Analsyis

Blanche at a Glance

Blanche's sense of self worth relies heavily on others' perceptions of her. She desperately wants to be seen as innocent, young, and elegant, hence why many of her outfits are white as white is the color of purity. This is the impression she makes when she first enters New Orleans.

"BLANCHE comes around the corner, carrying a valise...she is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and hat, looking as if she were arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party in the garden district." Scene 1, page 982, stage directions.

However, we can see that Blanche isn't exactly as put together as she would like others to believe. This is evident after she meets Stella and begins rambling throughout the rest of the scene, with Stella barely getting any words in throughout the rest of the scene. Blanche goes on about her appearance and what she's been up to since Stella left Belle Reve and if Stanley, Stella's husband, will like her.

At the beginning of the play, we know Blanche is on edge due to the loss of Belle Reve, the property she had been living in before the events of the play. However, as we progress further into the story, we know the main reason for Blanche's behavior is due to the loss of her first love, Allan.

A Deeper Dive

Why Blanche Craves Innocence

Blanche reveals in Scene 9 that she was a very promiscuous woman since the death of her first love, Allan. Allan was Blanche's first love when she was sixteen years old. Allan was Blanche's first experience with love, however, upon discovering that he was gay, she confronted him about it and Allan proceeded to commit suicide. This has heavily altered Blanche's mental state as revealed in Scene 6.

"And then the searchlight which had been turned on the world was turned off again and never for one moment since has there been any light that's stronger than this--kitchen--candle..." Scene 6, page 1022, line 237.

Since this incident, Blanche has been involved in many intimacies with strangers, which is contrasts with the pure, innocent way Blanche presents herself when she's first introduced. This flirtatious side of Blanche is better represented with the red, satin robe she wears while talking to Mitch throughout Scene 3. Red can represent many ideas like love, murder, or lust, which better represents Blanche's true personality.

Blanche wants to separate herself from this side of her as much as possible though, because she assosciates her past with sin, and wants to cleanse herself from all the things she did when she was young. One way she does this is through bathing, which we see her do during moments where the truth of her past, or potentially more negative traits of hers are revealed to the audience, like during Scene 2, while Stella and Stanley are looking through Blanche's belongings because Stanley thinks Belle Reve wasn't really lost, but sold off so Blanche could afford to buy fine furs and jewelry. Blanche is also seen bathing in Scene 7, while Stanley tells Stella all that he's discovered about Blanche's past.

Bathing is Blanche's primary way of cleaning herself mentally, making herself feel fresh, rejuvenated, and separate from her past life. Blanche wanting to be completely different from the person she was at home is the source of her chase for building an innocent, pure persona she presents herself as in the beginning of the play. However, it is very fragile, and we see the facade fade throughout the course of the play.

Blanche feels safe when she feels young and pure, but is scared of the idea of facing the truth. This is foreshadowed in Scene 5, where Blanche spills a drink onto her white skirt and she shrieks. She cleans it by gently blotting it with a napkin, and the stain is gone. The drink represents Blanche's true self, the white skirt is her persona, and the napkin represents the lies she tells to avoid having to confront them and to make sure others don't see her imperfections.

Furthermore, in Scene 9, when Mitch asks to see Blanche in the light, Blanche gets defensive and frightened due to being forced to face her reality: she's not as young as she would like others to believe, which she doesn't want to realize.

"I don't want realism. I want magic! Yes, yes, magic! I try to give that to people. I misreprsent things to them. I don't tell truth, I tell what ought to be truth." Scene 9, page 1033, line 82.

Blanche believes her true self is not worthy of being seen by others, and decides to hide it in this false, fragile personality she has created to present herself in, which could be how Blanche genuinely used to be before she met Allan. Since she wants to separate herself from Allan and the actions she's committed since his death, she likely wants to go back to a time before Allan, even if it meant there'd no longer be any light in her life. This explains why her stage directions make it clear to stay out of the strong light.