A Streetcar Named Desire

The next morning, Stella lies lazily in bed as the summer sun shines intensely. Blanche walks in the apartment and calls to her. She hasn’t slept all night, having been worried about Stella re-entering the apartment. She reprimands her sister, but Stella brushes aside the remarks: “He didn’t know what he was doing” (72). Stanley has a history of breaking things and of becoming severely violent. As their conversation continues, it becomes increasingly clear that Stella is unbothered by the previous night’s event and by the conditions of her life that Blanche find so abhorrent. 

Blanche mentions an old beau, Shep Huntleigh, that she linked up with during her Christmas holiday in Miami. He has a Cadillac and oil wells, and “Texas is literally spouting gold in his pockets” (76). Blanche begins drafting a wire to him, asking him for money for herself and Stella.

Blanche becomes increasingly agitated over her sister’s marriage to Stanley until Stella reveals that “there are things that happen between a man and a woman in the dark—that sort of make everything else seem—unimportant” (81). This is not a sufficient answer for Blanche, who reminds her sister of their Belle Reve upbringing.