Blanche's superior attitude, and is convinced that she has squandered Stella's portion of the money from the sisters' ancestral home. Blanche's character creates a sense of duality right from the start as she keeps looking for alcohol and her exaggerated airs of propriety create suspicion. Blanche begins dating Stanley's friend Harold "Mitch" Mitchell, who is distinct from Stanley in his courtesy and propriety, and sees in him a chance for happiness. That hope is destroyed, however, when Stanley learns of Blanche's past from a traveling salesman who knew her, and reveals it to Mitch. Mitch learns that Blanche had been seen numerous times at a hotel with a specifically bad reputation. It is implied that she had been entertaining men in a way that she was not with Mitch, under the facade of being old-fashioned. He also learns that she did not willingly leave her job as a schoolteacher, but was actually let go due to inappropriate relations with an underage student. After this, Mitch ends the relationship. Blanche begins drinking heavily and escapes into a fantasy world, conjuring up the notion that an old flame, a millionaire named Shep Huntleigh, is imminently planning to take her away. The night Stella goes into labor, Stanley and Blanche are left alone in the apartment, and Stanley, drunk and powerful, rapes her. This event, coupled with the fact that Stella does not believe her, sends Blanche over the edge into a nervous breakdown. In the final scene, Blanche is led off to a mental hospital by a matron and a kind-hearted doctor. After a brief struggle, Blanche smilingly acquiesces as she loses all contact with reality, addressing the doctor with the most famous line in the play: "Whoever you are...I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." Portrayals Blanche DuBois has been portrayed several times on stage and on screen. Jessica Tandy received a Tony Award for her performance as Blanche in the original Broadway production. Uta Hagen took over the role of Blanche for the national tour, which was directed by Harold Clurman. Blanche was also portrayed by Vivien Leigh in the London stage production, which was directed by her then-husband Laurence Olivier, She reprised the role in the 1951 film adaptation. The film was directed by Elia Kazan, and Leigh won her second Academy Award for this performance. Tallulah Bankhead portrayed the role in 1956. Bankhead, a close friend