The play “A Street Named Desire”, written by Tennessee Williams, a famous American playwright is considered a landmark example of American dramaturgy. It should be taken into account that much of the pathos explored in this play, like for instance, depression, loneliness, alcoholism, thwarted desire was derived from the author’s life (Gross, 33). Overall it is worth mentioning that the play abounds in symbolic images, For example, it is quite possible for us to say to a certain degree Blanche Dubois represents the so-called old South whereas Stanley Kowalski is the embodiment of the new middle-class.
One of the main motifs of this play is the cultural and social collision between two epochs. However, this is not the only aspect. The conflict is also between fantasy or imaginary world and reality. It will not be an exaggeration if we call Blanche Dubois a daydreamer. She always lives in the world of her fantasies. This statement can be proved by this quotation, she says “I dont want realism. I want magic” (Tennessee, 66). This sharp contrast between the two worlds makes her deeply depressed. Probably, this is one of the reasons, why Blanch becomes addicted to drinking.
Besides, it should be mentioned that her imaginary world is some kind of “wall” that protects her from other people. As a literary critic, Steven Cohan states, “Blanche spins a cocoon linguistically for protection” (Cohan, 256). As regards this conflict between fantasy and reality, we should say that it has always been a subject of thorough literary analysis, like for instance Flauberts “Madame Bovary” or Chekhovs “The Cherry Orchard”. Thus, we cannot say this age-old question is something that literature has always tried to resolve.
Moreover, if we are speaking about Blanche Dubois’s behavior, it should be taken into consideration that she is poor in terms of her financial and social position. Her estate and fortune are irretrievably lost. Her husband is dead and she feels insecure. It seems to her that she is destined for some better lot. Being a very romantic woman, Blanche needs some kind of a chivalrous gentleman, who saves her from all the hardships that she may suffer, but the brutal reality of society brings her back to reality because knights in shining armor will never come. A woman of the then-American society usually did not believe in such a miracle. However, Blanche was different from them in her belief. Blanche is entirely dependent on the stronger sex. The first reason is the financial aspect because she cannot get used to the new conditions of life and it is hardly possible that such a woman as Blanche will earn her living. The second aspect is that the man’s character requires the mens admiration she wants to be the object of worship (Cohan, 250). Naturally, to some extent, every woman desires but Blanches case is very special. The admiration creates an illusion of her everlasting beauty.
It should not be forgotten that Blanche is a former aristocrat and she is used to treating other people as inferior but her life undergoes a drastic change and Blanche is no longer able to do that. Her world of courteous manners and noble gentlemen simply disappeared. Perhaps to some extent, her addiction can be ascribed to this fact.
As we have already mentioned Blanche is constantly living in the imaginary world. However, it is worth mentioning that the main character is not devoid of common sense. For instance, when she is rejected by Mitch, her husband, who learns that his wife is a woman of a tainted reputation, Blanche is able to come up with a solution immediately: she finds another candidate Shep Huntleigh, the person who will save her from destitution.
Speaking about the addiction of the main character to alcohol, it is worth mentioning that it has some peculiar features. It is quite possible to contrast Stanley and Blanche in this context. First, in contrast to Blanche, drinking is a social habit for Stanley. As a rule, Stanley is prone to drinking with his friends during poker games. For him, it is not a matter of life and death. As far as Blanche is concerned, it is quite possible for us to say that in the overwhelming majority of cases her drinking is anti-social. She always tries to hide it. In addition, we can say that it is gradually leading her to her destruction.
The main character begins to lose her sanity she is desperately trying to escape the brutal world but all her attempts fail, especially when the relics of her beauty are gone. As it has already been mentioned, Blanches fantasies were some kind of protection to her but when this “wall” is destroyed, the only thing left for her is to sink into oblivion.
Thus, having analyzed the image of Blanche Dubois, we can arrive at the conclusion that this character has always attempted to create some kind of protection of herself and her addiction to alcohol is one way to do it.
Bibliography
Cohan, Steven. Masked Men: Masculinity and the Movies in the Fifties. Indiana University Press, 1997.
Gross, Robert F., ed. Tennessee Williams: “A Casebook. Routledge” 2002.
Tennessee Williams. A Streetcar Named Desire” Heinemann, 1995.