A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams focuses on the fragile Blanche Dubois who is no longer able to bear the hardships of life. As a result, she chooses to live in a dream world filled with fantasies and lies. The adoption of this new world, along with her inability to adapt to her physical surroundings, is what causes her own fateful end.
Blanche’s plight can well be understood by a detailed analysis of her character and the symbols used by Williams to describe her nature. By analyzing the symbolism in the first scene, we can understand what prompted Blanche to move to New Orleans with her sister Stella. In the first scene, Blanche describes her voyage: “They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at Elysian Fields” (Williams 15).
To understand what this quotation symbolizes, we have to look into Blanche’s past. Blanche left her home to join her sister, because her life was a miserable in her former place of residence. She was mentally tormented with having to witness the death and funeral procedures of her parents. She had also lost their family mansion at Belle Reve due to these funeral expenses and unpaid bills. To top it all off, she tragically lost her young husband Allan. The streetcar named Desire symbolizes Blanche’s desire to be loved once again and she does this by living in a world of lies.
Blanche’s plan does work out and she wins the love of Mitch, as she desired.
The Term Paper on Streetcar Tennessee Williams
Poetic References Poetry, like many art forms (music, dance, painting) inspires moods and emotions. Throughout Tennessee Williams' life, he read the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, D. H. Lawrence, and Hart Crane some examples of poetry that inspired Tennessee Williams throughout the writing of A Streetcar Named Desire. After asking Stella "What on earth are you doing in a ...
Blanche believes that Mitch could be the man to liberate her from all her problems. She deceives Mitch, because she wants to ensure a perfect romance—one free of imperfections as her face. She confesses to Mitch that she lives in a world of romantic fantasy. “I don’t want realism, I want magic! Yes, yes, magic! I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don’t tell the truth, I tell what ought to be the truth. And if that is sinful, then let me be damned for it! –Don’t turn the light on!” (Williams 117).
This quote not only shows that Blanche has begun to lose her mind but also her self-consciousness towards her looks. This can be seen as another reason for Blanche to dwell in her fantasy world.
Blanche’s insecurities are symbolically depicted in the play. There was a lamp in Stella’s house, which was without a lantern. Blanche uses one of her own lantern over the lamp, claiming that she didn’t like the bright lamp as it would put a spotlight on her age. However symbolically translated, the lamp represents the truth within her, and the lantern, her outer self which lives in a different unrealistic world and covers the truth.
At the end of the play, Tennessee Williams tell us that, ”she cries out as if the lantern was herself”(Williams 140) when Stanley tears the lantern off the light bulb and hands it over to her. This shows how closely we can relate that lantern to Blanche whose outer cover was now torn off and her inner truths were revealed to all including her sister.
When Mitch eventually comes to learn about Blanche’s escapades, he feels hurt and cheated. He tells Blanche that,” you’re not clean enough to bring in the house with my mother”(Williams 121) and no longer feels committed to marrying her. At this point, we can see that Blanche’s idealistic world is beginning to let her down as she steps more and more into the real world.
Blanche’s entire tragedy began and ended with one man—Stanley Kowalski.
The reason why Stanley was so eager to pull the trigger on Blanche can be attributed to the one flaw that plagued Blanche, namely her inability to adapt to her surroundings.
Stanley, who is portrayed as a realistic person, is directly contrasted with the sensitive and neurotic Blanche. This flaw of Blanche can be noticed by observing the use of words by Williams. In the first scene, Blanche is described as “daintily blessed” and mentions that she is “incongruous to her setting” (Williams 15).
The Essay on Belle Reve Blanche Orleans Stanley
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams uses setting to illustrate various themes and messages as they pertain to the events of the play. The setting plays a crucial role in the story line and the outcome of the play. This play takes place in New Orleans Louisiana. New Orleans is a very lively town that is known as a party town and for it being a rough town. New Orleans is a town in which ...
Later in the story she says, “You saw it before I came. Well, look at it now! This room is almost-dainty!” (Williams 115).
By using the word dainty in both places Williams shows us how Blanche tries to change her surrounding to match her, instead of adapting to them. This does not work on Stanley. Blanche deceives everyone for a good portion of the play. However, Stanley is determined to find Blanche’s true history. This difference in philosophy between the idealistic Blanche and the realistic Stanley is what creates the tension between the two.
In analyzing the character of Blanche DuBois, it is to be observed that her inherent flaws along with her need to escape reality into a fantasy world that causes her decent into madness. Blanche dwells in the debris of her shattered past, rather than reconstructing a new future. Her insecurities force her to develop a string of complex lies to cover her own numerous flaws. The effective use of symbolism by Tennessee Williams can further help probe into the thoughts and anxieties that that made up the character of Blanche.
Works Cited
Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire.
New York: Signet, 1974.
