At the beginning of the play, in Scene One, we are introduced to Blanche. She is described by Williams’ as ‘daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, … ear-rings of pearl, white gloves and hat’. Immediately, Williams uses dental alliteration in ‘daintily dressed’ with the /d/ syllable being used to signify how jarring it is for Blanche to move from Laurel, Mississippi to New Orleans, Louisiana. It can also be used to show how ‘incongruous’ her presence is in Elysian Fields, with Stanley and Stella having their own passionate relationship, and Mitch being busy carrying for his dying mother. The dental alliteration also brings forth an image of a Southern Belle, something the DuBois used to be, but are no more. This portrayal of Blanche can be used to show how desperate she is to cling to her past, and Belle Reve, despite it being no more. Similarly, Williams uses the etymology of her name to subtly hint at Blanche’s nature. The name ‘Blanche’ can be translated to the feminine French colour of ‘white’. By being named ‘white’, and covering in ‘white’, Williams has introduced an aptronym to the audience. The connotations of white can be of purity, and innocence, however, it also be used to represent coldness. Williams associates Blanche with white, so the audience is forced to think of her as a meek woman, who doesn’t know any better despite Blanche being thirty years old. Additionally, Williams alludes to Greek Mythology again with ‘ear-rings of pearls’. Pearls are associated with the Greek Goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, who was born from water, where pearl oysters are found. Pearls can be used to symbolise not only the Dubois family’s rich colonial history but can also be seen as an ode to Blanche trying to cover her insecurities by always presenting herself, as beautiful and young. However, this is juxtaposed with her wearing ‘white gloves and hat’, with the noun ‘gloves’ being used to show that perhaps Blanche has touched things she shouldn’t have, and these ‘gloves’ are a reminder of her past wild nature. The noun ‘hat’ can be seen as a way for Blanche to hide from her past, when she was forced to quit her job. The juxtaposition reflects the irony of Blanche, a Southern Belle, in New Orleans, a modern city moving towards values that Southerners would disapprove of.
Furthermore, as the scene progresses, Williams gives us an insight into Blanche’s psyche as well as her deceiving nature. Upon hearing the cat screech, Blanche ‘springs up and … pours a half tumbler of whiskey’. This is the complete opposite of what Blanche has just been portrayed as, with Williams now portraying her as a secret alcoholic. When Stella arrives, Blanche lies and takes another glass. This reveals to the audience that despite her supposed innocence, Blanche is not innocent, but deceiving. This allows Williams to subtly signal to the audience that appearances can be deceiving, which forces the reader to question future introductions of characters. Similarly, we see Blanche begin to berate Stella for accusing her of losing Belle Reve, despite Belle Reve, though Stella had not asked about it at all. William uses this to show that their last name ‘Dubois’ — meaning ‘woods’ in French is ironically used with Blanche, with wood being a strong material, and Blanche’s mental state is the antithesis, thus using an inaptronym. Blanche goes on a tirade by describing ‘the long parade to the graveyard’. The verb ‘parade’ can allude to Mardi Gras, a popular event in New Orleans, which is used to celebrate the last day of consuming food before fasting begins. This may reflect Blanche’s attitude towards money, with her spending all the money in Mississippi, and now coming to Elysian Fields to begin her fasting. On the other hand, it can even signify her attitude towards sex, as it is later revealed that Blanche had sex with many men (consumption of desire), and upon being fired, she now has to fast (abstain from her promiscuous attitude), though it does not occur. Williams also shows how Blanche prefers to live in fantasy rather than reality, as Blanche tries to find the Belle Reve even in death with ‘‘funerals are pretty compared to deaths’. It is a superficial thing to say, showing Blanche is more concerned about appearances, rather than being what she wants to portray. This can be linked to the Madonna-Whore complex, where women were either expected to be soft, gentle mothers — Stella — or trashy, promiscuous women. Blanche changes her portrayal from being a whore to becoming a Madonna in Elysian Fields, however, even this portrayal constantly changes. She comes out of the bathroom wearing a ‘red satin robe’, with the colour red blatantly being an invitation to Stanley, but then she is constantly bathing. This can allude to Christian Baptism with bathing allowing you to be reborn and washing off sins, something Blanche knows — ‘feeling like a brand-new human being’. Blanche does not see the error in her ways, as she believes that bathing removes the sins of her past self.
Finally, in Scenes 4 and 5, Williams presents Blanche as a complex and multifaceted character. Even though both she and Stella are trapped in the patriarchal society, Blanche still tries to help Stella offering to message an old boyfriend of hers. This allows Williams to show that the two sisters are antitheses of another, despite coming from the same background. This may stem from the fact that Stella chose to leave Belle Reve and build a life with Stanley, compared to Blanche being forced to leave Belle Reve. Blanche reveals to Stella her thoughts about society, and how difficult she found to navigate it — women have to ‘put on soft colours … make a little—temporary magic just in order to pay for—one night’s shelter’. The use of ‘soft colours’ can be a reference to when Williams described the men at the poker table as ‘primary colours’. Primary colours are important as they are the root of all other colours, hence the ‘primary’. There is a power associated with them, as it shows that the women — ‘soft colours’ — are dependent on the men for a stable life. Soft colours are a juxtaposition to primary colours and can be used to emphasise the gender roles in society, with men being assigned more laborious jobs such as lumberjacks, whereas women are expected to take upon more nurturing roles such as housewives. Blanche’s character is not constructed to navigate the patriarchy but rather to survive the patriarchy.