Scenes 1-3 of A Streetcar Named Desire

The opening scenes of "A Streetcar Named Desire", like any opening scenes, serve to give the audience a general idea of at least a few of the characters and the location.  In the first three scenes of this play the audience learns that the play is set in Louisiana and more specifically New Orleans.  Six characters interact in the first three scenes, but only three of them really make an impact on what happens.  They are Stanley and Stella Kowalski, and Blanche DuBois.

Stella and Blanche are sisters who used to have a close relationship, but after Stella moved to New Orleans they drifted apart.  Blanche comes to visit Stella in the first scene.  Blanche is shocked to find out where Stella lives.  In the letters they have sent to each other Stella made the apartment seem elegant, but in Blanche's opinion it is anything but.  Both sisters grew up on a nice plantation with probably a decent amount of money so it is shocking for Blanche to see how Stella really lives.

The second and third scenes quickly set up a contrast of personalities.  On one side is Blanche and on the other is Stanley and Stella falls in the middle.  Stanley is portrayed as a man's man, but not in any way a Southern gentleman, which is what Stella and Blanche grew up accustomed to.  In the first scene Stanley yells out to Stella and then throws "meat" at her.  Despite being a sexual reference it also foreshadows how he treats Stella.

Blanche shows up to New Orleans in a white fluffy dress with lots of pearls and other jewelry.  The reference to white is important because it signifies her purity or in other words how innocent she is to the type of city she is visiting.  Blanche is worried about the way Stanley treats Stella.  She thinks Stella deserves better.

Blanche and Stanley don't really like each other.  Blanche views Stanley as an abusive an abusive husband and Stanley thinks Blanch is annoying.  Blanche is even referred to as a "moth."

Blanche's suspensions come true when Stanley hits Stella after having a little too much to drink.  The bad part of the situation is that Stella isn't really upset.  After crying for a few minutes she seems to shrug it off.  It seems like she is used to being abused by Stanley, something Blanche does not understand.