How Does Williams Create Tension in the Opening Scenes of ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’?

Tennessee Williams uses key staging in the didascalia and dramatic irony in his dialogue to create tension in the opening scenes of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'. The small enclosed space of the apartment amplifies the tense relationships between his characters. The only separation between rooms are flimsy curtains, which represents the flimsy relationship between the opposing forces of Blanche and Stanley. Williams often stages interactions with Blanche communicating differently with the characters when she talks to them independently to showcase the insincerity of her actions and build a tense atmosphere. We see this from the first interaction between Stella and Blanche, where Blanche exclaims that “ones my limit” when Stella offers her another drink, despite having already drank in secret before Stella arrived. This creates a tense atmosphere for the audience as they are aware that Blanche is lying, and the characters onstage do not. The first interaction here is made even more tense with the didascalia that demonstrates how uncomfortable the sisters interaction is, Stella “is embarrassed” when discussing the size of her apartment, and Blanche creates “an embarrassed silence” when remarking on the number of rooms. At the end of the scene “the music of the polka rises” which is a recurring theme when tension builds, along with “the blue piano” which represents the general chaos of New Orleans with its dissonant sound that reflects the lack of harmony between the characters.
The size of the apartment also adds to the tension in the second scene when Blanche is bathing and Stanley and Stella talk. The sound of Blanche singing drifts into the conversation they have, emphasising the close quarters and increasing the risk of being over heard when discussing Blanche’s deceit, creating a more tense atmosphere. Later in the scene Blanche and Stanley talk and again tension is built by the double speak and innuendo led conversation where neither Blanche nor Stanley say what they are really thinking, and disguise their agenda behind light flirting. Williams description of Stanley as a “gaudy seed-bearer” suggests his overt sexuality and the flirting itself builds tension as the audience is aware that Stanley and Stella are a couple and can plainly see Blanche leaning into Stanley’s sexual desire by describing his “big capable hands” and “playfully” spraying him with the atomiser, before confessing to Stella “yes I was flirting with your husband”. All these things create sexual tension between the characters and increase the despondence between Blanche and Stella that has been growing since her arrival. At the end of the scene “the blue piano” again appears to signal how life goes on in New Orleans, but the “hot trumpet” rises, which mirrors the growing tension between Stanley and Blanche.