A Streetcar Named Desire - The Importance of Scene 6

A Street Car Named Desire - The Importance of Scene 6

Scene 6 is a poignant part of 'A Street Car Named Desire' and only contains the characters Mitch and Blanche. The scene begins with the impression that Blanche and Mitch have not enjoyed the evening that they have just spent together at a local carnival. Blanches voice and manner is described as being " the utter exhaustion which only a neurasthenic personality can know." Mitch is described as being "stolid but depressed." Mitch even admits "I'm afraid you haven't gotten much fun out of this evening Blanche." and "I felt all the time that I wasn't giving you much-entertainment." At this point in the scene the viewer gets the impression that Mitch and Blanche are not compatible and as it continues we get the impression that Blanche and Mitch are very unlikely Bedfellows.

As the scene progresses the likelihood of Blanche and Mitch becoming an item oscillates. The chances begin low and begin to decline but by the end of the scene chances become extremely high. This happens as a result of Blanche's flirtatious character and in the confidence levels Mitch portrays in his conversation.

At the beginning of scene 6 Blanche and Mitch are not presented as being compatible or to have much have any chemistry between them. Blanche is an educated woman with an aristocratic upbringing where as Mitch is uneducated and working class. We can observe how Blanche is flirtatiously playing the 'hard to get game' (e.g. using words such as 'honey') and appears to be very confident and experienced when dealing with men. Mitch on the other hand does not seem so confident or experienced, nervously asking, "Can I - uh-kiss you - goodnight?"

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...a significant difference between the two. There is far less physical attraction between Blanche and Mitch and more of a need for companionship, love, and sincerity. As the play continues and we watch how Stanley slowly destroys Blanche, the question "Does physical brute force, such as that of Stanley, overpower and dominate over the non-physical emotional force such as that of Blanche?" This scene and comparison of the two relationships aids this argument.

Works Cited

Spoto, Donald. The Kindness of Strangers. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1985.

Szeliski, John T. von. Twentieth Century Interpretations of A Streetcar Named Desire. "Tennessee Williams and the Tragedy of Sensitivity". Ed. Jordan Y. Miller. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1971.

Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire. Stuttgart: Phillip Reclam, 1988.