The trouble with Dame Blanche was that she couldn’t put on her act any more in Laurel! They got wised up after two or three dates with her and then they quit, and she goes on to another, the same old line, same old act, same old hooey! But the town was too small for this to go on forever! And as time went by she became a town character. Regarded as not just different but downright loco – nuts.
– Tennessee Williams
A Streetcar Named Desire, Scene 7. Stanley’s discussion with Stella about Blanche’s past shows the power of reality over fantasy. The act Blanche put on couldn’t survive more than two or three dates when she would have to move on to another man. The people of Laurel saw through her and regarded her as a "town character" and crazy. Stanley mocks Blanche’s origins and high opinion of herself when he calls her a "Dame."