Introduction
Blanche DuBois in “A Streetcar Named Desire” is a fine example of the people trying to seek perfection in their lives, but ending up in unbearable trials and death. These people live in a fantasy, failing to come to terms with reality. Unable to know the difference between fantasy and reality, they drift slowly into difficult situations, finally ending up in tragedy.
However, they are also the representatives of several such victims of the modern capitalistic society, victims of the so-called American dreams. They are the modern tragic heroes. Their villain is always money. Their tragic flaw is their inability to see the modern reality, to study the hard realities of modern society.
As DuBois is a female character, her tragedy is also to be seen as a result of her helplessness to transform her desires in a male-dominated world. She is a victim of male cruelty too. In this respect, she is like some of the female characters in Shakespeare. A critical examination of the character of Blanche DuBois as a Shakespearean character is the focus of this paper.
Main body
Before analyzing DuBois as a fallen female character, a look at some of the women in Shakespeare will make the task easy. A modern evaluation of Shakespearean women by feminist critics has revealed some startling facts about these characters. It is found that they were not mere angels in their house as their men wanted them to be, simply carrying out their domestic duties assigned to them. There are cases where women suffered because they could not fit themselves into the pattern set by the Patriarchal system.
A fine example is that of Ophelia. She did not suffer because of her fault. Gertrude violated the patriarchal norms and married again for which her son Hamlet takes her to the task. Inconstancy is the serious charge against her. In his moral judgment of his mother, Hamlet takes an extreme view. He declares the entire woman race as dishonest: “Frailty thy name is woman!” With his rigid male yardsticks, he measures the constancy of Ophelia and tortures her. The nunnery scene is seen as a famous example of that.
A parallel situation develops in Street Car Named Desire. Blanche DuBois is found to be immoral. Her past is questioned by Stanley and later on by Mitch. The whole play is anchored on her past, an immoral past. She is on trial for her past life. Like Gertrude, she is interrogated by men. It is true that her past is not to the liking of men, but that does not give freedom and power Stanley to punish her. He takes the place of Hamlet in the play.
Unlike the noble Hamlet, he rapes DuBois. He is solely responsible for making her insane, as Hamlet makes the innocent Ophelia mad with his verbal torture. The real fault of DuBois is her desire. That should be taken as her personal matter. The men are free to accept or reject her, but to bully her is a crime.
One cannot forget the difference between the days of Shakespeare and that of Tennessee Williams. The parameters with which a woman was judged during the Elizabethan days did not exist during the time of Williams. Yet, several parallel characteristics can be found in the female characters of these two writers. Williams wanted to show the social realism which his central character, DuBois, failed to realize in her life. She is a social snob living in her own fantasy world.
Her deliberate attempts to create artificial appearances of beauty in order to attract sexual admiration from men are at the core of her downfall. She fails to distinguish between the actual and the ideal, between reality and fantasy. Her preference for magic is a common illness that can be traced in the postwar generation of America. However, overvaluing desire is always bad for anyone. Lady Macbeth’s case is a fine example. She couldn’t feel happy with whatever Macbeth achieved with his greatness. Finally, too much of her desire caused her downfall along with that of Macbeth. Stella, DuBois’ sister lives a contented life.
The play, A Streetcar Named Desire, reveals the pretentious life of Blanche DuBois. She comes from an aristocratic family and was very beautiful. She had a young husband who committed suicide. In Scene 6, this is how she remembers him: “He was a boy, just a boy, when I was a very young girl. When I was sixteen I made the discovery- love…. But I was lucky. Deluded. There was something different about the boy, nervousness, a softness and tenderness which wasn’t like a man’s…” (Williams).
Now, having lost everything, she comes to stay with her sister, Stella. Always shy of facing light to avoid her real age and beauty, Blanche is always on the lookout for a new suitor. She meets there a young man; named Mitch who, she thinks, will take her after listening to her past. But he rejects her as he comes to know of her promiscuous past. The real contrast in the play is between Blanche and Stanley Kowalski, Stella’s husband. He is a man who has his feet firm on the earth. He observes her instinct for fabrication, her tendency to hide from the harsh truth.
As Blanche comes into contact with Stella, Stanley, and Mitch during her stay in Stella’s apartment, her true nature gets more and more revealed. The climax comes when Stella goes to the hospital to give birth to a baby. Blanche is then raped by Stanley, thus finally stripping her of her vanity. The rape is her final trial from which she fails to return to her old self forever. In short, her unbridled sexual desire ended up in a rape which brought her own downfall.
Dominance, illusion, and authority are the negative qualities of men during the days of Shakespeare. Stanley is not in any way different from this. Mitch also changes his mind as soon as he comes to know of DuBois’ past. The readers can remember that it is the passive nature of Desdemona which led to her perpetual suffering. She is helpless against the male aggression of Othello. Obedience and absolute silence is what men want from women during those days. Stella is able to please men to some extent by accepting her fate. In other words, she checks her desires, unlike her sister. She understands the realty and she does not entertain any kind of dreams. She does not find her small apartment inconvenient in any way.
On the other hand, the moment DuBois enters her sister’s house, she feels suffocated in the new environment. Stella knows what her husband needs. The playwright does not hide that what Stanly seeks is mere animal lust. Unless he is pleased Stella cannot live in peace. Blanche, on the other hand, does not weigh such facts and try to make her life happy. There is a restless woman hiding under her white dress. DuBois’ fall begins the moment this secret is discovered by the male companions. This happens to most of the women in Shakespeare too. Gertrude also tried her best to hide her real self. Her tragedy begins the moment her son discovers her true nature.
Conclusion
The comparison between Blanche DuBois and the women in Shakespeare is, thus, mainly about the unbridled desires. At the same time, this desire is always nourished by their longing for mere material life. The unprincipled stand which men take against women also precipitates the all. The stress in both the writers is for restraint and ethical norms.
The basic emotions dealt with by these writers indicate their understanding of human nature. Therefore, these characters represent the whole of humanity, struggling to adapt to the situations in which they live. These female characters also reveal that unless a balanced view of life is achieved, it is very difficult to live a happy life in this world.
Reference
William, Tennesse. A Streetcar Named Desire. New York: Signet, 1972.