In the play A Streetcar Named Desire written by Tennessee Williams, the main character Blanche becomes the center of the play. I thought I would take a critical look at her character and look at what she represented. Blanche is described as a traveler who visits her sister, Stella, after her life back home at Belle Reve has fallen apart.
The reader gets the impression that Blanche represents the "Old South". She has the classic Southern Belle attitude. The reader gets the impression that Blanche is a damsel in distress. She is waiting upon on man to come and save her. Her life has been dictated by a very antiquated upbringing. It is evident by the fact that Blanche has difficulty using the telephone. And her response to Stanley's attitude represents her own old way of thinking. Stanley takes "women off of their pedestal". And to Blanche that is unacceptable.
The most interesting aspect of Blanche's character is her lying but I think it is in response to her Southern Belle attitude. Internally, Blanche may know that the way of life that she values no longer exists but she chooses to ignore that. And by lying and creating her own world she is fulfilling her dream of an old world. And I think that Blanche as a character changes after Stanley confronts her lies. She is exposed and left in the open. She can no longer live like she had before. Maybe for the first time she has been confronted with reality. The reality that she faces is more that she can handle and the fragileness of Blanche is exposed.
Blanche by the end of the play represents the end of the Old South. The idea like Blanche was fragile and crumbling. And Blanche ultimately represented that idea and how it was destined to end.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Fading Blanche
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3 comments:
Kyle,
I like how you described Blanche as a “damsel in distress” because I feel that this is very much how Blanche wanted to be perceived by the world, and even how we as readers first see her. She is seen somewhat in this light until officially confronted by Stanley. I believe that Blanche finally crumbles however, when Mitch asks to really see her in the light. This is when she is exposed and is no longer able to produce and believe her own lies, almost like her imagination and remembrances of the Old South are gone for good. I did not make the connection between the fall of the Old South to Blanche right away, but now that you have pointed it out, I feel that the theme of the decline is definitely present. Since Belle Reve is already lost, and Stella has changed so much, Blanche is the very last piece of the puzzle that is left.
I agree with Jess' comment. I think the beginning of the end for Blanche is when Mitch exposes her in the light. She finally realizes the charade is over, she can't fool anyone anymore. Although she still continues on with her stories of make belief, I don't think she does this because she wants to deceive people, I think it's because she's literally been driven insane, and she actually believes the words coming out of her mouth.
I felt the same way, Blanche seemed to take the "southern belle" to almost the extreme ignoring her feeling that she had had, or just lying about them. I think that Blanche also does this because of Stella. In the play you can tell that Stella no longer worries about being the perfect southern belle and I think that bothers Blanche, who doesn't deal well with change ayways.
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