A Level English Literature CCEA

A Streetcar Named Desire: Character Profiles

• Scene 9: In Scene 9, Blanche is confronted by Mitch about the rumours of her past after he brings up her constant avoidance of light, revealing her vulnerability and insecurity.
• Scene 10: Scene 10 is a defining moment in the play, in which Stanley taunts and then rapes Blanche, one of the most damaging moments of her life.
• Scene 11: In the final Scene 11, Blanche is taken away to a mental institution, symbolising her complete downfall and the result of the fragility of her mental state.
• Blanche: Blanche DuBois is a fading Southern belle whose past haunts her present, leading her to alcoholism and promiscuity, culminating in her mental breakdown.
• Stanley: Stanley Kowalski is a brutish, dominating spouse who values physical strength and sexual prowess, and his lack of sympathy towards Blanche's vulnerability leads to her downfall.
• Stella: Stella Kowalski, Stanley’s wife and Blanche’s sister, is torn between her loyalty to her husband and her responsibilities to her sister, highlighting domestic conflicts and woman submissiveness.
• Mitch: Mitch, Stanley’s army friend and Blanche’s short-term suitor, is initially respectful and gentle towards Blanche but leaves her upon discovering her past, showcasing societal judgement.
• Eunice: Eunice, Stella's loyal friend, and Stanley's neighbour serves as a foil character, embodying the harsh realities of lower-class life.
• Allan Grey: Allan Grey, Blanche's deceased husband, who committed suicide after Blanche discovered his homosexuality, reveals the traumatic roots of Blanche's mental instability.
• Shep Huntleigh: Shep Huntleigh is an unseen character who represents Blanche's fantasy of escaping from her troubled life and embarking on a dream life of wealth and luxury.
• Steve: Steve is Stanley's loyal friend and Eunice's husband, symbolising the average man in the lower social class, crude and insensitive to the feelings of women.
• Pablo: Pablo, another of Stanley's friends, largely blends into the background highlighting the collective identity of Stanley's group.
• Other Characters: Other characters represent a range of social statuses and interests, auxiliary to the main characters' dynamics but important in the development of setting, theme, and conflict.