A Streetcar Named Desire: Scene Notes – Scene 4

 
 
Summary:
         The scene begins with Stella waking up relaxed the night after the fight with Stanley. She finds it
normal to come back after the violence, whereas Blanche is hysterical and scared of Stanley. This
reflects the clash in culture between the two sisters.
         Stella protects Stanley, claiming that he hurt her unintentionally as he was drunk and she cleans
up the mess from the night before. Although superficially this sounds loving it is probably being
used by Williams as another example of how love can be destructive – in this case the passion
that she feels for Stanley seems to have blinded Stella to the fact that she is in an abusive
relationship. Alternatively Stella is perhaps being realistic while Blanche is being overly idealistic –
however, given that we as the audience are probably not meant to find this kind of violence
acceptable Williams may be suggesting how ideals like Blanche’s are the correct ones to have but
that there is no place for them in the modern world of Elysian Fields.
         Blanche thinks of wiring Shep Huntleigh for money in order to ‘escape’ so Stella doesn’t have to
live this life. Here Williams presents the audience with a prime example of Blanche’s contradictory
nature: she seems to realize the truth, both she and Stella are ‘trapped’ (possibly an entrapment
that reflects the lives of most women at that time), however her solution reveals not only her
further dependence on men (unable to ‘go it alone’ Blanche can only escape one man with the
help of another) but also her desperation and the extent to which she is delusional as it is unlikely
that her old boyfriend, now a Texan oil magnate, would be willing to help her out. These internal
contradictions create a sense of pathos for Blanche – her tragedy is seeing the world too clearly,
realizing its flaws and yet, because she is unable to do anything about it, the only solution she can
find is to retreat into a better world of imagination, illusion and ultimately madness
         Blanche’s materialistic nature is revealed as she says she would have married Shep if he didn’t
have a wife already simply because he has money. This is another key moment because it shows
how desperate Blanche is for money and an easy and dream like life.
         Blanche writes a note to make herself and Stella sound helpless before she calls the operator
for Shep. However, Stella makes it clear that she is not in anything that she wants to get out of
which further emphasises the difference between the two sisters and the extent to which Stella
has come to accept unacceptable behaviour as an inevitable downside of the
passionate, colourful life she lives with Stanley.
         We find that Blanche is has no money, Stella offers 5 dollars which Stanley gave to her in the
morning to smooth the incident of the night before. Here we see not only how important money is
to Blanche but, once again, how women only have access to money and means through men.
         Blanche reveals what she feels about Stanley saying “he’s a madman” which reflects the tension
between these two characters, and foreshadows their later conflict
         Blanche reveals that she is ashamed to be in New Orleans where Stella lives. Reflecting how
Blanche has been forced to come here. Hence possibly intimating that she had no choice but to
leave Laurel.
         Stanley hides outside the house as he comes back and overhears their
conversation. Stanley hears Blanche insulting him and comparing him and his actions to one of
an animal, claiming he is ‘a survivor of the stone age’ (163) but Stella listens to her unmoved.
         The scene closely with Stanley entering under the noise of the train and embracing Stella, with a
grin at Blanche which reflect a sense of victory as he knows that Stella will be more loyal to him
(and his world, values and way of life) than she will be to her sister and, equally, the values and
way of life that Blanche represents.
 
Motifs & Themes:
The contrast between the upper class and the working class
The opposing vies of Blanche and Stella (her a representing the working classes to which she has
‘converted’) are evident in this scene, as Blanche complains of the mess in the house “One tube
smashed – beer-bottles – mess in the kitchen” (Page 42) and tells Stella that she wants to help her
escape and will arrange for money, clearly suggesting she thinks that this is no way to live. Blanche
not only hungers for luxury “It brought me here….where I’m ashamed to be” (Page 46), but she seems
to be appropriately outraged by the domestic violence which Stella seems to accept as the inevitable
downside of life with Stanley. Hence she says “I have to plan for us both, to get us both-out!” [pg 45]
but Stella merely replies [with a laugh]
.
 
Moreover, Blanche speaks of her old college beaux, she tells Stella of her recent rendezvous with
him, and she speaks of his wealth and fortune, “…literally spouting gold in his pockets” (Page 43). In
contrast she expresses her low and demeaning opinion of Stanley, claiming “he’s common” , depicting
him as a caveman, the contrasting ways in which she speaks of the two men and the distinct opinions
she has of them further makes the stark contrast between the two classes clear, in this scene.

Male dominance and the role of women in a patriarchal society

This theme runs throughout the play, however in this scene it becomes extremely clear as we see
Blanche referring to an old beaux for help, “Darling Shep. Sister and I are in desperate situation…
would you be interested in-” (Page 44). Similarly Stella claims “Stanley doesn’t give a regular
allowance”, which suggests that she too is financially reliant on a man. The implication, however, is
not just that men are the source of money but more that women are unable to act on their own without
the protection of men – hence Blanche can only ‘escape’ from Stanley with Shep’s help. We see this
echoed later in the play when Blanche likens Mitch to a ‘cleft’ in the rock of the world where she can
shelter after having run from ‘one leaky roof to another’. Both metaphors refer to men as forms of
shelter with Blanche’s previous lovers being merely temporary ‘leaky roofs’ only interested in casual
sex while in contrast Mitch seems to offer a more permanent, secure and lasting haven.
 
An alternative view is that Blanche is manipulative and uses her sexuality to take advantage of men.
She knows, for example, that she has to be careful when approaching Shep for money as ‘you never
get anywhere with direct appeals’ and we see an even more coldly manipulative streak in her
relationship with Mitch, whom we pity because he seems caring and genuine and less able to see
through Blanche’s advances than Shep. Ultimately a Feminist reader might forgive Blanche her
behaviour towards men as, in a male dominated world, what other tools does she have at her disposal
with which she can look out for herself?

The Destructive Influence of Desire

The morning after all the hysteria, Blanche cannot believe that Stella slept with Stanley, “What you
talking about is brutal desire” (Page 46). However, we see Stella is content with her husband and
admits that she is thrilled by Stanley's sexual desires, which we discover is clearly what heightens
Stella’s desire for him. Moreover, we see Stella embrace Stanley “…with both arms, fiercely, in full
view of Blanche” (Page 48) in this scene. The fact that Stanley then grins at Blanche infers that he
has control over Stella through his sexuality. Sexuality is what binds Stella and Stanley together.
 
Through out the play Williams makes several references to desire, in fact it is a physical desire which
keeps Stanley and Stella together. In this scene, Blanche makes reference to the Streetcar named
desire, “Desire! - the name of that rattle-trap street car that bangs through the Quarter…” (Page 46)
which connotes how she feels desire leads an individual to the wrong places “It brought me – Where
I’m not wanted and where I’m ashamed to be” (Page 46).
 
Williams uses this theme to foreshadow the eventual destruction of Blanche which happens as a
result of at least three kinds of desire: firstly, her previous sexual promiscuity which forced her to
leave Laurel; secondly her desire for a life of beautiful illusions similar to that of her aristocratic
childhood which makes her unable to adapt to the ugly truth of the changing world which she now
finds herself a part of and, finally, of the immediate desire that Stanley has for her in the rape scene.