Williams presents Blanche as very fragile, both mentally and physically. Her fragility steadily progresses throughout the play and Williams makes it clear that she is a character that is easily broken through many different aspects of the play. Williams’ use of stage directions, her appearance, speech, actions and interactions with other characters shows her to be quite an unstable character. Her physical appearance at the beginning of the play alone portrays her fragility by the way that she is compared to a moth. It is ironic that Williams likens her to a moth because they are typically attracted to light whereas Blanche’s “delicate beauty must avoid a strong light.” However this links with the idea that Blanche is fragile because she can’t help but be attracted to things that will harm her.

Williams’ use of stage directions shows that Blanche is fragile by her constant nervous gestures and how she is easily scared or startled by small things. This can be seen where “She catches her breath with a startled gesture” after hearing a cat screeching and also by how she constantly “touches her forehead shakily” or touches her handkerchief to it. These actions show that she is nervous and constantly on edge, suggesting that she is afraid of something. This has a big effect on her mental state, which gradually breaks down as the play progresses. By the end of the play her nervous gestures seem to be more desperate, which can be seen where she “tries to break past the matron”. She is then willing to walk out with the doctor because her mental state has become so fragile that she doesn’t realise who he is; only that she can depend upon his kindness. This would make the audience sympathise with Blanche because Stanley has been deliberately spiteful towards her by ruining all of her chances of settling down, meaning her psychological state has completely broken down.

Blanche’s actions also show her fragility, for example with her constant, secret drinking. This can be seen where, after having a drink in Scene 1, “She carefully replaces the bottle and washes out the tumbler at the sink.” Williams uses the word “carefully” to show that Blanche does not want anyone to know that she has been drinking, which suggests that she is trying to put up a false front that she is fine and doesn’t need to drink more than she is offered. Also, the fact that she is constantly taking baths to “quiet her nerves” also shows that she is easily broken and needs to find a way to calm herself down.

Williams cleverly uses Blanche’s physical description to symbolise her fragile nature. When she first enters in Scene 1 she is “daintily dressed” and described to have beauty “that suggests a moth.” The fact that this is suggested immediately shows that Blanche is fragile because moths are typically associated with being delicate creatures. Throughout the play, Blanche is careful about what she chooses to wear and how she looks to the other characters. She also searches for compliments on her appearance a lot, suggesting she has low self-esteem and doesn’t want to accept the fact that she is getting older and further enhancing her fragility. Furthermore, Williams describes her to wear quite flimsy, usually white clothing, which is an interesting combination because white represents purity. This could imply that Blanche is trying to be something she isn’t but at the same time cannot hide her true character, even through her physical appearance.
Williams also conveys Blanche’s fragility through her speech, which can be seen where she says “I’ve got to keep hold of myself!” and also when she admits “I was on the verge on- lunacy.” This demonstrates that even Blanche herself can see that she is starting to fall apart, showing she is delicate and easily broken. Her tone of voice also conveys her fragility because she becomes progressively more and more hysterical until by the end of the play, she speaks “tensely” and “shrilly”, as well as “hysterically” no matter what she is saying. This indicates that her mental state has completely broken down due to what has happened to her by this stage so she seems to be really struggling to keep control of her speech and the way she says it.

Williams cleverly applies symbolism in the play through the use of the varsouviana and the lighting. This can be seen where, on several occasions, Blanche is the only one that can hear the varsouviana because it is in her head and it stops when she hears the gunshot from the night her husband killed himself. This can be seen when Mitch comes to confront her in Scene 8 and the music in her head stops when “A distant revolver shot is heard, Blanche seems relieved.” At some points in the play it is a little unclear whether the music is just in her head but by this point is it clear that this is the case. This shows that Blanche’s mental state has become very fragile and deteriorated even further than when she first arrived at the beginning of the play. Furthermore, it shows how the suicide of her husband has had a big impact on her mental state and how she blames herself for his death.

The lighting also plays a big part in the fragility of Blanche because she “can’t stand a naked light-bulb any more than I can a rude remark or a vulgar action.” Blanche is shown to be constantly afraid of being seen in the light, again showing how her appearance and her age is a delicate subject for her. It also shows how she can be easily broken or on edge whenever she is in the light. This portrays her to be fragile because it indicates her fear of exposure. The lighting in Scene 10 also portrays Blanche’s mental state, which can be seen through the “lurid reflections” that “appear on the walls around Blanche.” Williams specified how the reflections are around Blanche to convey how her mental state alone has deteriorated and she knows what is about to happen but does not want to admit it.