relationship of Blanche and Stanley

One of the first instances that begins to hint at the rising tension between Stanley and Blanche takes place in Scene 2, as Stanley starts to doubt Blanche’s honesty in regards to Belle Reve: “She didn’t show you no papers, no deed of sale or nothing like that, huh?” There is a tone of accusation in Stanley’s words, as rather than asking whether or not she had shown Stella the papers, he instead assumes she hasn’t and then seeks Stella’s clarification. Stanley’s hastiness to investigate the papers highlights his growing suspicion that Blanche owes him something, and emphasizes his almost immediate mistrust towards her. Stanley is also quick to voice his presumptions to Stella, implying he is confident his suspicions are true: “It looks to me like you have been swindled, baby, and when you’re swindled under the Napoleonic code I’m swindled too. And I don’t like to be swindled.” Stanley immediately expects the worst from Blanche and highlights that he takes this deception personally by relating it to himself through Stella. The statement ‘and I don’t like to be swindled’ suggests a hidden threat and begins to hint at the growing tension between Stanley and Blanche.

The use of stage directions within Scene 2 also convey rising tension and an uneasiness between Stanley and Blanche’s relationship, particularly as Stanley makes the decision to go through Blanche’s belongings: “[He crosses to the trunk, shoves it roughly open and begins to open compartments]”. The trunk contains everything that Blanche has, and so Stanley’s interfering with it is symbolic of him asserting himself over her completely. These actions are also proleptic of the rape as Stanley has invaded Blanche’s privacy, showing his dominance over the situation and symbolizing his role as the alpha-male, meaning he seeks to get what he wants and refuses to let anything interfere with his own plans or views. The use of the word ‘roughly’ also suggests his potentially violent nature and highlights his lack of care and disregard for Blanche’s feelings. The stage directions in this scene also imply a lingering and powerful threat towards Blanche as Stanley finishes searching through her belongings: “[He kicks the trunk partly closed]”. The act of kicking the trunk ‘partly’ closed hints that there is unfinished business left to deal with and suggests that Stanley plans on coming back to the problems between him and Blanche and sorting them out in whatever way he deems necessary.

Williams’s further careful use of stage direction also helps to hint at the potential danger between Stanley and Blanche’s relationship as Stanley continually invades Blanche’s privacy through symbolic gestures: “[She closes the drapes]” and “[He crosses through the drapes with a smouldering look]”. Stanley passes through the drapes that Blanche had previously closed, again emphasizing his power in the situation and his ability to overpower others. The use of the phrase ‘smouldering look’ implies his intense and barely suppressed anger towards Blanche and her actions, again working to indicate the silent threat he holds towards Blanche. Alternatively, the term ‘smouldering’ could be seen to imply the sexual tension between the pair which is also similarly hinted at throughout the play.

However, Blanche also attempts to defend herself in these situations and remove the threat Stanley bears: “I hurt him the way you would like to hurt me, but you can’t.” Blanche clearly acknowledges that she is fully aware of Stanley’s wish to ‘hurt’ her, but also states confidently that he cannot and highlights herself as more powerful than she may initially seem. Stage directions are also used to suggest Blanche’s unwavering confidence to not let Stanley see her as weak or easy to dominate:  “[He stops short at sight of Blanche in the chair. She returns his look without flinching]”. Blanche’s actions are an attempt to portray herself as a strong character and hold back the threat that Stanley tries to impose upon her. However, this refusal to back down could also work against Blanche, as it highlights their conflicting personalities and suggests that they are unwilling to compromise, raising tensions between the pair.

In conclusion, I strongly agree with the statement that Stanley and Blanche’s relationship is tense and potentially dangerous, as it is made evident even from the beginning scenes of the play that the two characters consistently oppose each other. Despite Blanche’s attempts to prove herself to be able to hold her own against Stanley’s silent but threatening body language or suggestive language, Stanley is portrayed as dangerous and more dominant over her and everyone else in the play. The conflict between the ways of life of both Blanche and Stanley puts a tense strain on their relationship and plays an important part in the acceleration of it’s deterioration into an alarming, and considerably dangerous situation.