nts his female characters as classically beautiful, distinguished and extremely feminine. They are supposed to be the ideal woman. Their clothes, hair, disposition are flawless. An archetype of Tennessee Williams Southern gentlewoman is Blanche DuBois from A Streetcar Named Desire. When she first enters the play, her description fills every stereotypical Southern belle characteristic. ...she is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and hat...her delicate beauty must avoid strong light...(Williams, Streetcar.., 15). The more that the reader is introduced to Blanche the more her character tries to convince her readers that she is the perfect Southern woman. She is polite:Stanley: You going to shack up here?Blanche: I thought I would if its not too inconvenient for you all. (Williams, Streetcar.., 31)She is concerned about her appearance and wants to look good if she is to be in the presence of men:Blanche: How do I look?Stella: Lovely Balnche.Blanche: I feel so hot and frazzled. Wait till I powder before you open the door.(Williams, Streetcar.., 47)She also gets across the point that she is fragile and pure and therefore does not want to be spoken to harshly:Stanley:(booming) Now lets cut the re-bop!Blanche:(pressing her hands to her ears)Ouuuu!(Williams, Streetcar.., 40)Blanche tries very hard to prove that she is the Southern belle she used be. Blanche desperately wants to be a creature of culture, refinement and gentility.(Adler,31). Through her efforts she also reveals that she is incapable of being that Southern belle of long ago.This is how Williams desire to break her stereotypical facade can be seen.Her feverish talk, her attention to her figure and to the showy clothes she brought and her frequent returns to the whiskey that she later says she never touches, give an early clue to her state of mind.(Falk, 54) From the beginning of the play there are clues...
