Blanche DuBois: Functioning through Fantasy
“We 're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we 're not alone.” This statement from Orson Welles perfectly sums up Blanche’s philosophy about life in A Streetcar Named Desire. Blanche DuBois is a young woman from a formerly rich southern family. Her life has been full of mistakes and tragedies that she can’t get over. She creates a fantasy life full of millionaires and expensive clothes in order to cope with it. Blanche attempts to make an “illusion” of a perfect life in order to feel less alone. In Williams’ A Streetcar named Desire, Blanche DuBois attempts to create a perfect appearance and life in order to hide …show more content…
This allegation is true but Stella chooses to take her husband’s side, coming to the conclusion that Blanche is mentally insane. Blanche at first believes that she is going with Shep Huntleigh, an alleged suitor of hers, on a fancy cruise. When instead a doctor comes to greet her, Blanche tries to ignore what is happening and becomes confused on why Shep has not arrived. But when Blanche hears from Stella that she will be going with the doctors, she acquiesces saying, “Whoever you are- I have always depended on the kindness of strangers” (Williams 178), showing her soft side that had long since disappeared. Berkman reinforces this idea saying, “confronted by the presence of the doctor, she can drop the pretense that Shep has at last come for her; but she is affirmative in maintaining the image of herself that mocks the card players”. The men playing cards when Blanche is being taken away are extremely rude to her but Blanche keeps consistent with her formal air even when she has been stripped of her fantasy. Blanche knows that she can no longer attempt to live in her fantasy world when she is faced with a physical manifestation of her insanity through the straight jacket the nurse threatens her with. In seeing the doctor instead of Shep, Blanche’s safety blanket of her fantasy world is gone and she spirals down into true
“We 're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we 're not alone.” This statement from Orson Welles perfectly sums up Blanche’s philosophy about life in A Streetcar Named Desire. Blanche DuBois is a young woman from a formerly rich southern family. Her life has been full of mistakes and tragedies that she can’t get over. She creates a fantasy life full of millionaires and expensive clothes in order to cope with it. Blanche attempts to make an “illusion” of a perfect life in order to feel less alone. In Williams’ A Streetcar named Desire, Blanche DuBois attempts to create a perfect appearance and life in order to hide …show more content…
This allegation is true but Stella chooses to take her husband’s side, coming to the conclusion that Blanche is mentally insane. Blanche at first believes that she is going with Shep Huntleigh, an alleged suitor of hers, on a fancy cruise. When instead a doctor comes to greet her, Blanche tries to ignore what is happening and becomes confused on why Shep has not arrived. But when Blanche hears from Stella that she will be going with the doctors, she acquiesces saying, “Whoever you are- I have always depended on the kindness of strangers” (Williams 178), showing her soft side that had long since disappeared. Berkman reinforces this idea saying, “confronted by the presence of the doctor, she can drop the pretense that Shep has at last come for her; but she is affirmative in maintaining the image of herself that mocks the card players”. The men playing cards when Blanche is being taken away are extremely rude to her but Blanche keeps consistent with her formal air even when she has been stripped of her fantasy. Blanche knows that she can no longer attempt to live in her fantasy world when she is faced with a physical manifestation of her insanity through the straight jacket the nurse threatens her with. In seeing the doctor instead of Shep, Blanche’s safety blanket of her fantasy world is gone and she spirals down into true