We thrashed it out. I feel a bit shaky, but I think I handled it nicely, I laughed and treated it all as a joke. I called him a little boy and laughed and flirted. Yes, I was flirting with your husband!
– Tennessee Williams
A Streetcar Named Desire, Scene 2. Blanche tells Stella of the clash she had with Stanley earlier, when he challenged her about the sale of the family plantation and grabbed papers from her trunk. She admits to flirting with Stanley, her way of communicating with men. We see the beginning of conflict and also sexual tension between the two, something that develops throughout the play and reaches a climax with the rape in Scene 10.