A Streetcar Named Desire: Costume Analysis

Costumes in "A Streetcar Named Desire" are key signifiers of social background, class, and self-perception.
They highlight contrasts between characters.

Initial Appearance: White suit, pearls, gloves, and hat, portraying her as a vulnerable, out-of-place Southern Belle.
Costumes reflect her social background and become a point of resentment for Stanley.
Costumes are visual cues to her character's motivations.
Strategy for survival in a male-dominated society is reflected in her costumes.
She uses costumes to fulfill Mitch's desires for a traditional wife.
Frequent costume changes represent different facets of her character.
In Scene 9, scarlet satin robe associates her with sin; in Scene 10, soiled white gown symbolizes her besmirched reputation.
Final Costume: Delia Robbia blue, symbolizing spiritual renewal and redemption through suffering.
Fantasy of being buried at sea in a white sack suggests redemption through tribulations.

Brightly colored shirts and "gaudy pyjamas" reinforce his patriarchal power and vitality.
Costumes reflect his working-class status.
Denim work clothes and grease-stained pants signify his contempt for Blanche's refinement.
Hyperbolic descriptions of Blanche's clothes reveal his anger toward her perceived squandering of inheritance.
The use of “crown for an empress,” portrays his anxiety about Blanche and the threat she poses to his power.
Brilliant silk pyjamas symbolize his triumph over Blanche and reassertion of authority.

Alpaca coat represents his attempt to conform to Blanche's chivalrous ideal, but he feels constrained.
Blue denim shirt and pants reveal his true identity when confronting Blanche.

Blanche and Mitch both use costumes to disguise their true selves, seeking common ground and marital happiness.

White: Initially represents Blanche's purity and gentility, later soiled to symbolize her downfall.
Scarlet: Represents sin and Blanche's promiscuous past.
Blue: Represents spiritual renewal and redemption.

Stanley’s triumph over Blanche happens through rape, which precipitates Blanche’s mental breakdown.
Blanche’s “redemptive suffering” is the Catholic belief that humans can be absolved of their sins through emotional trials.

Williams emphasizes Blanche and Stanley's costumes, highlighting their conflicting values, backgrounds, and the sexual energy between them.
Stanley's physicality and costumes assert his dominance as the "gaudy seed bearer."
Blanche's costumes represent her survival strategy, using charm to gain protection.
Blanche’s costumes show her arc and lead to her redemption, which show you what your heart used to be.