FREE ESSAY ON A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

But, honey, you know as well as I do that a single girl, a girl alone in the world has got
to keep a firm hold on her emotions or she'll be lost!" Blanche DuBois, the tragically
poignant character of Tennessee Williams' notable play A Streetcar Named Desire,
compensated for her disheveled past with fantasies. Scarred by the abrupt suicide of her
husband Allen Grey, Blanche gradually slipped into a world governed by her delusions. For
instance, she was overtaken with loneliness so she embarked on a conquest to fill the
void in her life with love. After many foolish attempts Blanche met Mitch, a "gentleman"
whom she believed would replace her loneliness with love and respect. Sadly her ambitious
fantasy was destroyed by Stanley's cruel intervention, and Blanche was once again
abandoned by someone she trusted. In the end, Blanche could no longer cope with harsh
reality, and as a result she took refuge in a "make believe" world of fantasy and
dreams.
In order to better understand blanche's fantasies, one must retrace the events to the
root of the problem. As a young girl blanche married Allen Grey, who at the time was
confused about his sexuality. Upon discovering his secret, Blanche felt disgusted and
concluded that she "failed him in some mysterious way." She carried the burden of his
death with her, and the immense feeling of guilt prevented Blanche from moving on.
Instead she dealt with the loss by trying to recapture love through various fantasies.
One in particular involved millionaire Shep Huntleigh, a "gentleman", who repented her
last chance for rescue. In addition to Shep, Blanche indulged her fantasies with young
boys, and consequently lost her job. In short, Blanche's endless search for love stemmed
from Allen Grey's death, and eventually escalated into a fantasy world.
In spite of her evasive past, Blanche once more attempted to replace her loneliness with
a loving relationship. When she met Mitch the previous feeling seemingly vanished, and
her ultimate fantasy of marriage was plotted. Although Mitch was no Shep Huntleigh,
Blanche settled on him due to the fact that he respected her, but more importantly he
treated her like the lady she pictured herself. As their relationship continued to
blossom Blanche's hopes of marring Mitch grew, and her fantasy was steadily becoming a
reality.
However, Stanley had other intentions for where blanche and Mitch's relationship was
headed. Labeled as her "executioner", he was determined to damage Blanche's Credibility
since she had interfered with his dominant lifestyle. Stanley intentionally revealed to
Mitch incriminating details from Blanche's past. As a result, Blanche's plans for marring
Mitch were thwarted and she was unable to cope with the reality that ended her fantasy.
Mitch was her security, "a cleft in the rock of the world that (she) could hide in."
Since Blanche's "hero" no longer trusted her, she rejected him and in turn completely
lost touch with reality. And so began her downward spiral into a world of mixed emotions
and fantasy.
On the whole Blanche's lustful fantasies lead to her tragic demise, as did her previous
husband Allen Grey. Conversely Allen died a physical death where as Blanche "died" an
emotional death. In conclusion Blanche avoided coping with a painful reality due to the
fact that she lived in a world of "make believe", where her fantasies provided an
escapable refuge from the harsh world she actually lived in.