A Streetcar Named Desire

Characters use clothing as a tool to try and shape others’ perceptions of them. The men of A Streetcar Named Desire wear shirts of “solid blues, a purple, a red-and-white check, a light green, and they are men at the peak of their physical manhood” (46). Stanley also has the gaudy pajama jacket that he puts on the night of his child’s birth. The colors of these garments draw the eye as a distraction. They also influence the colors of the scene, raising the temperature of the atmosphere, specifically when Stanley wears silk shirts that catch the light.

Blanche has a trunk full of garments. She appears at first donning all white, and her garments are floral-print dresses that appear several times throughout the play. By Scene 9, she dons a “scarlet satin robe” (139)as she drinks and the "Varsouviana" plays in the background. This is what she wears as Mitch confronts her about her lies, reminding of Hester Prynne’s “A” in The Scarlet Letter. Later that night, she changes into her dirty white gown, heels, and tiara. The shabby garments are symbolic of Blanche’s state of mind, as Blanche has cared so much about maintaining her appearance. The ensemble she wears at the end of the play includes yellow silk, a blue jacket, and a fake bunch of flowers to pin with the seahorse brooch. By this point, it has been revealed that Blanche’s clothing and jewelry are all costume-grade or are left over from her days at Belle Reve. Instead of being the objects of fashion, they become reminders of her constant search for love and acceptance.

Although Shep could be considered a character of the play, the audience never sees him in the flesh or hears from him directly. Blanche “went out with him at college and wore his pin for a while” (75). She claims that she has been in contact with him since then and that he is now a rich oil man in Texas. Over the course of the play, it becomes increasingly obvious that Blanche does not, in fact, have any communication with him. He is a symbol that connects her to her imagined life. She uses her false communication with him to express that she is not dependent on the Kowalskis or Mitch. However, by the end of the play, she believes her own lie: “Is it the gentleman I was expecting from Dallas?” (171). The idea of Shep is a coping mechanism for Blanche, redirecting her focus from her traumas to the possibility of ideal companionship.

The rise and fall of “blue piano” is the undercurrent of the play, and Williams designates that it “expresses the spirit of the life which goes on” (3)at Elysian Fields. As Blanche begins hallucinating and entering her most extreme moments of despair, she hears the "Varsouviana" polka. A smattering of jungle sounds accompanies the shadows Blanche sees on the walls around her. Music occurs at the opening and closing moments of scenes, but it also takes on meaning of its own, cueing viewers into the atmosphere of a scene. Slight variations in the music emphasize dialogue and action. For example, when Blanche realizes that Stella and Stanley have been talking behind her back, “the distant piano goes into a hectic breakdown” (128). Moments of silence are equally important and are jarring in the context of the often-populated streets of Elysian Fields: it is quiet when the poker game is dealt. When Mitch arrives to the flat after skipping Blanche’s birthday, “the polka tune stops” (139). 

After Mitch has expressed his interest in marrying Blanche, she sings “It’s Only a Paper Moon” in the bathroom. The lyrics of the song express a world that is phony and meaningless without love. Blanche’s voice is “used contrapuntally with Stanley’s speech” (119)as he reveals all of the secrets to Stella. A great deal of dramatic irony is involved here, as the audience  realizes that Blanche’s heightened mood and excitement over Mitch will soon be dashed to pieces.