Blanche Dubois Quotes

Blanche’s In A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche DuBois is the main character and protagonist of the story. Blanche was a schoolteacher in Laurel, Mississippi until she got fired by her boss for having an affair with a student. Blanche tells Stanley later in the story that she lost Belle Reve, the house her and Stella grew up in, due to bankruptcy. Her husband killed himself because she caught him having an affair with another man. Blanche actively tries to persuade people that she is elegant, pure, and wealthy, but it is simply a facade. Blanche has many problems ranging from drinking to sexual addictions, including her insecure nature. The play begins with Blanche arriving at Stella’s house, although she is not home. When Eunice asks her if she is lost Blanche says “They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at Elysian Fields!”(Page 15) this quote infers that the journey Blanche has taken to get to Stella’s house will soon lead to her downfall. Elysian Fields, in Greek mythology, is the final resting places of the souls of great heroes, which leads the reader to further believe that

In the first scene readers are introduced to Blanche’s alcoholic nature, she sees a bottle of whiskey quickly takes a drink and carefully puts it back. Blanche also insists on looking for liquor to drink when Stella arrives, which only proves that Blanche is an alcoholic. When Blanche drinks the liquor, Williams says she “tosses it down” instead of sipping it, which shows that Blanche is used to drinking. Blanche’s alcohol problem is described as coping mechanism, it serves as an escape from her past and a distraction from the world and all of her problems. However, Blanche covers up her drinking problem by blaming it on her nerves, “No coke, honey, not with my nerves tonight.”(Page