streetcar named desire opening scene essay

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A Streetcar Named Desire Scene 1 Analysis

The henrietta barnett school - london.

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How successful is Scene 1 of, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ as an opening scene?

Williams had a belief that his characters had to be multidimensional because, as he explained to his sceptical contemporary Thornton Wilder, ‘people are complex’ - in this opening scene, he very skillfully establishes the complexity of the characters and the dynamics between them, so that the audience have no choice but to be engaged.

Firstly Williams outlines a narrative for Blanche - he introduces her heavy reliance on alcohol, as well as the shame she associates with this, relating to the theme of Southern gentility and that she is ashamed of her excessive drinking because she knows it would be frowned upon. This is clear when, as soon as she spots a bottle of whisky in a closet, she becomes suddenly animated and, ‘springs up and crosses to it,’ and ‘tosses down,’ the glass she pours, demonstrating the habitual nature of this action. After finishing the glass, she, ‘carefully replaces the bottle’ and, ‘washes out the tumbler,’ exhibiting her determination to preserve her ladylike façade, and her deceit.

Between Stella and Blanche, to begin with, there is an almost overstated affection - Stella calls out, ‘joyfully’ to Blanche, who runs to her, ‘with a wild cry’ and they catch each other, ‘in a spasmodic embrace.’ However there is a tangible atmosphere of tension between them, as when they initially meet, ‘for a moment they stare at each other,’ as if foreign to one another, frozen in their chosen, contrasting lifestyles. Blanche speaks in an endless stream, ‘as if she feared for either of them to stop and think,’ suggesting her attempt to elongate this temporary, blissful disregard for their differences. The strained atmosphere grows, unravelling gloriously during Blanche’s grandiose speech in which she confesses the loss of Belle Reve, adding to the narrative - the speech has an accusatory tone and ends with Blanche’s exclamation of Stella having been, ‘in bed’ with her, ‘Polack,’ whilst she was dealing with the loss of family members and the plantation itself, and captures the essence of the tension between Blanche, who is trapped in the past, and Stella, who has made the choice to accept the modernising South.

The audience is also given a flavour of the relationship, and foundations of conflict, between Stanley and Blanche, what their characters represent as constructs, as well as the use of music to provide the audience with a sensory experience of their characters. Stanley immediately sees through the illusion of Blanche’s character, noticing the depletion of whisky in the bottle, and commenting that, ‘some people rarely touch it [alcohol] but it touches them often.’ From the outset, he is presented as straightforward and uninhibited, naturally inclined to metaphorically laying his cards on the table - he removes his shirt, telling Blanche that, ‘be comfortable is my motto,’ completely contrasting with Blanche who is, ‘daintily dressed,’ as if for, ‘a cocktail party’ - this conflict of approaches represents the wider theme of tension between the ‘Old South,’ which Blanche, being a ‘faded Southern Belle,’ represents, and the modern, classless society of the new South in which hard work, not titles, enable people to succeed, symbolised by Stanley. The audience are shown that Stanley is trying to work out who Blanche really is; having seen through her airs and graces he interrogates her, pushing her to her limit when he mentions her past marriage, so that she eventually feels sick. Here, ‘the music of the polka rises up’- this is a non - diegetic sound, as it is not played on stage, therefore suggesting that the music is inside

Blanche’s head, and can only be heard by Blanche and the audience - this Impressionistic technique chosen by Williams reinforces Blanche’s instability, as well as creating an intimacy between her character and the audience.

Williams artistically, but believably, constructs the foundations of the play, with a clear focus on Blanche; we see the beginnings of the battle between herself and Stanley and his determination to overpower her, Stella’s division between the two sides, as well as Blanche’s fragile and loosening grasp of her mental health. Therefore, after watching only the opening, the audience can already begin to understand why Williams describes the play as, ‘a plea for the delicate people.’