JC H2 Lit Group (with Cheryl and Nathan) paper on A Streetcar named Desire - Blanche's Downfall

“Blanche’s downfall is more a result of Stanley’s ignorance than her own actions.” How far do you agree with the statement? 

OI: The divergence between Stanley’s roughness and Blanche’s frivolity, coupled with her aversion to change causes a rift between the two. This tension is extended through Stanley’s being accustomed to wielding power in a male dominated society and results in Blanche’s alienation as she descends into madness, leading to her downfall in the form of a rejection and subsequently expulsion from the Elysian Fields community, both socially and physically. 

BP#1: Validating the quote, that Stanley’s ignorance > Blanche’s actions in the causation of her downfall

“ What’s the matter, honey? Are you lost?” (pg 5) + “Sure, honey, why don’t you set down”... SD- Offended 

→ [Quantifying the downfall] term of endearment transitioning to gesture suggesting the Blanche is unwelcome. This first scene is a clear indicator of Blanche’s differing mannerisms from those of Elysian Fields as represented by Eunice. 

“I don’t think i want to marry you any more….You’re not clean enough to bring in the house with my mother” (pg 75)

→ Adverb “anymore” suggests the loss of a possibility. Coupled with the subject of marriage, Blanche’s downfall occurs not only on a physical level by Stella’s rejection of her which manifests in sending her away, but also in a personal and romantic aspect. Mitch’s rejection of Blanche despite previously agreeing to his loneliness (pg 56-57)

“Let’s turn on the light here...so I can take a look at you good and plain” (pg 72)

→ Blanche is eventually exposed as a “liar’ by Mitch, leading to his unwillingness to “marry (her) any more”. The “light” which Mitch “turn(s) on”, acts as a metaphor for exposing Blanche’s appearance as “being older than what (Mitch) thought”  as well as her identity as a “Tarantula...hunting for some protection”. Through this characterisation of Blanche as a “big spider”, it ironically highlights how her “hunt” for “protection” through “lies”, has led to her rejection and loss of Mitch’s “protection” in “marriage”. Mitch’s outright exclamation that Blanche is “not clean enough to bring in the house with (his) mother”, reinforces her segregation from Mitch’s family and on a whole by society which turns away from “liers”. 

“I couldn't believe her story and go on living with Stanley” (pg 83) 

→ Stella’s refusal to “believe (Blanche’s) story”, depicts her choice to “believe” in Stanley than her own sister. This is further compounded by Eunice who tells her “don’t ever believe it” and that she’s “got to keep on going”. It is this outright refusal to “believe” Blanche and instead “move on” which reinforce Blanche’s character as a “liar” who is taken away by the “doctor”. Hence, it is this final “story” which is ironically true unlike the previous ones which lead to Blanche being unfit to stay in “Elysian Fields”. In telling Stella about Stanley’s actions, Blanche has brought about disorder to the family which is what “Elysian Fields” is built on.  

“ Don’t be such an idiot, Stanley!... What’s rhinestone? Next door to glass” ….Jerks out an armful of dresses (pg 17-18)

→ Stanley’s question, coupled with his violent misidentification of Blanche’s ornaments [Mise En Scene?] highlights his inability to understand Blanche and to an extent, Stella. This is due to his ignorance to the upper class society of the south in Belle Reve where the sisters were raised. It is Stanley’s ignorance, together with the threat of a loss of the power he wields as the head of the household (whereby Stella is subservient to him), which fuels his reaction in the form of suspicions and impositions on Blanche despite not having sufficient evidence. Eventually it is this same power he holds over Stella which worsens the relationship between Stella and Blanche, fueling Blanche’s downfall

BP#2: Blanche’s actions are a cause of her experiences in Belle Reve. Her impositions of the same principles she used in the Old South result in a similar reaction of her being shunned by the society for her promiscuity.

“I don’t mind you being older than what I thought. But all the rest of it - God! That pitch about your ideas being so old-fashioned...I was a fool enough to believe you was straight” (pg 72)

→ Blanche’s decision to “lie” to Mitch about her age and about being “old-fashioned” and “straight”, come from her inability to move on from “Belle Reve” which acts a symbol of a privileged existence which has been forcibly relinquished from Blanche. Values from Belle Reve” which depict “uncles and brothers” who “exchanged the land for their epic fornificatins”, lead to Blanche associating her looks to survival itself. Therefore, leading to the motif of Blanche seeking reassurance in how she looked. This knowledge manifests in her seeking man and “hunting for some protection”. The “hotel”, “Tarantula Arms” becomes a metaphor for Blanche’s manipulation of men and a validation of her own worth. To Blanche, without her looks, men would no longer desire her and she would lose her means of surviving. 

“Now don’t get worried, your sister hasn’t turned into a drunkard, she’s just all shaken up and hot and dirty!” (pg 8)

“You ought to lay off his liquor. He says you been lapping it up all summer like a wild-cat!” (pg 71)

→ the whisky (expensive liquor) bought by Stanley which Blanche is addicted to symbolises the wealth and sophistication. Animalisation of Blanche and likening her to a “wild-cat” suggests her impulse and how she is uncivilised which is in contrast with how she presents herself in the play. Blanche’s addiction is also dependent on Stanley as Stanley purchases the liquor for her indulgence.

“[She drinks it quickly] Oh, this buzzes right through me and feels so good!”

“Won’t you have another?”

“No, one’s my limit”

“Sure?” (pg 9)

→  her attempts to deceive herself emphasises her dependency on alcohol for the sense of escapism and her addiction to the alcohol. This further shows her unwillingness to let go of her values of Belle Reve (of wealth and sophistication) to assimilate herself into the society of Elysian Fields and causes chaos.

“You see I still have that awful vanity about my looks even now that my looks are slipping!” (pg 9)

“…You know I haven’t put on one ounce in ten years, Stella? I weigh what I weighed the summer you left Belle Reve.” (pg 9)

→ her narcissism and vanity goes against Stanley’s (and Elysian Fields’ norms) “Some men are took in by this Hollywood glamour stuff and some men are not” (pg 20). The disparity between the two views causes chaos especially when Blanche attempts to impose her views onto Stella. “I have to plan for us both, to get us both - out!” (pg 39). Her protection of her sister to prevent her from being hurt by Stanley angers him and causes chaos in the household “”Pig - Polack - disgusting - vulgar - greasy!” - them kind of words have been on your tongue and your sister’s too much around here! What do you two think you are? A pair of queens?” (pg 65)

Blanche’s deceit also go against Stanley (and Elysian Fields’ norms) of valuing honesty “lay (his) cards on the table” (pg 20). Blanche’s lies about her age and her past in order to seem sophisticated and attract a partner for her survival and gain back her innocence but it goes against such norms and causes conflict.

“It was like you suddenly turned a blinding light on something that had always been half in shadow” (pg 56)

“And then the searchlight which had been turned on the world was turned off again” (pg 57)

→ the metaphor of light represents the passion and her love for Allan Grey which was “turned off” when she drove him to suicide and she will never be that in love with anyone again. Her guilt and desire to gain back her innocence that her love for Allan Grey represented (“there was something different about the boy, a nervousness, a softness and tenderness…” (pg 56)). Due to her simplistic world view of men, Blanche overlooks that society in Elysian Fields emphasises on the value of honesty and transparency of a woman’s private life, both of which she fails to fulfil in attempts to mask her true age and past to satisfy her loneliness and emotional isolation due to her refusal to let go of her bourjois views from Belle Reve to accommodate that of Elysian Fields’.

BP#3: Stanley’s ignorance stems from his being accustomed to wielding power, as well as a projection of his beliefs onto Blanche. This arouses his suspicion thus leading to the use of his power to further alienate Blanche not only from Mitch, but Stella and Elysian Fields as a whole as well. 

“There is such a thing in this state of Louisiana as the Napoleonic code, according to which whatever belongs to my wife is also mine” (pg 21)

→ Stanley’s supposed knowledge of the “Napoleonic code” becomes a metaphor for his ignorance towards the law which he tries to force unto Blanche. His want of the “papers”, manifests from his greed and desire for the money from “Belle Reve”. Hence, highlighting Stanley’s belief of Blanche has taken what had belonged to him. The repetition of Stanley mentioning his association with a “lawyer acquaintance” and the “Napoleonic code” emphasize his attempt to appear more knowledgeable which ironically presents the opposite. Hence, Blanche is subjected to Stanley’s inability to get over the loss of “Belle Reve” and the money that comes with it, resulting in Stanley’s rejection of Blanche is “Elysian Fields” because of this perceived loss.

“What is Ambler & Ambler...A firm that, made loans on the place” (pg 22)

→ Stanley’s unfamiliarity towards the law is revealed through his lack of knowledge towards “Ambler & Ambler” which creates a juxtaposition between his claim of knowing the “Napoleonic code” and his want of “legal papers”. This is again another indication of how Stanley attempts to impose his beliefs on others by overstating his intelligence. 

“Who told you I wasn't - “straight”? My loving brother-in-law. And you believed him.” (pg 72)

→ Stanley’s lack of understanding towards Blanche and her belief that “you’ve got to have your existence admitted by someone, if you’re going to have someone’s protection” result in Mitch’s rejection of Blanche as not being “clean enough to bring in the house”. Instead, Stanley rejects Blanche’s existence in “Elysian Fields”, choosing to believe that he had been “swindled)” of the “money” from “Belle Reeve” and attempts to chase Blanche out 

“You didn't know Blanche as a girl. Nobody, nobody, was tender and trusting as she was. But people like you abused her, and forced her to change.” (pg 68) 

→ repetition of “nobody” as well as use of past tense in “was” reinforced the change brought about by others onto Blanche rather than Blanche’s own choices. “Like you” specifically associates Stanley with roughness by suggesting that he abused her. The verb “forced” adds to the impact of Stanley’s actions as a result of his ignorance as a more potent cause of Blanche’s distress than anything of her own doing.

BP#4: R/s between BP2 and 3, eg is Blanche’s worldview of men reinforced by Stanley’s ignorance/animalistic behaviour? + how do BOTH lead to Blanche’s Downfall.

“Mr. Shep Huntleigh. I wore his ATO pin my last year at college. I hadn't seen him again until last Christmas. I ran into him on Biscayne Boulevard. Then--just now--this wire--inviting me on a cruise of the Caribbean! The problem is clothes. I tore into my trunk to see what I have that's suitable for the tropics!” (pg 76)

→ Blanche’s encounter with “Mr Shep” creates a juxtaposition with her rejection by Mitch to “marry” her, becomes a manifestation of Blanche’s “hunt for protection” after losing Mitch. In believing that “Mr Shep” has “invit(ed) (her) on a cruise”, it suggests a form of escapism from reality. The “cruise” becomes a metaphor for Blanche’s desire to escape the truth of being unwanted because of being “not clean enough” which reiterates her belief that “you’ve got to be soft and attractive” to have “someone’s protection”. Furthermore, her claim that he came from “Dallas where gold spouts out the ground”, highlight her desire to return to the comfortable and affluent life at “Belle Reve” and in turn reveal that Blanche has not gotten over her old lifestyle. Hence, Blanche chooses to hold on to the old values of “Belle Reve” which results in the rejection of “Mitch” being so much harder to bear

“But then he came back. He returned with a box of roses to beg for forgiveness! He implored my forgiveness” (pg 78)

→ Blanche’s belief that Mitch “returned” to her, reiterate this disbelief of her rejection and her unwillingness to come to terms with it. The “rosses” act as a symbol of Mitch’s desire for her which is juxtaposed with Stanley who reveals that “Mitch didn't come back with roses”. Therefore, revealing the deterioration of Blanche’s mental state after being exposed as a “liar” and being rejected for it. 

“As a matter of fact there wasn’t no wire at all!” (pg 79) 

→ Stanley reveals Blanche’s “conceits and tricks” where “there isn’t a goddam thing but imagination”, leading to the further degeneration of Blanche’s mind as seen in the repetition of “Oh” to demonstrate Blanche’s inability to come to terms with the truth. 

“I shall die of eating an unwashed grape one day out on the ocean. I will die--with my hand in the hand of some nice-looking ship's doctor, a very young one with a small blond mustache and a big silver watch. "Poor lady," they'll say, "the quinine did her no good. That unwashed grape has transported her soul to heaven."... And I'll be buried at sea sewn up in a clean white sack and dropped overboard--at noon--in the blaze of summer--and into an ocean as blue as… my first lover's eyes!” (pg 85)

→ Blanche’s delusions get more and more absurd and eventually becomes morbid where she describes her death and how she will be “dropped overboard”, emphasising her madness and ultimately rejection from society of Elysian Fields (which mirrors when Stella says that she does not listen to (Blanche) when (Blanche is) being morbid!” (pg 45)

“As the drinking and packing went on, a mood of hysterical exhilaration came into her and she has decked herself out in a somewhat soiled and crumpled white satin evening gown and a pair of scuffed silver slippers with brilliants set in their heels. Now she is placing the rhinestone tiara on her head before the mirror of the dressing-table and murmuring excitedly as if to a group of spectral admirers.” (pg 75)

→ the mise en scene of her unkempt appearance contrasts between that of her appearance when she first arrived in Elysian Fields where she was “daintily dressed in a white suit with fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and hat, looking as if she were arriving arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party in the garden district” (pg 5), showing her descent into madness since she has arrived here as it is not only shown through her words but in the way she carries herself now as well. Blanche took great pride in how she looks as seen through her “solid-gold dress”, “genuine fox fur-pieces” and “ropes of (pearls)” (pg 17 & 18) and the state of her dressing emphasises delusion.

Conclusion: Blanche’s inability to fit into Elysian Fields’ society resulted in her downfall on a number of levels. The exclusion she is subjected to by the community of New Orleans due to her continued deception is manifested through Eunice’s endorsement of the asylum, despite not being closely involved. Finally, Stella’s rejection of her sister in favour of Stanley arises out of the knowledge of Blanche’s continued deception, causing her to lose faith in Blanche as her deception directly contradicts Stella’s respect for honesty. Therefore she is exiled both physically and socially from the community. Stanley’s inability to understand Blanche and her views accentuates the disparity between Blanche’s world view with that of the society’s which ultimately leads to her downfall. Her descent into delusions is a reflection of a loss of her sanity, caused by Stanley’s failure to attempt to understand the reason for Blanche’s actions. It is this failure which fuels his distrust of Blanche, together with Blanche’s perceived inability to rectify her past mistakes, which causes her rejection and eventual expulsion from Elysian Fields.