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Character Analysis of Blanche Du Bois

Uploaded by spootyhead on Mar 04, 2007

Character Analysis of Blanche Du Bois


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.

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...

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Uploaded by:   spootyhead

Date:   03/04/2007

Category:   Literature

Length:   4 pages (905 words)

Views:   14668

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