How does Williams convey the tension between Blanche and Stanley?
Due to the contrasting natures of both the characters Tennessee Williams has created in Stanley and Blanche, there are many oppositions and conflicts that arise in the play. The conflicting identities are evident in everything that they have together, for example in the dialogue, body language, tone, stage directions and all other dramatic devices. These devices help to create dramatic tension which keeps the audience interested.
Each individuals characteristics have been moulded by their past experiences. Stanley is accustomed to being dominant, this is prominent in the manner in which he conducts himself in all situations, for example when talking to Stella about Blanche, Stanley uses declarative language I dont care if she hears me. Whereas Blanche appears to be more dainty and delicate using euphemisms to cushion her critique, but the audience can eventually see the harsher side of Blanche clearly, only when she feels threatened and her survival instincts take over. There, defensive instincts are mainly what fuel or ignite the conflict.
Conflict first arises when Blanche arrives at the Kowalski household and Stanley's authority over his home is questioned. Stanley has always had authority and control of his home and also his wife Stella. When Blanche arrives he feels that he is being invaded and doesn't agree with it. His "rat race" style of life doesn't match with Blanches but has somehow converted Stella. One of the main themes about conflict is that Stanley and Blanche are in a battle to win Stella and neither of them will give her up.
Stanleys intense hatred of Blanche is motivated in part by the aristocratic past Blanche represents. He also (rightly) sees her as untrustworthy and does not appreciate the way she attempts to fool him and his friends into thinking she is better than they are. Stanleys animosity toward Blanche manifests itself in all of his actions toward her- his investigations of her past, his birthday gift to her, his sabotage of her relationship with Mitch.
The stage directions show how Blanche and Stanley are opposing characters through the descriptions. As Blanche first enters, her outfit is completely incongruous to the setting, therefore she stands out. Her appearance and sophisticated mannerisms are very different from all others around her. This difference shows she is an outsider and doesnt belong or come from New Orleans. Instead of coming to visit her sister after some years dressed casually, she enters looking as if she were arriving to a summer tea or cocktail party. The first appearance of Stanley is when he and his friends are coming back from bowling one night. He is carrying a red stained package from the butchers this is bloody, raw, fresh meat straight from the butchers. This immediately gives the audience an image that Stanley is a scruffy man, not clean and neat but dirty and untidy looking not caring about what he holds and where it came from. This also shows the clear distinction between classes.
Blanche is also described as wearing white gloves and a hat. This symbolises how apparently pure she is. A pure white colour signifies her cleanliness, unlike Stanley. He is also roughly dressed in blue denim work clothes. This shows that he doesnt work in a posh office but instead works as a labour worker. Blanche on the other hand enters daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice... This shows she is elegantly dressed and appears to be presentable and looking good all the time, even when coming to an old run down town to visit family.
The colours that Stanley and Blanche wear could be showing characteristics of their personalities. White is an elegant colour; she is daintily dressed in a white suit. Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light. There is something about her uncertain manner as well as her white clothes that suggests a moth; this is perhaps showing her vulnerability, as when moths are exposed to strong light they die. Whereas, during poker night, the men are shown wearing the raw colours of the childhoods spectrum, solid blues, a purple, a red-and-white check, a light green; primary colours, showing the distinctions between class, gender, and the simplicity of their characters.
The language Stanley and Blanche uses contrasts as well. Blanche is euphemistic, unlike Stanley who is direct in what he says. Stanley uses monosyllabic utterances such as Catch! and Bowling! and gets straight down to the point of what he wants to say. This shows the audience that Stanley is straight forward, direct and unpretentious. Williams uses all of the mens syntax choices as a technique to portray them in a similar, direct way. Blanche on the other hand, uses a softer lexical choice with detailed, feminine, expressive language. She often also becomes dramatic using repetition: I, I, I took the blows in my face and my body! All of those deaths! The long parade to the graveyard! and uses appealing phrases such as gorgeous boxes when describing coffins, to hide the harsh truth of a morbid scenario. This reflects on her personality and her denial of reality. On top of this, Blanche often uses imperatives such as run to the drugstore and get me a lemon coke. The dynamic verb run shows Blanches demanding authority over Stella and her expectations of Stella to cater to her needs. This is another similarity Stanley and Blanche share- their superior attitude towards Stella. Another imperative used is you sit down, and explain this place to me. She uses imperatives frequently because she still thinks she is more superior and sophisticated than other people, even now that she lost everything. She dwells within her own fantasy where she is better than everyone else, and again, refuses to accept reality. Her imperious behaviour clashes with Stanley who is also imperious.
Music additionally plays an intricate part in the play as a method of creating dramatic tension. When Blanche and Stella talk about their past at Belle Reve during scene one, the blue piano music grows louder. Again, when Stanley mentioned that Blanche was married, polka music began to play in the distant background: The music of the polka rises up, faint in the distance. This makes the audience question why the music has changed, and begin to wonder as to why Blanche is so uneasy when her husband is mentioned.
In scene two, dramatic irony creates tension in the audience. The audience knows more than the character of Blanche in that she is unaware that Stanley over hears her strongly criticizing him: he stands unseen by the women... and overhears their following conversation. The following extensive critical speech adds to the tension. The audience is forced to contemplate Stanleys reaction with each successive criticism.
The comparison between the gestures and body languages presented by the two characters can be interpreted in many ways. Their body language can help us classify the two different types of generations in America; Blanche representing the Old America which is trying to adapt to the changes made by the dominate New America which is represented by Stanley and his attitudes towards life. Also by reading the gestures and body language the audience can detect the tension between the two characters and understand what type of personality they have. Williams uses adverbs such as booming and verbs like snatches to portray Stanley as quite rough and ungentle, whereas in one of Blanches stage directions, Williams uses the adverb fearfully adding vulnerability and fragility to Blanches character, using a softer choice of lexis.
The playwright has shown the various interactions between Stanley and Blanche, for example, Stanleys request when he says My clothesre stickin to me. Do you mind if I make myself comfortable? [He starts to remove his shirt] this reveals the almost instant sexual tension between Stanley and Blanche when they first meet and indicates that sexuality is a core part of his personality. Blanche is equally forward in the scene when she changes clothes in the bedroom, which is only separated by think drapes, she asks Excuse me while I slip on my pretty new dress!! and Many thanks! Now the buttons. Blanche purposefully attempts to flirt with Stanley and wants him to get close to her, especially when inappropriately requesting that he do up the buttons. This connotes that this is the way in which Blanche is used to dealing with men.
These various dramatic techniques, working in unison, indicate the oppositions between Stanley, the new industrialised American, and Blanche, the old colonial American. Ultimately one of these has to win, and at the beginning of the play both characters seem to give as good as they get. Stanley is strong headed and controlling, one of the reasons he and Blanche conflict, but Blanche successfully establishes a foothold in his house during the first third of the play and even shames him into acting somewhat sheepishly by the end of scene one.
However, in the end, Stanleys down-to-earth character proves harmfully crude and brutish. His chief amusements are gambling, bowling, sex, and drinking, and he lacks ideals and imagination. His disturbing, degenerate nature, first hinted at when he beats his wife, is fully evident after he rapes his sister-in-law. Stanley shows no remorse for his brutal actions. The play ends with an image of Stanley as the ideal family man, comforting his wife as she holds their new born child. The wrongfulness of this representation, given what we have learned about him in the play, ironically calls into question societys decision to ostracize Blanche.
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