Blanche tries to hide her aging by dimming the lights with a chinese paper lantern. This is analogous to her desire to keep from fading and maintain her beauty. She also doesn't like the truth:
"I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than I can a rude remark or a vulgar action." (Blanche p60)
Truth/reality is the naked light, and while she does try to hide her aging, she will also create elaborate stories to put her in better light than she actually is.
"I don't want realism. I want magic!" (Blanche p145)
"When people are soft- soft people have got to shimmer and glow- they've got to put on soft colors, the colors of butterfly wings, and put a - paper lantern over the light..." (Blanche p92)
"I want to deceive him enough to make him - want me..." (Blanche p95)
Blanche sings a song about a paper moon, and a make believe world in the bath, while outside Stanley and Stella are talking about Blanche's reality. p120
Bathing
"A hot bath and a long, cold drink always give me a brand new out look on life!"
Bathing is used throughout the play as a way to clean the characters of their past.
Blanche bathes frequently to try and remove her undesirable history.
She also bathes a lot to try and prevent her years from showing. During her long baths Blanche also sings song about fairy tale love which contrasts greatly with the reason for her numerous baths.
Blanches bathing often contrasts with other things occurring in the scene. Once while Blanche is try to rid herself of her past Stanley shares his findings about her history with Stella.
Poker
Stanley has considerable control over each poker game, dealing the cards and making sure people stay at the table. In the last scene, Steve takes control from Stanley by telling the guys the name of the game.
"This game is seven-card stud." (p179)
"Poker shouldn't be played in a house with women." (Mitch p63)
In the play poker represents masculinity and is shown one way through the exclusion of the female characters. This is seen in the very first poker game as the"ladies are cordially not invited." (pg 36) By not having the women there the masculinity of the card game is amplified.
Stella has understood and respects that Stanley feels that it is a mans game and that the presents of females would contaminate the male essence; Mitch knows this as he states near the end of this scene that "poker should not be played in a house with women." The fact that it is a masculine game seems to be universally known excluding Blanche.
Samantha Blandford + Wesley Hamilton
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