Explore Williams presentation of Blanche's downfall. --> high grade B, streetcar named desire

Blanche Dubois, the central character of streetcar, is presented as being in a downfall. William’s makes it evident that the downfall of Blanche was a consequence of many events in her life; however it is her inability to adapt of the changing times of America, which is more prominent in the pivotal years after World War II rather than her sexual history which caused her downfall. The only reason why she is unable to survive in Elysian Fields is because the males, Stanley, represent the new, liberal America.

Blanche's sexual history stared to fail when Blanche married too young to a closet homosexual, who killed himself. After this, she seduced or was seduced by many men including her students. Because of all her promiscuity, a marriage with Mitch means to escape from a sinful past; to cleanse herself from the other ‘young men’. This can be seen through the wearing of a white dress, which is a color of innocence and the natural color of a wedding dress. Men's exploitation of her sexuality has left her in a compromising manner with a poor reputation. Blanche depends on sexual admirations from men to raise her self-esteem as it is all she has been used to. In spite of every attempt for gaining normality she fails again at the hands of the ‘new American’ males. Blanche’s hope of cleansing herself from the past and men is unrealistic as she is still her relying on them. The dependency and inability to see thing realistically leads to inevitable downfall rather than to purge. Shirley Galloway suggests “Her drive to lose herself in the ‘kindness of strangers’ might also be understood from this period in that her sense of confidence in her own feminine attraction was shaken by the knowledge of her husband’s homosexuality”. Galloway could be suggesting that blanches want to lose herself was because of the shame she felt about going out with a homosexual. However Galloway might be suggesting that Blanche was not desperate for love as one may believe she is in fact desperate for closure on her homosexual partner. Although this has been said, the inability to change to new America ultimately caused her ‘downfall’.

This can be first seen through the stage directions to introduce Blanche to the audience, showing her anguish at the state of which her sister is currently living. William’s says Blanche’s appearance is ‘incongruous to this setting’. This suggests that Blanche is unfamiliar with the setting of New Orleans as there is an ‘intermingling’ of different races. Blanche, being a southern ‘belle’ is used to white calm environments so it would have been a drastic change. Blanche is described to have and ‘more refined tastes’. New Orleans is an example of the changing view and makeup of America; known to be a city with its ‘proud free black and slave inhabitants’. The sight of other ethnic minorities and ‘polaks’ would have isolated Blanche from her environs. The use of the word ‘incongruous’ is the ideal adjective which describes Blanche’s discordance in this new setting, whose ‘uncertain manner’ foreshadows her nature which brings about her downfall rather than sexual history.

Blanche is also presented as being a sensitive and innocent victim and William’s portrays this through her discourse; for example when she shouts at her sister to ‘Turn that off! I won’t be looked at in that merciless glare’. This belligerent response to a light indicates that there is something wrong with Blanche because of her inability to look at herself in light. One may suggest that she is sensitive and secretive about her age and her appearance. Some critics have suggested that this a stereotypical comment on the burdens of women in a male dominated society that controlled women and prevented them from being liberated. The lexical choice of ‘merciless’ could reflect society; women like Blanche, particularly in the deep South are judged by the conservative values that a lady was supposed to be, however Blanche is the opposite. This is because of her husband’s suicide. Williams implies that Blanche’s behaviour has derived from a magnitude of events which impacted her - the suicide of her homosexual husband, Allan Grey, was traumatic for Blanche and links that the love for her husband was perhaps the last emotion that she allowed herself to yield to. This significant event had led to Blanche becoming heartbroken, as seen when she says her heart is ‘empty’ and this compels the audience to pity her. All Blanche longs for is ‘warmth and protection’, however her loneliness has led to her downfall. Allan’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. 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. William reminds the audience that Blanche fell in love at a young age. Consequently, Blanche feels guilty for her husband’s death as she chastised him for being gay, claiming that he ‘disgust[ed]’ her. Some critics have suggested that William’s cogitates ‘Blanche guilty for not saving her husband from his homosexuality’ because she did not show ‘more support for the young man’. This critic is partially correct, if Blanche had shown her husband more care, perhaps her downfall would have never come about, as she would have felt she had tried her hardest. However, it can be argued that this would never be possible in the prejudiced society of the South – homosexuality was considered evil just as promiscuity was; people believed that it could be medically treated through lobotomy. William was also a homosexual who did not come out till much later in life, however his sister was lobotomized for promiscuous actions and led to her deteoration and confinement in the mental asylum.

Furthermore, William’s presentation of Blanche depicts as her a ‘moth-like’ creature that doesn’t ‘want realism, but would much rather prefer magic’. She does not tell the whole truth as she believes she tells ‘what ought to be the truth’. Blanche desires all things attractive: a utopia where what ‘ought to be truth’ was in fact the truth, such as her claims of having a wealthy friend called ‘Shep Huntington’, after being told by Stanley that she must leave Elysian fields. Her unwillingness to face reality is a suggestion of her mental stability; she is not instable, instead she is putting on a façade, similar to Shakespeare’s Hamlet, in order to gain a better ending, but it actually ends with her downfall. William’s demonstrates how easy it is for one to confuse reality from the illusion; another example of how Blanche’s downfall can be explained. furthermore, compared to other characters in the play, for example Stella, Blanche’s actions are far more melodramatic as she is labelled as giving a ‘piercing cry’ as a train ‘thunders past’, showing how comically melodramatic she actually is, which reinforces the fact that she has not adapted. Blanche’s overreactions towards life may also highlight the delicacy of her mind. 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, as evidenced through the rape scene and her final downfall.

Ultimately, Williams presents blanche as a character with a downfall that was inevitable; what makes it particularly emotional is the truth that is seized, society’s refusal to comprehend the reason for this woman’s behaviour makes her downfall more tragic, although one may argue the last line ‘I have always required he kindness of strangers’ makes the audience feel somewhat connected to her. Blanche has been created by William’s in a way that she shows how society at the time could be ‘merciless’ towards the weak and different. Although her sexual history was a significant fact inn her downfall, it can be argued that her inability to adapt led to her downfall; as Darwin said ‘the survival of the fittest’ adapt to a new environment or they die out and that is what happened here. Blanche evokes emotions of empathy from the audience who are obligated to become aware of this inequality in society that has led to the demise of people who want ‘warmth and protection’ but are hindered by the callousness of the real world. Blanche is ultimately the minorities shout for equality in a hyper masculine, changing new America.