Blanche DuBois arrives to visit her sister, Mrs. Stella Kowalski, who lives in the French Quarter of New Orleans. She is shocked by the disreputable looks of the place. While a neighbor goes to find Stella, Blanche looks around the apartment for a drink. When her sister comes, Blanche quite frankly criticizes the place. She explains that she has come for a visit because her nerves are shattered from teaching. Noticing that the apartment has only two rooms, she has qualms about staying but she tells Stella that she can't stand being alone.
She explains to Stella that their old ancestral home, Belle Reve, has been lost. While Stella goes to the bathroom, Stanley, her husband, enters and meets Blanche. He questions her about her past and especially about her earlier marriage, which upsets Blanche to the point that she feels sick.
The following night Stella and Blanche plan to have dinner out and go to a movie while Stanley plays poker with his friends. But before they leave, Stanley wants to know how Belle Reve was lost. Blanche tries to explain and gives him all the papers and documents pertaining to the place. Later that night when Blanche and Stella return from their movie, the men are still playing poker. Blanche meets Mitch, one of Stanley's friends, who seems to be more sensitive than the others. While Mitch is in the second room talking to Blanche, Stanley becomes angry over a series of incidents, especially when Blanche turns on the radio. He throws the radio out the window, hits Stella when she tries to stop him, and has to be held by the other men to be kept from doing more damage. Blanche takes Stella and runs upstairs. When Stanley recovers, he calls for Stella to come down and she does.
