He then carries her back into the apartment. Blanche comes looking for Stella. She sees Mitch who explains that Stella went back to him. Mitch assures her that all is fine now. Blanche looks at him and thanks him for being so kind. Note that the scene is set against a pretty wild poker game. Stanley is especially out of patience because he has been losing heavily.
And we see Mitch immediately as a contrast to the others, especially with his concern for his sick mother. Blanche is immediately aware of Mitch's difference. Her own sensitivity allows her to recognize it in others. This is a quality that Stanley does not possess.
Blanche intentionally moves into the light when she is undressing so as to be noticed. This is a manifestation of Blanche's desire to be the center of attention, and her use of her body to attract attention prepares us for some of her later lurid escapades. Notice that Blanche's and Mitch's pasts curiously correspond since both have lost a loved person.
This is just one of many aspects that will draw them together. Again the light motif is here developed. She brings her a coke, but Blanche has a fit when it foams over on her skirt. They discuss Mitch. Stella exits to go meet her husband at the Four Deuces. The three of them sit around uncomfortably at the birthday dinner, since Mitch never shows up. Stella is angry with her husband for being rude to Blanche, and tells him to wash his greasy fingers and help her clear the table.
Stella yells at him for treating Blanche so cruelly. He tries to tell her that as soon as Blanche is gone, things will be good again, but Stella interrupts and asks him to take her to the hospital.
After the baby has been born, Stella is helping Blanche to pack to go away. Browse all BookRags Book Notes. All rights reserved. Toggle navigation. Sign Up. Sign In. View the Study Pack. View the Lesson Plans. Table of Contents. Plot Summary. Major Characters. Topic Tracking: Loneliness. Topic Tracking: Opposing Backgrounds.
Topic Tracking: Sexuality. Topic Tracking: Violence. Scene 1. Scene 2. Scene 3. Scene 4. Scene 5. Scene 6. Scene 7. Scene 8. She then explains that she has come to New Orleans because her nerves have forced her to take a leave of absence from her job as a schoolteacher during the middle of the term. Blanche takes another drink, and then worries about the privacy and decency of her staying in the apartment with no door to separate her from Stella and Stanley in the next room.
Stella warns Blanche that Stanley is very different from the men with whom Blanche is familiar back home. She is quite clearly deeply in love with him. She recounts how she suffered through the agonizingly slow deaths of their parents and relatives, and points the finger at Stella for running off to New Orleans and leaving all familial woes behind.
Stella finally cuts her off and leaves the room, crying. Outside the apartment, Stanley discusses plans for poker the following day with Steve and Mitch. Meanwhile, Blanche has been nervously moving through the apartment in anticipation of meeting Stanley. He enters the apartment, sizes Blanche up, and makes small talk with her, treating her casually while she nervously tries to engage with him.
Stanley pulls the whiskey bottle out of the closet and notices that it is running low. He offers Blanche a drink, but she declines, saying that she rarely drinks. Stanley proceeds to change his sweaty T-shirt in front of Blanche, offending her modesty.
The play offers a romanticized vision of slum life that nevertheless reflects the atypical characteristics of New Orleans. The mix of characters and social elements around Elysian Fields demonstrates the way New Orleans has historically differed from other American cities in the South. It was originally a Catholic settlement unlike most Southern cities, which were Protestant , and consequently typical Southern social distinctions were ignored.
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