When it comes to most movies or plays, the settings usually aren’t something people look into because no matter where the story takes place, it’s still the same story with the same outcome. Although that happens for most story lines, that isn’t the case for A Street Car Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. A Street Car Named Desire, is set in New Orleans in a two story building known as Elysian Fields.
Blanche DuBois is a English teacher from Mississippi who moves in with her sister that lives on the bottom level of Elysian Fields. The setting of this play is crucial for being able to get a full and well-rounded understanding of Williams’ work. The setting helps outline Blanche’s personality, understand the dynamics of Stanley and Stella’s relationship as well as a bit of Stanley character, and also aids the audience in understanding why Stanley patronizes Blanche.
One of the main reasons this setting is so important is because it helps the audience develop a clearer picture of Blanche’s background and how she’s used to living. Upon arrival as she steps off the street car named Cemeteries, she immediately assumes that she is in the wrong place. Explaining how she followed the instructions she was given, she says, “They mustn’t have–understood-what number I wanted” (Williams 15).
When Stella’s upstairs neighbor informs her that she is in fact in the correct place, Blanche seems a bit shocked of the exact conditions of the tiny apartment, asking “This-can this be -her home?” (Williams 16). This illustrates how drastically different the living conditions Stella resides in are, compared to the Belle Reve plantation which is “A great big place with white columns” which the sisters grew up in (Williams 17).
Stella even admits to her husband that her sister was surprised at how simple their living arrangements were and that she tried to fabricate in their letters to one another, “She wasn’t expecting to find us in such a small place. You see I’d tried to gloss things over a little in my letters” (Williams 33). The setting being in a two story flat really aids the audience in understanding how vain Blanche’s personality is and how pretentious she can be.
Besides outlining Blanches personality to the audience, the setting is important in play because Eunice and Steve live upstairs and are often caught in the cross fire of heated moments between Stanley and the both the DuBois sisters. This convenience of Steve and Eunice living upstairs helps the audience get a clear understanding of the dysfunction of Stella and Stanley’s tumultuous relationship. Each time the couple gets into an altercation, Stella turns to Eunice’s home for refuge. After getting into a physical fight with Stanley, Stella hollers, “I want to go away! I want to go away” (Williams 58).
Concerned for her sister, Blanche proclaims “I want my sister’s clothes! We’ll go to that woman’s upstairs” (Williams 58). This shows how if the setting wasn’t so prominent in the play, then there would be missing pieces and confusion for the audience. Each time Stella does run up to Eunice’s, Stanley hollers her name and cries for her, “Stella! (…) My baby doll’s left me! (…) Eunice? I want my baby” (Williams 59). The setting of A Street Car Named Desire gives the audience a better understanding of Stella and Stanley, which is important because it also demonstrates how brutal Stanley can be.
The last point that proves why the setting is important also shows reveals why Stanley tortures Blanche. Stanley helps prove how important the setting is during scene four when he is eavesdropping outside of the two story flat on Blanche and Stellas conversation. With the street cars going by and the DuBois sisters content in their conversation, Stanley stands by listening to his sister in-law Blanche talk down about him to his wife, “He acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits! Eats like one, moves like one, talks like one” (Williams 72). Stanley overhearing Blanche degrade him, fills the readers in on why he patronizes and tortures Blanche throughout the rest of the play.
After walking inside and yelling for his wife and interrupting Stella and Blanche mid-conversation, he embraces his wife and Williams describes Stanleys next actions as, “Over [Stella’s] head he grins through the curtains at Blanche” (Williams 73). Stanley grinning at Blanche after over hearing her criticism towards him hints to readers his devious attitude toward Blanche and provides explanation for a lot of his actions throughout the rest of the play.
Although the setting is crucial for understanding the play, some readers may argue that they’re able to still comprehend the story line. Which might be possible, but the story wouldn’t make as much sense without all the detail action set around the two story flat in Elysian Fields that Williams describes. The setting really helps progress the story, if it took place in another location, there would be confusion and holes in the story due to how Eunice helps Stella throughout the play.
Although it outlines Blanche’s personality, the setting also shows how out of place she is in the beginning. Williams describes Blanche during her arrival, “Her appearance is incongruous to this setting” (Williams 15). Finally, if Stanley wasn’t eavesdropping on Blanche and Stella, he would not have tortured her how he did after she degraded him to Stella.
In conclusion, If A Street Car Named Desire was not set in Elysian Fields in a cramped apartment, the story line wouldn’t flow how it does between all the characters. Overall, the convenience of the two story flat along with neighbors put the story in a better perspective for the audience, rather than the story being set somewhere else. The setting provides a deeper comprehension of character personalities, relationships and explanation of motives. Proving how crucial the setting is to understand the play as it should be understood.
