A Streetcar Named Desire Character Analysis
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Blanche is the main protagonist of A Streetcar Named Desire. She has a quite complex character which consists of stark contraries. She is dreamy and refined, educated and naive, childish and calculating, self-confident and shy, or angelic pure and immoral at the same time (Poppe 60). She grows up in a sheltered atmosphere with her sister, Stella, at the plantation Belle Reve. The name "Belle Reve" means "beautiful dream" in French and represented a wealthy and beautiful manor at that time.
With the loss of the manor, Blanche escapes real life by fleeing into her illusions which are fed by longings, hopes, and desires. She must experience that her illusions are gradually destroyed by reality. Although the southern states are experiencing an …show more content…
In the drama, she plays a significant role because she is not only the “battleground” for the fight between Stanley and Blanche, but she is also the connecting piece between the two. Stella is still shaped by the traditions of the Old South because of her manners, and her way of speaking clearly demonstrate that she still treasures the etiquettes of the past (Williams 18). She keeps her gentle and forgiving nature up, even though Stanley often acts completely destructive and brutal towards her (Williams 62). Since Stella simply accepts Stanley and his rough behaviour but still holding on to the old traditions of Belle Reve, she becomes a fusion between the two worlds and proves that both worlds can coexist beside each other (Williams 62). However, as Stella somehow becomes the ‘object’ of Blanche and Stanley´s struggle, one can say that Blanche’s influence on her is quite strong. In scene one, Blanche tries to convince Stella of choosing her by reminding her of their common past in Belle Reve and the boys they dated there who are obviously not comparable to someone as bawdy as Stanley. Furthermore, she partly succeeds in implanting her thoughts and opinions about Stanley into Stella’s mind because Stella described Stanley in Scene Eight as “a pig” and she also requests him to wash his “disgustingly greasy” face and fingers (Williams 118). These are words that would normally come out of Blanche’s mouth, but as we can see, Stella did say them herself and obviously infuriated and offended
With the loss of the manor, Blanche escapes real life by fleeing into her illusions which are fed by longings, hopes, and desires. She must experience that her illusions are gradually destroyed by reality. Although the southern states are experiencing an …show more content…
In the drama, she plays a significant role because she is not only the “battleground” for the fight between Stanley and Blanche, but she is also the connecting piece between the two. Stella is still shaped by the traditions of the Old South because of her manners, and her way of speaking clearly demonstrate that she still treasures the etiquettes of the past (Williams 18). She keeps her gentle and forgiving nature up, even though Stanley often acts completely destructive and brutal towards her (Williams 62). Since Stella simply accepts Stanley and his rough behaviour but still holding on to the old traditions of Belle Reve, she becomes a fusion between the two worlds and proves that both worlds can coexist beside each other (Williams 62). However, as Stella somehow becomes the ‘object’ of Blanche and Stanley´s struggle, one can say that Blanche’s influence on her is quite strong. In scene one, Blanche tries to convince Stella of choosing her by reminding her of their common past in Belle Reve and the boys they dated there who are obviously not comparable to someone as bawdy as Stanley. Furthermore, she partly succeeds in implanting her thoughts and opinions about Stanley into Stella’s mind because Stella described Stanley in Scene Eight as “a pig” and she also requests him to wash his “disgustingly greasy” face and fingers (Williams 118). These are words that would normally come out of Blanche’s mouth, but as we can see, Stella did say them herself and obviously infuriated and offended