Chapter 4
Scene Six begins around two a.m. with Blanche and Mitch returning from a night out on Lake Pontchartrain. Mitch carries a plaster statuette of Mae West as a carnival prize. They discuss how to get home, joking about the streetcar named Desire. Blanche asks Mitch to find her door key, then invites him inside. She lights a candle and declares they will pretend to be bohemians in a Parisian café, peppering the dialogue with French phrases that Mitch does not understand. Blanche offers Mitch a drink, insists he remove his coat, and the two engage in a comic exchange about Mitch’s alpaca coat, his weight (207 lb) and height (6 ft 1½ in), and his fitness routine at the New Orleans Athletic Club. Their conversation becomes flirtatious and slightly erotic as they lift each other playfully. Blanche then asks about Stanley and Stella, learns they are out with the Hubbells, and launches into a long, rambling confession about a past lover. She describes falling in love as a teenager, the boy’s nervous softness, their marriage, and a disastrous night at Moon Lake Casino where the boy, Allan, shot himself after a violent altercation on the dance floor. She recounts the chaotic aftermath, the polka music, her terror, and the lingering guilt. The confession reveals deep psychological trauma. Mitch listens, moves toward her, and draws Blanche into his arms, offering comfort. He asks, “Could it be—you and me, Blanche?” Blanche clings to him, sobbing, as he kisses her forehead, eyes, and lips. The scene ends with Blanche whispering that sometimes “there’s God—so quickly,” suggesting a fleeting hope amid despair.