A Level English Language and Literature OCR

A Streetcar Named Desire: Character Profiles

• Blanche: A former southern belle who struggles with her past and her mental state, culminating in her breakdown.
• Stanley: An aggressive, working-class man whose love for Stella and antagonism towards Blanche drive the plot.
• Stella: A woman torn between her sister Blanche and husband Stanley, embodying the tension between old Southern gentility and raw, urban passion.
• Mitch: Stanley's friend who desires a homely and comforting life and finds initial attraction to Blanche only to struggle with her secrets.
• Eunice: Stanley and Stella's landlady, represents practicality and survival in the tough environment.
• Allan Grey: Blanche's deceased husband who committed suicide after Blanche discovered his homosexuality, reflecting her unresolved trauma.
• Shep Huntleigh: A figment of Blanche's fantasies, indicating her desperation and delusion.
• Steve: Stanley's friend, a minor character whose relationship with his wife Eunice mirrors Stanley's with Stella.
• Pablo: Stanley's poker buddy, signifying the world of Stanley and his friends with which Blanche is unequipped to deal.
• Other Characters: Various characters, such as the doctor and nurse, the woman selling flowers for the dead, the young man who comes to collect for the newspaper, provide an extra layer of symbolism and foreshadowing.