A Streetcar Named Desire
(Tennessee Williams)

Scene One

The scene opens up to the exterior of a two-story building on a street called Elysian Fields in New Orleans. The building is a duplex with one apartment on the top floor and another on the bottom. The street runs between the train tracks and the river. It is a poor neighborhood but has a certain charm to it. Two women are sitting on the stairs leading up to the top apartment. The first is Eunice, who lives upstairs. The second is a Negro woman in the neighborhood. They chat as a street vendor passes by.

Stanley Kowalski and his friend Mitch enter the stage. Both are in their late twenties or early thirties and dressed in work clothes. Stanley calls out to his wife Stella, who lives in the downstairs apartment, and tosses her some meat from the butchers. He and Mitch are going bowling, and Stella comes to watch. They all exit the stage.

Soon after, a woman, Blanche Dubois, wanders by the house looking confused and shocked. She is dressed in a fancy white suite, complete with a pearl necklace, white gloves, and a hat. Eunice calls out to her and asks if she is lost. Blanche repeats her directions to Eunice—she was supposed to take a streetcar named Desire, transfer to a streetcar named Cemeteries, and then get off at Elysian Fields. Eunice confirms that Blanche is indeed at Elysian Fields, and Blanche seems shocked by this information.

When Eunice discovers Blanche is looking for her sister Stella, Eunice tells her that Stella just went out, but she can show Blanche into Stella’s flat since she owns the building. The interior of the apartment is dimly lit. Eunice says somewhat defensively that the place looks nicer when it’s clean, but Blanche looks unconvinced. Blanche offends Eunice by saying she wants to be left alone, and Eunice goes out to the bowling alley to find Stella. Left by herself, Blanche seems nervous and sits ultra stiffly in her chair. She finds a whiskey bottle and pours herself a drink.

Stella comes back home, and Blanche greets her joyfully. She goes into a long spiel about how much she missed Stella and refers to Stella’s home as a horrible place. Stella pours Blanche a drink, and the two sit down. Blanche doesn’t understand how Stella can live in such conditions, especially in a house with only two rooms. She thinks Stella must not be glad to see her since she hasn’t even asked how Blanche, a teacher, has managed to visit Stella before the spring term has ended. Blanche says that the high school superintendent suggested she take a leave of absence to deal with her anxiety and nerves.

Stella and Blanche briefly discuss Stella’s husband, who is Polish. Stella doesn’t think Blanche will like Stanley’s friends because they are a mixed lot. She claims Stanley is a different species. He is an officer in the Engineer’s Corps. Blanche is nervous that Stanley won’t like her, but Stella says not to worry. Blanche seems unusually nervous. When Stella asks what’s wrong, Blanche says that she has lost Belle Reve, the family plantation. So many relatives died leaving the expense and burden of funerals to Blanche. Eventually the burden was too strong, and she lost the estate.

Stella starts crying and goes to the bathroom to freshen up. While she is there, Stanley comes back from bowling. He and Blanche make small talk until Stella comes back out. Blanche says she rarely drinks liquor and also references the fact that she was married once, but her husband died.

Scene Two

It is the following evening. Blanche is bathing, and Stella is in the kitchen. Music from the “blue piano” club around the corner can be heard. Stanley comes in, and Stella explains that Blanche is taking a hot bath to calm her nerves. She’s been through so much, losing Belle Reve. Stella tells Stanley to try to be polite to Blanche and to admire her appearance. Things like that are particularly relevant to Blanche.

Stanley is upset that Blanche lost Belle Reve. The details sound too ambiguous to him, and he wants to know why Blanche hasn’t shown any papers about losing the estate. In the state of Louisiana, there is a thing called the Napoleonic code, whereby a wife’s property belongs to her husband and vice versa. Thus, by Stanley’s reasoning, if Stella has been swindled somehow, then Stanley has been swindled also. Stella begs Stanley not to bring up Belle Reve and upset Blanche all again. Stanley points to Blanche’s expensive looking clothing and belongings. He knows a teacher’s salary could not afford that and suspects that perhaps Blanche sold Belle Reve and kept the profits for herself.

Stella goes out to the porch, and Blanche emerges from the shower in a red satin robe. She closes the curtain between the two rooms to dress but continues to talk to Stanley through the curtains. She fishes for a compliment about her appearance, but Stanley will only admit that Blanche looks okay. He says he doesn’t go in for complimenting women about their looks. Stanley claims he has never met a woman who didn’t know if she was attractive without being told and thinks that some women give themselves more credit than they deserve.

Stanley wants to lay all the cards on the table, so he repeats to Blanche his thoughts about the Napoleonic code. Stanley tells Blanche not to play dumb. He wants to see legal papers connected with the plantation. Blanche takes out a tin box from her trunk. Stanley notices another sheaf of paper under the legal documents and snatches them up. Blanche gets upset, and screams at Stanley to give the papers back. They are love letters from her dead husband. Blanche goes through the box and pulls out a stack of papers documenting loans on the house. The papers prove that the plantation was, in fact, lost on a mortgage.

Stanley says, somewhat sheepishly, that he will have a lawyer friend check out the papers. Because of the Napoleonic code, it’s vital for a man to take interest in his wife’s affairs. Stanley also lets slip that Stella is going to have a baby, which is news to Blanche. Stella returns from the drugstore and Blanche greets her with excitement. Meanwhile, Steve and Pablo appear outside, carrying beer for a poker party. The sound from the “blue piano” grows louder as the scene ends.

Scene Three

In the kitchen Stanley and Stella’s apartment, Stanley, Steve, Mitch and Pablo are gathered around the table for a game of poker. There is a moment of silence as the men look at their cards, but then heckling resumes. Mitch mentions that he should go home soon. It’s late, and his mother is sick. She doesn’t sleep when he’s gone, and he worries about her if he’s out for too long. Besides, it’s different for Mitch because he is the only bachelor of the group. He excuses himself to go to the bathroom, and Steve tells a joke as he deals another hand.

Outside, the sisters appear around the corner. Stella has taken Blanche out for the evening in hopes of keeping her sister away from the poker party, but it seems they have still returned home too early. The women go inside the flat and Stella asks Stanley if the boys can quit after the next hand because it’s already 2:30 AM. Stanley whacks Stella’s thigh and Stella admonishes him.

Blanche wants to bathe again because of her nerves. She knocks on the bathroom door and runs into Mitch as he is exiting. They introduce themselves and Mitch leaves the bathroom with an embarrassed laugh. Blanche finds Mitch intriguing and proceeds to ask Stella about him. Stella explains that Mitch works with Stanley but that he works in the spare parts department and is not likely to get anywhere with his life. Blanche seems unconvinced and says she can tell Mitch is a sensitive type.

The two women laugh together, and Stanley yells at them to be quiet from the other room. Blanche warns Stella not to start a fight, but Stella says Stanley is half drunk already. Stanley wants to keep playing, but Mitch says he’s done for the night. Stanley yells at him to sit down, but Mitch leaves the room. He runs into Blanche again on the way out and explains that the men have all been drinking beer. Blanche asks Mitch for a cigarette, and Mitch shows her an inscription on his cigarette case of an Elizabeth Browning poem. The case was given to Mitch by a girl he dated for a while who later died.

The two flirt for a while, but Stanley keeps yelling for Mitch to rejoin the game. Stella leaves the bathroom and Blanche turns on the radio for her. Blanche begins to waltz with Mitch, but then Stanley storms into the room, grabs the radio, and throws it out the window. Stella yells at Stanley for being drunk and begs the other men to go home. There is a scuffle in which Stanley chases Stella into the other room. A crash is heard, and the men rush forward to grab Stanley. Blanche shouts that Stanley is crazy and that her sister is expecting a baby. Blanche collects Stella’s clothes and the two exit the house and go upstairs to Eunice’s. Stanley comes outside and calls for Stella, and she eventually goes back downstairs with him. Blanche and Mitch sit outside and have a cigarette.

Scene Four

It is early the next morning, and Stella lies asleep in her bed. Her face looks serene, and her hand wraps around her pregnant stomach. Blanche appears at the door looking much more disheveled. She says Stella’s name and then rushes toward her with tenderness and concern. Stella says sleepily that Stan has gone to get the car greased. Blanche exclaims that she has been half-crazy with worry. She barely slept at all when she found out Stella had returned to Stan for the night. She doesn’t understand how Stella could have returned to him after how he behaved. Stella thinks Blanche is making too much of a fuss about nothing. When men drink and play poker anything can happen. She swears Stanley was sweet as can be and apologetic when she went back to the house.

Blanche is still unconvinced. She thinks Stella is married to a madman. She tells Stella that it’s not too late—she can still get out. But Stella insists that she is not in anything that she wants to get out of. She gets the broom and begins to clean up. Blanche is shocked that Stella would clean up after Stanley. She then asks if Stella remembers an old boyfriend of Blanche’s named Shep Huntleigh. Blanche apparently ran into Shep last Christmas eve at dusk during a trip to Miami. He is wealthy and currently lives in Texas with his wife. Blanche has the idea that Shep will invest in the sisters and give them money to open a shop of some kind. That way they can start their own business and get away from Stanley.

Blanche begins to write out a telegram for Shep saying that she and her sister are in a desperate situation. Stella takes offense to this terminology and reminds Blanche yet again that she is not in any situation she wants to be removed from. She swears that Blanche saw Stanley at his worst. Blanche thinks that Stella only fell for Stanley because of his uniform. Stella denies this, but she does admit that there are certain things that happen between a man and a woman that make the rest seem…unimportant. Blanche says Stella is talking about brutal desire, and Stella accuses Blanche of acting superior.

Blanche asks if she can speak plainly with Stella. A train goes by outside. Under cover of the train’s noise, Stanley enters the apartment. He stands in the other room, unnoticed by the two women, and overhears the next part of their conversation. When the noise from the train subsides, Blanche says that she finds Stanley common. She thinks he is brutish with animal habits, more like an ape than a person. She tells Stella not to hang back with brutes. Another train passes; Stanley hesitates a minute then enters the room. Stella goes to him and embraces him fiercely, as if to make a point to Blanche. Over her head, Stanley grins at Blanche and the lights fade to black.

Scene Five

The scene opens with Blanche sitting in the bedroom reading a just-written letter. She starts laughing, and Stella asks her what’s so funny from the opposite room. Blanche says she is laughing at herself for being such a liar. She has written to Shep that she is spending the summer traveling and may just make a stop in Dallas. Blanche is interrupted by a loud crash upstairs. Eunice’s voice can be overheard—she is yelling at Steve, accusing him of cheating on her with some blonde. There is another noise, and Eunice can be heard yelling that Steve hit her and threatening to call the police.

Eunice runs downstairs and turns around the corner. Stanley enters the apartment and asks what’s the matter with Eunice. Stella explains the situation and Stanley says that rather than call the police, Eunice has gone off to the Four Deuces for a drink. Blanche starts talking about astrological signs and their significance. Stanley asks Blanche what sign she is, and Blanche says she was born under Virgo the Virgin. Stanley snickers at this and asks if Blanche knew someone back in Laurel, Mississippi named Shaw. Blanche is shocked but plays it off cool, saying that everyone knows someone named Shaw. Stanley says Shaw is under the impression he met Blanche at the Hotel Flamingo. Blanche says this Shaw must be mistaken because the Hotel Flamingo is not the sort of establishment she would ever be seen in.

Steve and Eunice come around the corner and go upstairs together—they have clearly made amends after their fight. Stanley leaves the apartment to go for a drink at the Four Deuces and tells Stella to meet him there. As soon as Stanley leaves, Blanche turns to Stella and asks if she’s heard any rumors about her. Her hands tremble, and though her voice is quiet, her face betrays panic. Blanche explains that there were terrible rumors circulating about her in Laurel. She was always a soft person, and soft people have to find protection in the hard ones. After Blanche lost Belle Reve, she began to seek protection. Men never seemed to notice her unless she was making love to them. But Blanche reasons that you’ve got to have your existence acknowledged by someone, somehow.

Stella says Blanche is being morbid. She offers Blanche a coke, and Blanche hints that she would prefer the drink if it were spiked with alcohol. Stella obliges and Blanche admits that she likes to be waited on. She gets increasingly hysterical and apologizes to Stella for being a burden. Stella calms Blanche down and asks her why she screamed. Blanche isn’t sure what brought on her nerves, but she thinks it’s probably because Mitch is picking her up for a date at seven. Blanche is nervous because she hasn’t been honest with him about her age or her experience with men. She claims she is not trying to deceive him; she just wants to make him want her.

Stanley comes back home to pick up Stella. Blanche sits alone outside the apartment. The Negro Woman comes around the corner. From the opposite direction, a young man arrives asking for money for the Evening Star. Blanche flirts with him and gives him a kiss before sending him on his way again. Soon after he leaves Mitch appears with a bunch of roses. He beams at Blanche, and she greets him as the scene ends.

Scene Six

It is 2 AM of the same evening, and Blanche and Mitch are just returning from their date. They both look exhausted and unhappy. Mitch laughs awkwardly at the steps, and says he is afraid Blanche hasn’t enjoyed his company terribly much. Blanche says that she spoiled the evening for him—she tried as hard as she could to be happy, but she just couldn’t make it happen. She did try though. Blanche also mentions that she will be leaving New Orleans soon because she thinks she has outstayed her welcome.

Mitch asks if he can kiss Blanche goodnight. She doesn’t understand why he always asks for permission instead of just acting. Mitch claims he asks because he is not sure whether Blanche wants to or not. Blanche is insecure, but Mitch insists he likes her exactly as she is. Blanche invites him inside for a nightcap, and they make more small talk about Mitch and Blanche’s weights respectively and how Mitch knows Stanley. Blanche asks if Stanley says anything about her. Mitch politely says that he doesn’t think Stanley understand Blanche. Blanche says she knows Stanley despises her. For her part, she finds him insufferable and thinks he goes out of his way to be rude to her. Furthermore, there is no privacy at all in the apartment with only a curtain between the two rooms. But with a teacher’s salary, Blanche barely has money for her own living experiences.

Mitch asks Blanche how old she is. She gets nervous and asks why he wants to know. The reason is that Mitch told his sick mother about Blanche and how much he liked her. His mother asked Blanche’s age, and Mitch didn’t know what to tell her. Blanche steers the conversation away from her age by commenting on how much Mitch must love his mother. She then goes on to talk about her husband who died. She met him when she was sixteen and fell deeply in love with him. But there was something different about this boy that she could not place…there was a softness and tenderness to him. It was not until after the two teens had run away to be married and returned that Blanche figured out what was wrong. Her husband was a homosexual. She caught him in a room with an older male friend of theirs. All three continued the rest of the evening pretending nothing had happened until Blanche danced with her husband and told him that she knew what he had done and that he disgusted her. Her husband ran out of the room to the lake and shot himself in the mouth.

Mitch gets up awkwardly and moves closer to Blanche. He tells her that they both need somebody, so maybe the two of them could stay together. She stares at him for a moment and then gives into his embrace. She cries and lets him kiss her as the music fades out.

Scene Seven

It is an afternoon in mid-September, and the table is set for a birthday dinner. Stanley enters the room as Stella finishes decorating. She tells Stanley that it is Blanche’s birthday. Blanche is in the bathroom and has apparently been there all afternoon. She claims that hot baths help her chill off and calm her nerves. Stanley points out that Stella runs around buying her sister cokes while Blanche sits in the tub all day. Stella tells Stanley to stop picking on Blanche so much because she is acutely sensitive to that type of thing. But Stanley won’t give up. He says he knows the real story about Stella’s sister and that Blanche has been lying to them all this time.

Stanley heard from a supply-man at the plant that Blanche is infamous in Laurel and not respected by anyone. After Blanche lost Belle Reve she used to live at a hotel called the Hotel Flamingo, which is known for all sorts of unsavory goings-on. Blanche was apparently so improper that even the hotel would not have her and kicked her out. Blanche also didn’t take a leave of absence from teaching like she said. Rather, she was fired for having an affair with a seventeen-year-old student. Stella says she doesn’t want to hear anymore, and that people must be lying about Blanche. Blanche emerges from the bathroom for a moment but then leaves again to finish getting ready. Stella continues that although perhaps some things Stanley mentioned are partly true, it is still cruel to be telling such awful gossip about people. Blanche was always flighty, even as a child.

Stanley asks Stella how many candles she put on Blanche’s cake. Stella stopped at 25 because Mitch is expected to come over for cake and ice cream. Stanley says he wouldn’t be too sure about Mitch coming over. He repeated to Mitch all the rumors that he had heard about Blanche—he felt it his duty as a friend to let Mitch know. As a result, Mitch has decided he certainly isn’t going to marry Blanche. He is so upset that he will likely not show up to Blanche’s birthday dinner. Stanley also mentions that he has bought Blanche a bus ticket back to Mississippi for Tuesday. He goes to the bathroom door and yells at Blanche to hurry up. Blanche comes out and seeing the expression on Stella’s face asks what is wrong. Stella says nothing has happened, but Blanche can tell that something is going on.

Scene Eight

45 minutes later, scene eight opens up to a pathetic-looking birthday party. Stanley looks surly while Stella appears embarrassed. There is an empty spot at the table where Mitch ought to be. Blanche asks Stanley to tell a joke since everyone seems so somber. It is the first time in Blanche’s experience that she has ever been stood up by a man. Stella suggests that Blanche tell a story instead, and Blanche complies. She tells a story about an old maid and a parrot, laughing at her own jokes. Stanley does not seem entertained by the story. Stella says Stanley is making a pig of himself. Stanley throws a plate on the floor in anger. He grabs Stella’s arm and tells her that he is sick of being called vulgar, greasy, and dirty. Stella begins to cry. Stanley releases her and storms out to have a cigarette.

Blanche asks again what happened while she was in the bathroom. She knows the reason Mitch didn’t show up must have something to do with Stanley. She rushes to the phone to call Mitch, but he doesn’t pick up. Stanley and Stella remain in the other room. Stanley tells Stella that everything will be better between them once Blanche finally leaves, and Stella has the baby. Steve and Eunice are heard laughing upstairs, and Stella tells Stanley to come back inside. She calls Blanche back in the kitchen and lights the birthday cake for her. Blanche and Stanley continue to bicker some more.

The phone rings and Blanche thinks it is Mitch calling her back, but it is a friend of Stanley’s instead. After Stanley hangs up the phone, he tells Blanche he has a gift for her. Blanche is thrilled and asks Stanley what it is. He hands her an envelope—it is the bus ticket back to Mississippi. Blanche tries to laugh but then runs from the room into the bathroom. Stella tells Stanley that he didn’t need to be so cruel to someone as delicate as Blanche. As a girl, Blanche was the sweetest and most trusting child alive. Stanley says he is going out bowling. He blames Blanche for all the troubles between him and Stella, claiming that they were always happy together before she came along. Stella’s expression changes and she tells Stanley to bring her to the hospital. She is going into labor.

Scene Nine

Later the same evening, Blanche sits tensely in the bedroom. Beside her is a bottle of liquor and a glass. A polka tune is playing—the same tune that was playing when Blanche’s husband ran out on her and committed suicide. Outside, Mitch comes around the corner and rings the bell of the apartment. Blanche asks who is at the door, and when she discovers it is Mitch, she is frantic to hide the liquor and clean things up. She rushes to let Mitch in. Breathlessly, Blanche goes on about how she shouldn’t even be letting Mitch in after how he treated her today, but she forgives him because she is so relieved to see him now.

Mitch stares at Blanche for a while and then asks her to turn the fan off. Blanche offers Mitch a drink, but he says he doesn’t want to take any of Stanley’s liquor. Blanche lies and says that the liquor is hers rather than Stanley’s. She asks what happened that made Mitch cancel on her earlier. Mitch says that he didn’t show up because he had decided not to see Blanche anymore. Blanche finds the liquor bottle but seems unfamiliar with the type of liquor it is. This furthers Mitch’s suspicions that the liquor is actually Stanley’s and he refuses to drink it. Stanley has told Mitch that Blanche has been stealing his liquor all summer.

Blanche asks again what’s on Mitch’s mind. He comments on how dark the room is. Blanche says she likes the dark. Mitch says he has never seen Blanche in the light before. They never go out in the afternoon; Mitch has never had a decent look at Blanche before. He says he wants a good luck at Blanche and rips the paper lantern off the light bulb. Blanche asks if Mitch means to be insulting, but he insists that he just wants to be realistic. Blanche says that she doesn’t want realism. She prefers magic, and if she misrepresents herself, it is only because she tells what ought to be the truth rather than what is actually there.

Mitch says that he doesn’t mind that Blanche is older. It is the rest that bothers him—all the lying about her experience and her past life at the Hotel Flamingo. Blanche still denies she stayed at any such place. She says that, after her husband Allan died, she descended into panic and lunacy for a while, seeking comfort in morally ambiguous places and people. Blanche supposes she was, in fact, morally unfit for a while, but all of that changed when she met Mitch. There is a pause as Mitch absorbs this information, but he still can’t get over the fact that Blanche lied. Blanche says that, in her heart, she didn’t lie.

Outside, a Mexican woman passes by selling flowers for Day of the Dead. Blanche says that the opposite of death is desire. It is no wonder that she was drawn to men when there was so much loss and death at Belle Reve. Mitch places his hands on Blanche’s waist and tells her that he wants what he’s been missing all summer. Blanche tells him that he should marry her then, but Mitch says he doesn’t think he wants to marry her after all. Blanche tells him that, in that case, he can go away or she will start yelling fire. He stays and stares at her. Blanche begins to scream until Mitch turns and retreats from the apartment.

Scene Ten

It is a few hours later in the same evening. Blanche has clearly been drinking since Mitch left and is now looking through her trunk, which she has pulled into the center of the bedroom. The drinking has turned her hysterical, and, in the middle of packing, she decided to put on an evening gown and fancy shoes. To complete the look, she has placed a rhinestone tiara on her head. She lifts up a mirror to inspect the completed look. As Blanche gazes at her reflection, Stanley comes around the corner and enters the apartment. He has brought in some beers with him and seems to be drunk, as well.

Blanche asks Stanley how Stella is doing. Stanley says Stella is fine. The baby isn’t expected until morning so the doctors told him to go home and try to get some sleep. Blanche asks if this means that it will be just the two of them for the evening; Stanley confirms that they will be alone without Stella in the apartment. Blanche tells Stanley that while he was out she received a telegram from an old admirer. The man, Mr. Shep Huntleigh has invited her to a Caribbean cruise. Blanche claims this is the reason she is playing dress up with her trunk—she wanted to make sure she had clothing suitable for the tropics.

Stanley begins to undress, and Blanche tells him to close the curtain. But Stanley says he is not going to undress any more at the moment. Instead, he opens a beer and continues to talk with Blanche. Blanche tells Stanley that Shep is a gentleman who respects her. He wants company from a cultivated woman who can enrich his life. She says she has been foolish in hanging around such swine as Stanley and Mitch. Blanche tells Stanley that Mitch came to ask forgiveness with a box of roses, but she told him that what he has done was unforgiveable. Stanley says that Blanche is full of lies—he doubts she even received a telegram at all.

Blanche runs to the telephone and asks the operator to connect her with Shep Huntleigh of Dallas. But she has no address to give and the operator can’t connect her. She is getting increasingly anxious. Outside, a prostitute, a drunkard, and the Negro woman walk by. Blanche tries the phone again and asks to be collected with Western Union to send a telegram. Stanley comes out of the bathroom in silk pajamas. He grins at Blanche and points out that she left the phone off the hook. He keeps stepping closer and closer to Blanche making her feel threatened. Finally, Blanche smashes a bottle so that she can use the twisted end to protect herself. Stanley says that if Blanche wants roughhouse, he will give her roughhouse. He overturns the table and catches Blanche’s wrist. She drops the bottle and falls to her knees. Stanly picks her up and pulls her onto the bed with him.

Scene Eleven

It is several weeks later, and Stella is packing Blanche’s trunk. Stanley and his friends are gathered around the kitchen table playing poker. Eunice comes downstairs to say hello and ask after Blanche—she has been watching Stanley and Stella’s new baby in her apartment. Stella tells Eunice that Blanche is in the bathroom. She told Blanche that they are sending her to the countryside to rest. Somehow Blanche has confused this in her mind with going to see Shep Huntleigh. In actuality, however, Stella is sending Blanche off to a mental institution. She tells Eunice that she just couldn’t believe Blanche’s side of the story and continue to live with Stanley. Eunice says Stella did the right thing not to believe Blanche—life has to go on no matter what.

Blanche comes out of the bathroom and asks if Shep Huntleigh has called. At the sound of Blanche’s voice, Mitch starts staring into space at the poker table. Stanley slaps Mitch’s shoulder and calls his name to bring his attention back to the game. At the sound of Stanley’s voice, Blanche freezes up. With sudden hysteria, she asks Stella and Eunice what’s going on. Stella and Eunice try to calm Blanche down by telling her that she looks fantastic and ready for her vacation. Blanche hesitates but then lets Stella and Eunice lead her to a chair.

Outside, a doctor and a nurse appear around the corner and walk toward the porch. Eunice answers the door and tells Blanche there is someone calling for her. Blanche is nervously packing the rest of her belongings. She still believes it is Shep at the door. She passes through the kitchen, and the poker players stand awkwardly for her. The doctor waits outside. Blanche reaches the door and realizes that the doctor is not the man she was expecting to find. She stops and stares at Stella and then slips back inside the apartment with a funny expression on her face. As she goes back in, Stanley gets up to block her way. The nurse follows Blanche inside, and Blanche begins to stutter. The nurse comes forward, and Blanche begins to scream.

Stella and Eunice remain outside on the porch. Stella thinks the nurse must be hurting Blanche, and Eunice has to hold her back. Stella starts to cry and asks what she has done to her sister. Eunice comforts Stella, telling her that she did the right thing. Meanwhile, Stanley tells the doctor to come inside. The men at the poker table think that Stanley and Stella have done a terrible thing in not even telling Blanche where she was going. Blanche is thrashing wildly. The nurse asks the doctor if she should put Blanche in a straight jacket. He says not unless it is unquestionably necessary.

The doctor addresses Blanche as Miss DuBois and speaks kindly to her. Blanche seems to calm a little. She grasps onto the doctor’s arm and tells him that she has always depended on the kindness of strangers. The doctor leads Blanche out. Stella calls Blanche’s name over and over, but Blanche continues on without looking back. Eunice brings the baby down and places him in Stella’s arms. Stella cries freely and Stanley goes to comfort her, saying “now, now, my love.” The music gets louder, and Steve announces that the next game is called seven-card stud. The curtain falls