Guth 1

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 Blanches fantasy world, as evidenced by her need to
lie and the recurring score of the Varsouviana, Stanley easily overpowers her, thus asserting
the New Souths rising dominance over the Old South and the plays 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 Blanches 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 Stellas 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 Blanches former
status as a teacher (Williams 18). As they are introduced to each other, Stanley pries into
Blanches 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
Im afrain Imgoing 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., Blanches 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
Blanches world of illusion and deceit. Vlasopolos considers, [In Blanches absence,] her
physical being is replaced by her wardrobe trunkStanley forces the trunk open and ravages its
contents in an attempt to convince Stella that his suspicions about Blanches fraud are well

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founded (155). In making this comment, Vlaspolos draws a parallel between Stanleys 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 Blanches 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 womans charm is fifty percent illusion (Williams
28). Basically, Blanche sees a womans 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, Blanches reality, at least concerning herself is that of the Southern Belle. She
plays this part, not only for others, but also for herselfshe is always trying to look aristocratic
and attractive, wishing for the others to maintain her illusions (154). Drobots 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). Blanches immediate reaction is Now that youve touched them, Ill 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. Its as though Stanley
has the power to trigger this emotion, which demonstrates his manly dominance over Blanches
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 Blanches desire to return to her past, a more stable time. Furthermore, the fact that
he is loaded with money shows Blanches 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 animals 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 Blanches pseudo-reality is based in a world of the past and Stanleys reality
is in the present, they cannot see eye to eye.
Blanches pseudo-reality is further developed in Act Two. Williams makes special note,
the scene is a point of balance between the plays two sectionsthe important values are the
ones that characterize Blanche: [the acts] 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 Blanches past (Williams 54). This piece of information fuels
Stanleys power over Blanche. Stanleys breakdown of Blanches fantasy correlates with the
overall theme of the new Souths 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.
Blanches loss of reality can be attributed to the loss of her beloved Belle Reve. She
laments, I havent been so good the last two years or so, after Belle Reve had stated to slip
through my fingersIm fading now. I dont 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 shes
now beginning to lose her grasp over it as it begins to unravel with Stanleys 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 Im 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 hershe 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 shes 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
artists caf 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, Its justwellI guess it is just because I have
old fashioned ideals! (Williams 65). The stuttering and gaps in her speech demonstrate
Blanches uncertainty. Its as though shes 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 husbands 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 theres 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 Blanches
destruction. When Stanley is unable to handle Blanches 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, Blanches 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 Stellas argument that the two of them grew up under different circumstances,
Vlasopolos believes that these different circumstances are the route of Blanches 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 herselfat a party at Belle
Reve (Williams 88). Because Blanches one hope of stability has crumbled before her, shes
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
Shepps mistress, drawing on her Southern values of support and stability.
Eventually Stanley has had enough of Blanches 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, its 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 inand in some

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casesled 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.
Its important to note, that as the doctor takes her away Varsouviana music risesmusic
approaches a crescendo (103). Theres 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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