She showed me a picture of your home-place, the plantation… A great big place with white columns.
– Tennessee Williams
A Streetcar Named Desire, Scene 1. Eunice, speaking to Stella, appears fascinated with the grandness of Belle Reve. This is after Blanche shows her a picture of the family’s plantation. Belle Reve comes from the French and means "beautiful dream." But it is an illusion that hides an ugly truth, the dream is beautiful only to those who owned the plantation. Belle Reve is a fantasy version of the Old South, symbolizing privilege and wealth that was built on the cruelty of the slave trade.