Title While almost all literature is extremely heavy in thematic content, Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire seems to be particularly full of provocative themes. Williams builds a complex web of ideas, shedding light on numerous topics that are still relevant in society today. Through Stella, Blanche, Stanley, Mitch, and multiple other characters, he is able to expose the reader to concepts that continue to have growing importance. Whether it be domestic abuse, the power of fantasy, desire and sexuality, or gender roles, A Streetcar Named Desire is full of influential themes. In A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams creates a story that includes the theme of domestic abuse. Despite the love that characters Stella and Stanley
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Blanche leads her life under the impression that she has to hold up the image everyone had of her as a younger woman. She never fully deals with the hardships she faced in her early womanhood and becomes somewhat of a compulsive liar. However, these lies are more akin to illusions she has created to live what she sees as a happier and more successful life. One of these fantasies begins with the reason she has left her position as a teacher in Laurel. Blanche participated in inappropriate relations with a student, but instead gave a different reasoning for leaving. She also creates a fantasy when she tells Stanley about Mitch trying to win her over. She clings to fantasies to create a world for herself that she feels is livable. Coincidentally, Stella must also cling to an illusion to continue her life the way it is. She forces herself to take Stanley’s side when accusations of rape are surfacing against him. As a result, Blanche has a mental breakdown and is admitted to an asylum. However, at the time, Stella’s main concern was herself and the illusion she had created. Like in A Streetcar Named Desire, many people of today’s society also create fantasies or illusions to escape from their regular lives. This practice is heavily aided by the use of the internet. People use the internet to create alternate realities that are far more satisfactory than the ones they live in.
Blanche leads her life under the impression that she has to hold up the image everyone had of her as a younger woman. She never fully deals with the hardships she faced in her early womanhood and becomes somewhat of a compulsive liar. However, these lies are more akin to illusions she has created to live what she sees as a happier and more successful life. One of these fantasies begins with the reason she has left her position as a teacher in Laurel. Blanche participated in inappropriate relations with a student, but instead gave a different reasoning for leaving. She also creates a fantasy when she tells Stanley about Mitch trying to win her over. She clings to fantasies to create a world for herself that she feels is livable. Coincidentally, Stella must also cling to an illusion to continue her life the way it is. She forces herself to take Stanley’s side when accusations of rape are surfacing against him. As a result, Blanche has a mental breakdown and is admitted to an asylum. However, at the time, Stella’s main concern was herself and the illusion she had created. Like in A Streetcar Named Desire, many people of today’s society also create fantasies or illusions to escape from their regular lives. This practice is heavily aided by the use of the internet. People use the internet to create alternate realities that are far more satisfactory than the ones they live in.