MITCH: What it means is I’ve never had a real good look at you, Blanche. Let’s turn the light on here.
BLANCHE [fearfully]: Light? Which light? What for?
MITCH: This one with the paper thing on it.
[He tears the paper lantern off the light bulb. She utters a frightened gasp.]
BLANCHE: What did you do that for?
MITCH: So I can take a look at you good and plain!
BLANCHE: Of course you don’t really mean to be insulting!
MITCH: No, just realistic.
– Tennessee Williams
A Streetcar Named Desire, Scene 9. Mitch’s action in tearing off the Chinese paper lantern covering the light bulb is one of the play’s significant moments. He wants to see the real Blanche in the light. She has been trying to hide her aging beauty from him and the light reveals she has been deceptive about her age. Mitch’s action is also about ripping at the illusions and fantasies Blanche has constructed around and about herself.