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Bathing
The paper lantern over the light bulb represents Blanche’s attempt to mask both her sordid past and her present appearance. The lantern diffuses the stark light, but it’s only a temporary solution that can be ripped off at any moment. Mitch hangs up the lantern, and Blanche is able to maintain her pose of the naïve Southern belle with him, but it is only a façade. After Stanley has told Mitch about Blanche’s past, Mitch angrily tears the lantern off so he can see Blanche’s face, and she cries, “I don’t want realism––I want magic!” At the end of the play, Stanley takes off the paper lantern and presents it to Blanche. A paper world cloaking reality also appears in the song “Paper Moon.” While Stanley tells Stella about Blanche’s sordid history, Blanche sings this saccharine popular song about a paper world that becomes a reality through love. Blanche feigns modesty and a coquettish nature, but behind the veneer, she hides a much darker past.
Paper Lantern and Paper Moon Quotes in A Streetcar Named Desire
The A Streetcar Named Desire quotes below all refer to the symbol of Paper Lantern and Paper Moon. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Scene 3
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I can’t stand a naked light bulb, any more than I can a rude remark or a vulgar action.
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Scene 5
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Young man! Young, young, young man! Has anyone ever told you that you look like a young Prince out of the Arabian Nights?
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Scene 7
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It’s only a paper moon, Just as phony as it can be–But it wouldn’t be make-believe If you believed in me!
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Scene 9
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I don’t want realism. I want magic!
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Scene 11
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You left nothing here but spilt talcum and old empty perfume bottles–unless it’s the paper lantern you want to take with you. You want the lantern?
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Paper Lantern and Paper Moon Symbol Timeline in A Streetcar Named Desire
The timeline below shows where the symbol Paper Lantern and Paper Moon appears in A Streetcar Named Desire. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Scene 3
...sonnet. Blanche claims to be younger than Stella, and she asks Mitch to hang a Chinese lantern over the naked electric bulb. Stanley, in the kitchen, seethes at Mitch’s absence from the...
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Scene 5
...cope properly with the loss of Belle Reve, and she cloaked herself in half-shadows and Chinese lanterns to make herself attractive.
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Scene 7
...soothe her nerves, which Stanley mocks. Throughout the scene, Blanche’s singing of the popular song “Paper Moon” is heard in counterpoint to Stella and Stanley’s conversation.
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Scene 9
...that he’s never seen Blanche in the daytime or in the light. He rips the paper lantern off the light bulb. Blanche gasps, crying, “I don’t want realism. I want magic!”
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Scene 10
...attire, saying that he’s been on to her from the start: powders and perfumes and paper lanterns couldn’t fool him. Lurid, grotesque shadows and reflections on the wall surround Blanche.
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Scene 11
Stanley says that the only thing Blanche could have forgotten is the paper lantern . He rips it off the bare bulb and holds it out to her. Blanche...
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