Mitch

Mitch

1. Gentleman

   • The formal lexis of "Miss DuBois" shows the respect Mitch has for women and he wants to be represented as a gentleman
   • The interrogatives of "What do you teach? What subject?" shows how he is interested in getting to know Blanche, unlike Stanley who is more interested in physical relationships with women
   • However in scene 9, after Mitch has found out about Blanche's past he comes in "work clothes...unshaven" showing much like Stanley, he doesn't care what Blanche thinks of him and he no longer has any respect for her
   • "Can I - uh - kiss you - good night?" the pauses in this interrogative sentence shows Mitch isn't confident in the company of Blanche and he doesn't know how far he should go in the physicality of their relationship. He is respecting Blanche's privacy
   • Even as Blanche is taken away by the nurse, after all she put Mitch through, the kinetic body language of "Mitch ducks his head" shows how he still has respect for Blanche and doesn't want her to be made a spectacle of or mocked
   • He also gazes as he is "dissolved into space" suggesting that unlike Stanley, Mitch has a conscience and is aware that his failed relationship with Blanche could have effected her spiral into mental instability
   • Unlike Stanley who "shoves back his chair as if about to rise", Mitch is the only one who stays seated which suggests that although Mitch felt betrayed by Blanche, he doesn't want people to mock her for her problems, he saves her from embarrassment

2. He is a nervous man

   • The adverbs to describe his speech "uncomfortably" and "uneasily" shows he isn't sure about being in the company of Blanche, and perhaps not in the company of women. Also he isn't comfortable in the company of men and he is often the quietest of the men ate their poker nights.
   • In scene 6, after their date, Mitch said he "better leave it on", referring to his coat and this further shows he isn't totally comfortable in the company of Blanche

3. Relationship with Blanche

   • From the offset, Blanche and Mitch appear to be perfectly compatible because they're both loyal and faithful to their roots - Blanche doesn't wish to forget Belle Reve and Mitch is loyal to his mother who "is sick" (pg 30) and they also both satisfy each others needs for companionship - Mitch wants to find a wife before his mother dies and Blanche craves the attention of men