From the land of the sky blue water, They brought a captive maid!
– Tennessee Williams
A Streetcar Named Desire, Scene 1. Blanche sings this song while she takes a bath before going out for dinner with Stella. The line is perhaps suggestive of Blanche’s own situation and feelings. She is like a prisoner in the Kowalski apartment. She is also captive to the ghosts of a troubled past which she endeavors to wash away by constantly bathing in purifying water.