ESSAY- A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

FROM BLOGASENGLISH.WORDPRESS

‘Blanche’s demise is caused by her incapability to face the harsh reality of the changing face of America’ – responds to this comment and explore William’s dramatic presentation of Blanche.

A Streetcar Named Desire tells the tale where a woman is caught in a fatal inner contradiction, which suggests that she would function in another society but not this new society of America. William’s makes it evident that the demise of Blanche Dubois was a consequence of several significant events in her life as one discovers as the play progresses; however it is her incapability to come to terms with the harsh reality of the changing face of America, which is more prominent in the pivotal years after World War II. It is this which escalates the whole tragic process and it can be argued that the males of the play, in particular Stanley Kowalski, represent New America.

Primarily, William’s lengthy use of stage directions to introduce Blanche to the audience, present her being ‘shocked’ and in ‘disbelief’ when she discovers where her married sister lives; William’s describes Blanche’s appearance as being ‘incongruous to this setting’. Clearly, Blanche is unfamiliar with the buzzing, lively setting of New Orleans where there is ‘intermingling’ of different races; it will certainly be a dramatic change for Blanche, a typical Southern Belle with ‘a flirtatious yet chaste demeanour’ and more refined tastes. New Orleans is a perfect example of the changing face of America, a province with a ‘variant way of life’, a city with its ‘bawdy’ delights or its ‘proud free black and slave inhabitants’ – this above all would have alienated Blanche from her surroundings, and William’s lexis choice of ‘incongruous’ is the perfect adjective which describes Blanche’s discord in this new setting, whose ‘uncertain manner’ hints and foreshadows her nature which brings about her demise – of course this ‘uncertain manner’ may not draw the attention of the audience  because her arrival to a foreign place shrouds her peculiar state.

Blanche is presented as being a sensitive and unpredictable character and William’s portrays this through her responses in dialogue; she shouts at her sister to ‘Turn that off! I won’t be looked at in that merciless glare’. This erratic and rather aggressive response to a light being switched  on already indicates that there is something wrong with Blanche because of her inability to look at herself in light; she is clearly sensitive about her age and her appearance. Perhaps this is a satirical comment about the pressures placed on women at the time, in a heavily male dominated society that subdued women and prevented them from being liberated; perhaps Blanche is afraid and therefore refuses to look at the world in a harsh light herself. The adjective ‘merciless’ could reflect how in society, women like Blanche, widows who became spinsters were shunned, particularly in the deep South, judging by the rigid and innate values that a lady was supposed to be the embodiment of – Blanche is quite the opposite; the audience later learns that her husband’s suicide, a man who is described as having a ‘tenderness’ and being ‘the least bit effeminate looking’  has had a profound effect on her life. The playwright emphasises that Blanche’s behaviour has derived from a cluster of events which severely impacted her; the suicide of her homosexual husband, Allan Grey, was traumatic for Blanche and implicates that the overwhelming love for her husband was perhaps the last wholesome emotion that she allowed herself to succumb to. Clearly, Blanche has been heartbroken as she refers to her heart as being ‘empty’ and this compels the audience to pity this creature, whom William’s describes as ‘a person of intense loneliness’ and it is Blanche’s demise at the end of the play which demonstrates  that the gnawing power of loneliness can lead to one’s self destruction; all she longs for is ‘warmth and protection’. Allan Grey’s death was a pivotal moment in Blanche’s life because it was these losses that drove her down and lead her to her sister’s doorsteps. Even with Mitch, Blanche admits that after her husband’s death ‘intimacies with strangers was all [she] seemed to be able to fill [her] empty heart’ – sleeping with other men filled the void left by Allan Grey. William reminds the audience that Blanche fell in love at a young age, she was still a child, with a child’s naivety and vulnerability, her love was like a ‘blinding light’; therefore it is no surprise that after the death of her husband she was lead to a sordid and immoral path, where she was constantly ‘hunting for some protection’. Ultimately, Blanche feels responsible for her husband’s death as she criticised him for being a homosexual, claiming that he ‘disgust’ her. It is Blanche’s first excruciatingly painful heartbreak which leads her to deteriorate – through William’s use of expressionism, the playwright sheds light behind the justifications for her ‘vice’ actions. Some critics have suggested that William’s considers ‘Blanche guilty for not saving her husband from his homosexuality’ because she did not show ‘more womanly support and compassion for the young man’. To an extent, this statement is true – if Blanche had shown her husband more support, perhaps her demise would have never come about. However, it can be argued that this would never be possible in the prejudiced society of the South – homosexuality was considered evil and non-existent; people believed that it could be medically treated.

William’s dramatization of Blanche depicts as her a ‘moth-like’ creature that doesn’t ‘want realism’, but would much rather prefer ‘magic’ and does not tell the whole truth, instead what she thinks ‘ought to be truth’. Blanche’s personal desires for all things beautiful, a rose tinted world where what ‘ought to be truth’ was in fact the truth, such as her claims of having an incredibly wealthy friend, who she intended to travel with, after being told by Stanley that she must leave Elysian fields. Her reluctance to face reality is an indication of her mental stability; she continues to maintain the facade that she thinks is reality. Through this, William’s demonstrates how easy it is for one to distort reality from the surreal; another example of how Blanche’s demise can be explained. In addition to this, compared to any other characters in the play, for example Stella Dubois, Blanche’s actions are far more melodramatic as she is described as giving a ‘piercing cry’ as a locomotive ‘thunders past’. Blanche’s overreactions towards everyday life highlight the fragility of her mental state. This is evident through her hyperbolic actions – William’s hints that once a major event occurs, Blanche’s hold of sanity will be completely lost.

The most poignant moment of the play, where William’s induces a huge amount of sympathy for Blanche is during the her victimisation: her rape. Here, the audience witnesses Blanche at her weakest point as her vulnerability is clearly demonstrated through William’s use of plastic theatre; he describes her ‘clutching the broken top’ of a glass bottle, in an attempt to defend herself against the violent, aggressive and incredibly animalistic Stanley. Clearly, Blanche is non compliant in the rape; however, many critics believe that ‘William’s harbours false notions about rape’ and that Blanche was a promiscuous woman who deserve everything she got. Of course, this viewpoint is incredibly narrow-minded and is identical to many of the opinions expressed at the time about the sensitive topic of rape. However, it is evident that William’s believes that the rape scene is a metaphor and holds deeper meaning; he believed that the rape scene contained ‘some very important truths about the world we live in’ and in many ways this view is correct. In essence, Stanley’s rape of Blanche represents and reflects the harsh, brutal forces of the world and in a sense, it could be viewed as the New America (being Stanley) taking hold of the Old America (being Blanche), in particular the Old South’s traditions that Stanley undoubtedly feels threatened by. This is how the changing face of America takes control of Blanche and breaks her soul; she ‘moans’ and is portrayed as reluctantly giving in, as ‘she sinks to her knees’; Blanche is forced to submit to Stanley, who describes them both having ‘this date with each other from the beginning!’. Stanley’s final comment closes the scene as he carries Blanche’s ‘inert figure’ to the bed, a clear indication that she is about to be raped. From this final comment, William’s suggests to the audience that in a world like this, women like Blanche stand no chance against men like Stanley and this is again emphasised through the sinister and vile mood of the rape scene that demonstrates how Blanche is in no way compliant; William’s does not wish to compel the audience into believing that the rape was in any way just. In the end, it is not a person that destroys Blanche, it is not Stanley, it is simply a thing and it was those who Blanche exploited that were unwilling to try and comprehend her need for a facade and illusion. Elia Kazan, the man responsible for the dramatic adaptation of the play understood that it was Blanche’s ‘inner sickness’ that pursued her like ‘doom’ and made it ‘impossible for her to attain the one thing she needs’, in fact the only thing she needs, ‘a safe place’.

William’s decision to end the play with Blanche being taken away provides no sense of resolution or closure, with Blanche’s last remarks, when leaving with the doctor that she has ‘always depended on the kindness of strangers’ and hence her life ends with her handing herself to a stranger. William’s use of dramatic irony highlights Blanche’s greatest flaw that was the cause for her plight; she is too trusting of people. Unfortunately, everything about Blanche meant that it was impossible for a woman as delicate, refined and beautiful as her to survive in the real world, especially in New America – her illusions are destroyed, as is she. Perhaps, the most agonising part of the ending, is that life continues to go on as Eunice reminds Stella, that ‘life must go on’ and everyone resumes to their lives; the women with their turbulent marriages and the men with their poker game. William’s final comment is harrowing as it is a clear example of  how society is cruel and will continue to go on and move on without giving a second thought to those who are damaged – sometimes carrying on in life is the hardest thing of all.
Ultimately, Blanche’s demise was simply inevitable; what makes it particularly poignant is the amount of truth that is captured – society’s refusal to attempt and comprehend the reason for this woman’s erratic behaviour makes her downfall all the more tragic. Blanche Dubois has been fabricated by William’s in such a way that she reflects how modern society at the time could be incredibly merciless towards the weak and the vulnerable. She functions to evoke emotions of empathy in the audience; they are compelled to become more aware of this flaw in society that has damaged the many who simply want ‘warmth and protection’ but are denied it by the brutality of the realistic world.