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Hyperbole
Definition of Idiom
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the words in the phrase. For... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on... read full definition
Scene 10
Explanation and Analysis—Pull the Wool:
Stanley says this series of insults to Blanche in their final confrontation, laying out all he knows about her lies. As he does so, he makes several allusions to Egyptian antiquity and uses a contemporary idiom:
STANLEY: I’ve been on to you from the start! Not once did you pull any wool over this boy’s eyes. You come in here and sprinkle the place with powder and spray perfume and cover the light-bulb with a paper lantern, and lo and behold the place has turned into Egypt and you and the Queen of the Nile!
Stanley's allusion to ancient Egypt and the Queen of the Nile here refers to Cleopatra. Cleopatra VII Philopator was the last ruler of the Ptolomeic kingdom of Egypt, a dynasty that ruled after the death of Alexander the Great. Cleopatra was known for her brilliant political acumen, but also for her fondness for a luxurious lifestyle. By comparing Blanche to Cleopatra, Stanley not only mocks her pretensions of grandeur but also criticizes her manipulative behavior. Like Cleopatra, Blanche loves luxurious things and likes to indulge. While Cleopatra preferred baths of milk and honey, Blanche likes scalding water, liquor and delusions.
As Cleopatra did through her romantic and political alliances, Stanley is also suggesting that Blanche uses her charm and ability to lie to influence the people around her. By “sprinkling the place with powder and spraying perfume,” he rages, Blanche is trying to turn his apartment into a place she can control.
Additionally, the idiom "pull the wool over this boy’s eyes" is doing some important work here. This phrase, which originates in 18th-century England, generally means to deceive someone. In the way it’s usually employed, it also implies that the deceived person is naïve or foolish. Stanley's insistence that Blanche has never deceived him—and the fact that he refers to himself as a “boy” here—shows that he knows Stella thinks he’s stupid gullible. This outburst contradicts the brutish, naïve image that Stella has of him, demonstrating how shaky the foundation of her falsehoods was all along.
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