Blanche DuBois
Blanche DuBois, character in A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by Tennessee Williams.
An alcoholic nymphomaniac posing as the epitome of genteel Southern womanhood, Blanche has, from her first appearance, a fragile hold on reality. When her brutish brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski rapes her, she loses her last vestiges of sanity. Trying to maintain her affected refinement to the end, she says to a doctor, βI have always depended on the kindness of strangers.β
Considered a prime dramatic role, Blanche DuBois was played by Jessica Tandy in the original stage production in 1947 and by Vivien Leigh in Elia Kazanβs 1951 film.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.
Citation Information
Article Title:
Blanche DuBois
Website Name:
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher:
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published:
07 January 2016
Access Date:
November 14, 2026