[Her expression is one of shocked disbelief. Her appearance is incongruous to this setting. She is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and hat, looking as if she were arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party in the garden district. She is about five years older than Stella. Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light. There is something about her uncertain manner, as well as her white clothes, that suggests a moth.]
– Tennessee Williams
A Streetcar Named Desire, Scene 1. On arrival to Stella Kowalski’s apartment and its working class setting in New Orleans, Blanche DuBois is shocked at how her sister has come down in the world. Blanche is dressed in elegant clothes and jewelry looking very much the Southern Belle. A simile compares her appearance to that of someone arriving to a summer party in the garden district. The white of her suit and gloves reflects an image of purity and chastity, but this will be later shown as ironic when her past sins and promiscuity are exposed. Her appearance is described as being out of place in this lower class community. In a metaphor she is compared her to a delicate and fragile moth that must avoid strong light. Moths tend to fly around artificial light sources, often dying as a result. When Blanche is later exposed to the strong light of reality, it leads to her demise as a character, which is foreshadowed here. Her description as "delicate" hints at her mental instability, which will see her committed to a mental institution.
