A Streetcar Named Desire Scenes 1 & 2

The first scene of the play begins in a poorer area of New Orleans where we meet Stanley, his friend Mitch, his wife Stella, and their neighbor Eunice. After dropping off a package of meat at home, Stanley and Mitch head out to go bowling and soon after, Stella’s sister Blanche arrives at the flat. Blanche is stunned at the simpleness of their home and is shown inside by Eunice. After reuniting with her sister, Blanche is overjoyed, however, manages to make snide comments on Stella’s living situation and shame her for it. Stella takes the insults and has little response to them, allowing Blanche to continue talking and tell her of the loss of their family estate, Belle Reve.

In scene 2, Stanley returns home from bowling, and Stella quickly explains to him the situation surrounding Blanche and the loss of Belle Reve. He is unconvinced of Blanche’s innocence, believing that the loss of the estate was an act of theft. Stanley is especially offended believing that if his wife has been swindled of her assets, he has been also due to the Napoleonic Code in Louisiana. Stanley further attempts to prove his argument by tearing apart Blanche’s suitcase which is full of glamorous items that a school teacher would not normally be able to afford thus adding to his mistrust. After she gets out of the bath, Stanley voices his suspicions of Blanche who unashamedly flirts with him while proving that the estate was lost due to mortgage rather than being sold by showing him the transaction papers. Stanley takes them along with additional notes that were from her past lover and we learn a little more about Blanche’s past and the history of Belle Reve. At the end of the scene, Stanley believes Blanche is innocent of fraud, and we find out that Stella is pregnant.  

I found the interactions that both Stanley and Stella had with Blanche to be somewhat bizarre. She not only bullies and humiliates her sister, but is bold enough to demand a place to stay and insult then flirt with her Stella’s husband. I also think that the relationship between Stella and her husband is interesting, as Stanley seems to be a relatively vivacious person whereas Stella is meek and submissive. During class, I would like to discuss the odd exchanges that occur between the characters and the power balances within them.