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Allan Grey, Blanche DuBois's late husband, committed suicide before the events of the play, but his presence haunts the narrative and Blanche in particular. Though his character never appears, the story of his death provides vital insight into Blanche's past and how it has contributed to her mental deterioration in the present day.
Allan's character is intertwined with the idea of remorse. Blanche relays to Mitch that she could tell Allan was wrestling with something, and only learned what it was after catching him in bed with an older man, a longtime friend of his. In the hours that followed, all three of them acted as if nothing was wrong and went out dancing, but ultimately Blanche drunkenly announced her disgust, resulting in Allan killing himself just outside the casino.
Allan is Blanche’s deepest regret, as her overwhelming guilt over his death is what launched her downward spiral. Proof of her mental instability can be found in nearly any scene in which Allan is mentioned. She often feels faint when someone asks about him and collapses when Stanley first inquires about him in Scene One. In Scene Two, it’s clear she still harbors a protective streak over the boy she once called soft and tender; she angrily snatches his old love letters, which she’s kept all this time, away when Stanley attempts to read them. Mentions of Allan trigger a trauma response, as symbolized by the polka music that they danced to on the night of his death. She hears the music in her head in Scenes One and Six, when Allan comes up in conversation. Her paralyzing remorse clearly overwhelms her to the point of distraction, and she says it only stops when she hears the sound of a gunshot in her head. The polka music therefore represents her loss of innocence. That she and Allan, to whom she refers as “the boy,” were so young at the time underscores Blanche’s obsession with youth. Just as she can never change what she said to Allan, she can never retrieve her lost innocence and youth. Allan as a character, then, serves as a tool with which the reader is able to better understand Blanche’s past, her identity, and her developing breakdown throughout the play.
