A Streetcar Named Desire - Sympathy for Blanche

�A Streetcar named Desire,’ is an interesting play, by Tennessee Williams. The character 'Blanche DuBois' is created to evoke sympathy, as the story follows her tragic deterioration in the months she lived with her sister Stella, and brother-in-law Stanley. After reading the play, I saw Blanche as the victim of Stanley's aggressive ways, and I also saw her as a hero in my eyes.

Blanche's devistating past is just one of the reasons I felt sympathy for her. Troubled from her past, Blanche has a sence of falseness, which increasingly becomes apparent to Stanley. Her secrets are revealed, and this unveals a haunting past, and insecurities which were unknown to Stella. It would appear that the lies and desperate clutches to hold onto dreams, and fantasies, suggested that Blanche was insane.

A �visiting in-law’, she has come seemingly to visit Stella, yet the continuation of the first scene shows the true nature of her visit; she has lost their family property. Immediately, it can be seen that she is out of place in this neighbourhood, from her appearance (QUOTE HERE) her rhetorical questioning “this – can this be – her home?” It is highlighted that not only does Blanche feel there are there vast differences in standards of living, but between fantasy and reality. Her claim that she couldn’t possibly make herself �at home’ here suggests that she looks down on this society. Yet even in her first appearance, Blanche’s anxieties can be seen, as she tries to control her nerves “I’ve got to keep a hold of myself” and as she tells Stella “I can’t be alone…I’m not very well.”

There are many reasons for Blanche’s strange behaviour, and I think that guilt is a big issue for Blanche. Having witnessed the deaths of her relatives -

�long parade to the graveyard,’

she feels responsible for their deaths. The worst of these experiences was the suicide of her husband, who she caught in bed with another man. It became obvious to me that Blanche is haunted by this memory, as the flashbacks of the polka music from that night creep up on her throughout the play. This shows how her mind is not at ease, yet I feel that this contradicts madness as it shows how she is overcome by grief, yet always manages to keep a sence of calmness. I think she uses alchohal as a way to forget about her horrific past. I also feel that it explains Blanches obsession with cleanliness; she relies on hot baths to �calm her nerves’ not only for the �hydrotherapy’, but to wash away her worries.

Often Blanche’s insecurities can be misinterpreted as madness. Her eagerness to be viewed only in the dark,

�I can’t stand a naked flame…’,

and her personification of the bright light as the �merciless glare’ suggest an irrational fear beyond what could be mistaken as vanity. Blanche not only wishes to hide her aging looks, but also relies on the shadows to hide her depression, and forget about the traumas in the past. Only when Mitch demands to see her in the light, I felt than I seen true Blanche be seen, and it is this that suggested to me that Blanche wasn't mentally ill, but simply vulnerable.

Throughout the play, Blanche always feels the need to be admired and pampered. She often talked about �old flames’ and rich men who wish to sweep her off her feet, yet Stanley seen through this from the start. Blanche liked to reminise about her prime years,of which had passed, and fantasise of being the same woman that she once was. It's this desperation that everyone has to adore her that causes her to depend on receiving compliments, as she needs constant