I’ve been on to you from the start! Not once did you pull any wool over this boy’s eyes! You come in here and sprinkle the place with powder and spray perfume and cover the light bulb with a paper lantern, and lo and behold the place has turned into Egypt and you are the Queen of the Nile! Sitting on your throne and swilling down my liquor! I say – Ha! – Ha! Do you hear me? Ha – ha – ha!
– Tennessee Williams
A Streetcar Named Desire, Scene 10. Despite his rough and uneducated ways, Stanley proves to be an extremely sharp and clever man. He goes about mentally destroying Blanche, letting her know that he has seen through her lies and theatrics from the very start. In an mocking metaphor he likens her to a deluded Cleopatra, who uses the paper lantern to turn the place into Egypt and hide her real self. Laughing in her face, he accuses her of sitting on her high-class throne and downing his liquor. Stanley is merciless as he tears down Blanche’s illusions about herself.