{{Short description|Fictional character in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire}} {{Use American English|date=May 2017}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2017}} {{Infobox character | name = Blanche DuBois | series = [[A Streetcar Named Desire]] | image = Jessica Tandy (play A Streetcar Named Desire).jpg | image_size = 240px | caption = [[Jessica Tandy]] performed the role of Blanche DuBois in ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' (1947) and received a [[Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play|Tony Award]] | first = ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (play)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' | gender = Female | occupation = High school English teacher | spouse = Allan Grey (deceased) | family = [[Stella Kowalski|Stella DuBois]] (sister) <br /> [[Stanley Kowalski]] (brother-in-law) | relatives = Jessie (cousin, deceased) | portrayer = [[Gillian Anderson]]<br/>[[Ann-Margret]]<br />[[Tallulah Bankhead]]<br />[[Cate Blanchett]]<br />[[Blythe Danner]]<br />[[Gretchen Egolf]]<br />[[Renée Fleming]]<br />[[Uta Hagen]]<br />[[Rosemary Harris]]<br />[[Isabelle Huppert]]<br />[[Svetlana Nemolyaeva]]<br />[[Yvonne Kenny]]<br />[[Maria Kraakman]]<br />[[Jessica Lange]]<br />[[Vivien Leigh]]<br />[[Lois Nettleton]]<br />[[Carrie Nye]]<br />[[Angelica Page]]<br >[[Geraldine Page]]<br >[[Nicole Ari Parker]]<br />[[Maxine Peake]]<br />[[Natasha Richardson]]<br />[[Amy Ryan]]<br />[[Jessica Tandy]]<br />[[Rachel Weisz]]<br />[[Julie Kavner]] | creator = [[Tennessee Williams]] }}
'''Blanche DuBois''' (married name '''Grey''') is a fictional character in [[Tennessee Williams]]' 1947 [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning play ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire]]''. The character was written for [[Tallulah Bankhead]] and made popular to later audiences with [[Elia Kazan]]'s 1951 film adaptation of Williams' play, ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (1951 film)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'', starring [[Vivien Leigh]] and [[Marlon Brando]].
==Character overview== Blanche DuBois is described as an aging [[Southern belle]] who lives in a state of perpetual panic about her fading beauty and concerns about how others perceive her looks. She has an obsession with staying out of direct light, and even covers a light bulb with a paper lantern. She is desperate for attention and has a history of sexual promiscuity. She was formerly a teacher, who was fired for having an affair with one of her teenaged students.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nymag.com/news/features/17064/index1.html|title=Dirty Old Women|work=NYMag.com|date=May 18, 2006 |access-date=October 28, 2014}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=March 15, 2008 |title=Blanche DuBois: Chasing Magic, Fleeing the Dark |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87859194 |access-date=April 24, 2014 |publisher=NPR}}</ref> Williams saw her as being 30 years of age.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |date=September 16, 2011 |title=How old is Blanche DuBois? |url=http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/how-old-is-blanche-dubois/1192018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424064834/http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/how-old-is-blanche-dubois/1192018 |archive-date=April 24, 2014 |access-date=April 24, 2014 |publisher=Tampa Bay Times}}</ref>
Michael Kahn, former head of [[Juilliard]]'s drama program and an acquaintance of Williams, described Blanche as "a moth that is fluttering too near the flame," "searching for safety."<ref name=":0" />
==Portrayals==
[[File:Vivien Leigh in Streetcar Named Desire trailer 2.jpg|thumb|left|[[Vivien Leigh]] as Blanche DuBois in the 1951 film ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (1951 film)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'']]
Blanche DuBois has been portrayed several times on stage and on screen. According to Kahn, "Every Blanche who played it that Tennessee saw, he would tell them that they were his favorite Blanche. Because each actress brought something different to the role than somebody else, and I think he liked that."<ref name=":0" />
[[Jessica Tandy]] received a [[Tony Award]] for her performance as Blanche in the original [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] production. [[Uta Hagen]] took over the role of Blanche for the national tour, which was directed by [[Harold Clurman]].<ref name="NY Times1">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/06/12/archives/streetcar-passenger-uta-hagen-takes-over-the-leading-part.html|title='STREETCAR' PASSENGER; Uta Hagen Takes Over The Leading Part|work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 12, 1949}}</ref>
Blanche was also portrayed by [[Vivien Leigh]] in the London stage production, which was directed by her then-husband [[Laurence Olivier]]. She reprised the role in the [[A Streetcar Named Desire (1951 film)|1951 film adaptation]]. The film was directed by [[Elia Kazan]], and Leigh won her second [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for this performance.<ref>Manvell, Roger. ''Theatre and Film: A Comparative Study of the Two Forms of Dramatic Art, and of the Problems of Adaptation of Stage Plays into Films''. Cranbury, New Jersey: Associated University Presses Inc, 1979. 133</ref><ref name="NY Times">{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/47311/A-Streetcar-Named-Desire/details |title=NY Times: A Streetcar Named Desire |access-date=December 19, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090125175326/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/47311/A-Streetcar-Named-Desire/details| archive-date= January 25, 2009|work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2009 | url-status= dead}}</ref>
[[Tallulah Bankhead]] portrayed the role in 1956. Bankhead, a close friend of Williams, had been the inspiration for the role, and he wanted her to star in it. However, she was initially uninterested and the producer thought she would overpower the character's fragility. When she played the role in 1956, some critics agreed she was too strong in it, but Williams personally felt that she gave a "heroic" portrayal of the role.<ref>{{cite news|first=Tennessee|last=Williams|authorlink=Tennessee Williams|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/12/31/specials/williams-bankhead.html|title=A Tribute From Tennessee Williams To 'Heroic Tallulah Bankhead'|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 4, 1956|accessdate=February 21, 2023}}</ref>
[[Geraldine Page]] portrayed the role in 1976 at the once celebrated Academy Festival Theatre in [[Lake Forest, Illinois]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=BARAT GROUP EKES OUT A NEW SERIES|website=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-07-10-9203020339-story.html|date=1992-07-10}}</ref> The production was directed by [[Jack Gelber]] who had been enlisted by Page's husband [[Rip Torn]] (who played Stanley) to helm the revival. The production was applauded for having the "savvy that gives the performers full stretch." According to one review, "This is not the Blanche of butterfly wings. This is gossamer with guts."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kolin |first=Philip C.|title=Williams: A Streetcar Named Desire|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=2000}}</ref>
Blanche has also been portrayed onstage by [[Kim Stanley]], [[Ann-Margret]], [[Arletty]], [[Blythe Danner]], [[Cate Blanchett]], [[Claire Bloom]], [[Faye Dunaway]], [[Lois Nettleton]], [[Jessica Lange]] (who reprised the role in [[A Streetcar Named Desire (1995 film)|the 1995 television adaptation]]), [[Marin Mazzie]], [[Svetlana Nemolyaeva]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://theatre-library.ru/sovremennaya_dramaturgiya/2021-1/9027 |title=Первый советский "Трамвай "Желание"" |access-date=2023-08-18 |archive-date=2023-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230818002425/https://theatre-library.ru/sovremennaya_dramaturgiya/2021-1/9027 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mos.ru/news/item/74291073/ |title="Трамвай "Желание"". Как в Москве впервые поставили Теннесси Уильямса |access-date=2023-08-18 |archive-date=2023-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230818002418/https://www.mos.ru/news/item/74291073/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Natasha Richardson]], [[Laila Robins]], [[Rosemary Harris]], [[Rachel Weisz]], [[Amanda Drew]], [[Nicole Ari Parker]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Brantley|first=Ben|title=A Fragile Flower Rooted to the Earth|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/theater/reviews/03streetcar.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 3, 2009|access-date=May 21, 2017}}</ref> [[Isabelle Huppert]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lesarchivesduspectacle.net/?IDX_Spectacle=19568|title=Un tramway|date=February 4, 2010 |publisher=[[Les Archives du spectacle]]|language=fr|access-date=February 24, 2017}}</ref> [[Glenn Close]], [[Gillian Anderson]],<ref>{{cite web|title= What's on: A Streetcar Named Desire|url= http://www.youngvic.org/whats-on/a-streetcar-named-desire|website=Young Vic Theatre|date= July 23, 2014|access-date=May 16, 2016}}</ref> [[Maxine Peake]], [[Patsy Ferran]] and [[Angelica Page]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Weinreich|first=Regina |title=Tennessee Williams Remembered at the 92nd Street Y|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tennessee-williams-rememb_b_821117|publisher=HuffPost|date=May 25, 2011}}</ref>
==Etymology and inspiration== The character is reputedly named after theatre critic [[Blanche Marvin]], a former actress and friend of Williams.<ref name="Clark">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/news/critic-claims-i-was-the-inspiration-for-blanche-dubois-9630885.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727002542/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/news/critic-claims-i-was-the-inspiration-for-blanche-dubois-9630885.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 27, 2014|title=Critic claims 'I was the inspiration for Blanche DuBois'|last=Clark|first=Nick|date=July 27, 2014|work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=August 29, 2014}}</ref> Some critics believe that Blanche DuBois was inspired by Williams' mother.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ali|first=Fizzah|date=2016|title=The creation of Tennessee Williams' Blanche Dubois: a biographical psychotic neurotic|journal=Hektoen International |volume=8}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{A Streetcar Named Desire}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:DuBois, Blanche}} [[Category:Characters in plays]] [[Category:Drama film characters]] [[Category:Female characters in literature]] [[Category:Fictional characters from Mississippi]] [[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1947]] [[Category:Theatre characters introduced in 1947]] [[Category:Fictional schoolteachers]] [[Category:Fictional socialites]] [[Category:Female characters in theatre]] [[Category:Female characters in film]] [[Category:Fictional victims of sexual assault]]