Key Narrative Moments

Some of the key narrative moments include:

• Blanche's arrival
• Finding out that Stella is pregnant
• Stanley hits Stella
• Stella goes back to Stanley
• Discovering Blanche's past (according to Stanley)
• Blanche's birthday
• Discovering Blanche's past (as told by Blanche)
• Stanley rapes Blanche
• Stanley convinces Stella to send Blanche off to a mental institute - Stella's choice between her husband and her sister.

Blanche's Past (REVELATION - BACKSTORY):

The fact that Blanche's past is only gradually (and progressively) reviewed suggests the complexity of her character and that her insecurities are masked by a surface confidence.

Recent Past:

• Stanley's account: Blanche was a prostitute back in Laurel after she lost her family's fortune and Belle Reve. To make some money Blanche resorted to prostitution.
• Blanche's account: to fill the void in her heart and to help her to cope with her loss and loneliness Blanche had several gentleman friends. Many of these "friends" bought her gifts. Blanche argued that her story was misunderstood.

Distant Past:

Blanche has several long monologues in which she reveals her tragic past:

• Her young husband, who she married when she was still a child (at sixteen), seemed to be a loving, affectionate and caring young boy until she found out that he was gay.
• It is suggested that her young husband cheated on her with another man and she walked in on them. This happens off-stage.
• When they went out dancing Blanche told him that he was "disgusting" which lead her young husband to shoot himself. In Blanche's mind she killed her husband, even though she didn't pull the trigger herself! 

Stanley Hits Stella (RISING ACTION):

• This is the first physical attack on Stella in the play and it happens off-stage.
• The fact that Stella is pregnant increases the horror and the audience's sympathy for Stella.

Stella Goes Back To Stanley:

• When Stella forgives Stanley for abusing her and goes back to him it is suggested that this isn't the first time something like this has happened.
• They have a VIOLENT RELATIONSHIP.
• When Stanley begs for her forgiveness he is stripped of his manly, strong and fierce exterior and is seen in a different light - he is vulnerable.

When Blanche Is Taken Away To A Mental Institute:

• When the Doctor comes in to help Blanche she says to him "Whoever you are - I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.". This creates feelings of PITY and SYMPATHY towards Blanche.
• This statement is also ironic because no man really ever treated her with kindness - they all had ulterior motives, betrayed her or let her down.
• When Blanche is taken away, Stella and Stanley have very different reactions. While Stella is deeply affected by what has happened, Stanley just resumes his game of poker as if nothing out of the ordinary took place.
• Some critics say  that this is the CLIMAX of the play while most claim that this is the RESOLUTION.

Stanley Rapes Blanche (CLIMACTIC MOMENT):

• This happens off-stage and is therefore ambiguous - the audience is uncertain whether this actually happens or not.
• This is an off-stage seen because...
• there are no witnesses and DOMESTIC VIOLENCE is always hidden - it happens behind closed doors.
• by the sexual act not happening on stage, it becomes raw and its intimacy is taken away - what you can't see is sometimes more frightening than what you can.
• the ambiguity leaves the  audience doubting Blanche's sanity just like Stella (who has to decide who to believe - her sister or her husband).
• This scene, just like when Stanley hits his pregnant wife during the Poker Night, is most probably off-stage due to censorship laws in 1940s America.

Blanche's Birthday Supper:

• Blanche is a woman who is ageing and desperately wants to hang on to her youth when she was innocent and beautiful.
• The birthday supper symbolises her struggle to accept her age:
• STANLEY: How many candles you putting in that cake? 
• STELLA: I'll stop at twenty-five.
• In reality Blanche is in her early thirties but constantly lies about it. At one point she even pretends to be Stella's younger sister.

Blanche's Baths:

Blanche has several baths throughout the play which change the tone of the scene. One of the best examples of this is in Scene Seven when Blanche is singing in the bathtub while Stanley reveals to Stella the truth about Blanche. There is a contrast between what's happening in the bathroom to what's happening outside. 

Mitch's Return In Scene 10:

During this scene Mitch confronts Blanche about her lies and her fabricated personality. He tries to get Blanche to sleep with him, displaying aggression. This is a shift in Mitch's character from the quiet, mature and emotionally intelligent man he was introduced as.

As he confronts Blanche, he turns the light in order to really see Blanche for the first time which terrifies her. The idea of light is very symbolic throughout the play, almost as if Blanche has hidden all her secrets in the shadows and is afraid to show her true self in daylight. 

The Morning After Stella Goes Back To Stanley:

• The morning after Stella goes back to Stanley, Blanche finds her lying in bed. She confronts her sister about accepting her violent husband's apology.
• However, when Blanche tries to "rescue" Stella from this life, Stella defends Stanley and tells Blanche that she is completely happy with how her life is right now:
• BLANCHE: But you've given in. And that isn't right, you're not old! You can get out.
• STELLA [slowly and empathetically]: I'm not in anything I want to get out of.
• This shows that Stella is completely in love with Stanley. The fact that in this scene Stella is lying in bed emphasises that the key element is her sexual attraction to Stanley.