Setting and Plot
Setting:
Corner building on a street called Elysian Fields, which runs between the river and the train tracks in a poor section of New Orleans
Plot:
The play begins with Blanche DuBois arriving at her sister's, Stella's, apartment. The apartment is a two story corner building in New Orleans. Stella is not there, but her close friend and upstairs neighbor, Eunice, helps Blanche into the apartment and talks to her until Stella comes back from the bowling alley. After Stella married her husband Stanley, Blanche and Stella have not been in much contact with each other, and she decides to stay at Stella's apartment after she informs Stella that she lost their family estate, there are no other relatives living, and she was given a leave of absence from teaching. Blanche comments on the apartment Stella lives in by saying it's not suitable for her to live in, and she becomes nervous upon meeting Stella's working-class husband, Stanley.
The next day Stella explains Blanche's situation to Stanley, but Stanley immediately distrusts Blanche and suspects her of having cheated Stella out of her share of the family inheritance. To help prove his point, he searches through Blanche's suitcase and assumes that she spent the family money and fancy clothes. However, Blanche quickly defends that the house was lost because of a foreclosed mortgage. That same night Blanche and Stella leave the house so Stanley and his friends can have a poker night at the apartment.
When Stella and Blanche return to the house, Blanche introduces herself to Pablo, Steve, and Mitch, but Mitch is the only one that is intrigued by Blanche. Mitch leaves the poker game to talk to Blanche, and this annoys Stanley. Blanche turns a radio on and starts to dance, but an annoyed Stanley takes the radio and throws it out the window. Stella yells and Stanley, and Stanley begins to beat her. The men pull him off of her, and Blanche and Stella go upstairs to Eunice's apartment. Stanley then feels sorry for his actions and begs for Stella's forgiveness, and Stella returns to Stanley and forgives him; however, Blanche is very upset and shocked that Stella would return to him.
The next morning Blanche tries to understand what happened the night before and tell Stella to leave this situation, but Stella explains that Stanley is the way he is, and she just puts up with his violence. Blanche informs Stella that she recently had contact with a millionaire named Shep Huntleigh. While writing a telegram to him, Blanche also tells Stella that she is completely broke. She tells Stella that they can escape this town and go with Shep Huntleigh. Blanche berates Stanley not knowing that he is listening to their conversation.
Stanley and Blanche have a very intense conversation the next day. Stanley tells her that he knows of a man named Shaw who says that Blanche was a frequent client at a disreputable hotel. Blanche denies his accusations, but after Stanley leaves, Blanche tells Stella that she has not done a lot of good things in a couple of years and has lied to Mitch about her age. She refuses to sleep with him in hopes that Mitch will respect her. Stella tries to comfort her but leaves to be with Stanley.
While Blanche is alone in the apartment waiting for Mitch to pick her up for a date, a boy comes to the door to collect money for the newspaper. Blanche flirts with him and makes him feel uncomfortable, and she sends him off with a kiss. Mitch shortly arrives bringing her flowers and taking her on her date. When Blanch and Mitch return from their date, Blanche tells Mitch about how her husband committed suicide after Blanche found out that he was gay.
A month later while Stella is making dinner for Blanche's birthday party, Stanley tells her he found out about Blanche's past. Blanche moved into the Flamingo Hotel where she had many immoral and sexual partners after losing the Belle Reve . She was also fired at the school when the principal found out that she was having an affair with a student. Stella was also surprised to find out that Stanley already told Mitch everything about Blanche.
Mitch never arrives to the birthday dinner, and Stanley tells Blanche that he knows about her past. He also gives her a one-way bus ticket back to Laurel, Mississippi as a birthday present. In the middle of dinner, Stella asks Stanley to take her to the hospital because she thinks she's in labor, and they leave. While Blanche is left in the apartment drinking, Mitch comes to the door and tells her what he has learned about her. Blanche says that it happened because of her husband's death, but Mitch says that she is not good enough to ever marry. However, he tries to have sex with her, but she yells "fire" to force him to leave and get the attention of strangers outside.
After Mitch leaves Stanley returns from the hospital, and Blanche is drunk. She tells him that Shep Huntleigh has asked her to go on a cruise with him, and she was leaving. Stanley knows that this story is not true. Instead of confronting her on her lie, he carries her to the bed and rapes her. A few weeks later while Blanche was taking a bath, Stella and Eunice were packing Blanche's bags. Blanche thought she was leaving to join Shep Huntleigh, but a doctor was coming to take her to the insane asylum.
