Kindness and security Essay

At the end of scene IX, a woman comes outside selling flowers for the dead. This brings back her memories of Belle Reve, but she talks of them out loud as if she is reliving them at that moment. This shows that these memories still haunt her. At the beginning of scene X, Blanche has been drinking for hours after Mitch left. She has been packing and drinking, and is now in the soiled dress. She is still trying to forget what has happened by drinking. She is also talking to herself about a fun time, either in the past or in her head. She is trying to escape the present and go into the past by using alcohol. â€Å"Tremblingly she lifts up the hand mirror for a closer inspection. She catches her breath and slams the mirror face down with such violence that the glass cracks†. This shows that she forgets that it is now the present and she is angry that she is no longer who she was and does not look like who she was. Later in scene X, she tells Stanley about what happened with Mitch, but then she says that he returned with roses to say sorry, and then she told him to go. This is what she would have liked to happen, and maybe she doesn’t realise that it isn’t reality. Earlier in the play she had said; â€Å"I don’t want realism†¦ I want magic. † She also says that she had got a telegram from Shep Huntleigh inviting her on a cruise. Once Stanley tells her this is not true, she sees a ‘grotesque and menacing form’ in the shadow on the wall. This shows that she is not able to cope with the harsh reality, so she makes it up and believes it. In scene X, Blanche is raped by Stanley. After he tells her that he knows about her past, Blanche starts to see strange reflections on the wall and hear weird noises. This shows that her past is directly linked to her seeing things, and also with her fear of her past and Stanley’s dominance over her. It also shows that she cannot cope with her past. In scene XI, it shows Blanche cross fully into madness. She believes that the Doctor coming for her is Shep Huntleigh. When the matron turns up to take her, she lashes out and becomes violent, which she would never have done before as she would have wanted to be seen in a good light. Lastly, when the doctor shows her some kindness, she follows him quietly, as all she wants is kindness and security, even if it is from a stranger.