The Destruction of Blanche DuBois

A fading Southern belle from an aristocratic background. She has just lost her ancestral home, Belle Reve, and her teaching position as a result of promiscuity. Blanche was described by Tennessee Williams as delicate and moth-like. She is a refined, sensitive, cultured, intelligent woman who is never willing to hurt someone. Blanche is at the mercy of the brutal, realistic world. The Destruction Of Blanche DuBois Tennessee Williams was once quoted as saying "Symbols are …

…try to flirt with Stanley at first. After all like she said to Stella "Honey, would I be here if the man weren't married?", Stanley did catch her eyes at first. But being brutally raped by him in the end destroyed her because he was not a starnger, he knew her, he made her face reality, and in a way he exposed her to the bright luminous light she could not stand all her life.