I can’t stand a naked light bulb, any more than I can a rude remark or a vulgar action.

– Tennessee Williams

A Streetcar Named Desire, Scene 3. Blanche personifies light bulb as she asks Mitch to cover it with a colored paper lantern she bought in a Chinese shop. She is trying to maintain the illusion for Mitch that she is younger than her sister, for fear that he might lose interest in her. Throughout the play she avoids bright light because she doesn’t want him to see the appearance of her age in her face. She is actually five years older than her sister.