.

Falk, Signi. "The Southern Gentlewoman." Twentieth Century Interpretations of A Streetcar

Named Desire; a Collection of Critical Essays,. Ed. Jordan Yale Miller. Englewood

Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1971. 94-103. Print.

Jabour, Anya. Scarlett's Sisters: Young Women in the Old South. Chapel Hill: University of

North Carolina, 2007. Print.

Vlasopolos, Anca. "Authorizing History: Victimization in A Streetcar Named Desire."Feminist

Rereadings of Modern American Drama. Ed. June Schlueter. Rutherford, NJ: Fairleigh

Dickinson UP, 1989. 149-71. Print.

Wei, Fang. "Blanche's Destruction: Feminist Analysis On A Streetcar Named Desire." Canadian

Social Science 4.3 (2008): 102-108. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.

Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire: A Play in Three Acts. New York: Dramatists

Play Service, 1981. Print.

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