The theme I chose to represent in "A Streetcar Named Desire" was madness. The play spirals into a whirlpool of madness brought on by financial ruins, loss, depression, and the cruelty of others.
“I don’t want realism. I want magic! [Mitch laughs] Yes, yes, magic! I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don’t tell the truth, I tell what ought to be truth. And if that is sinful, then let me be damned for it! – Don’t turn the light on!” -Blanche
This is one of the many signs of madness that we see in the play. Blanche is a woman of many emotions and displays them in many different ways. She often looks for attention and is in constant need of compliments. Blanche DuBois is a very complex character in the drama.
The theme of madness seems to relate to other readings we have looked at in class, one poem that comes to mind is “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.” The poem has many different aspects and has no one interpretation, kind of like Blanche. The poem uses brief, mysterious sections to allow the reader to understand the life of a blackbird, similar to how Williams writes about Blanche and tries to allow the reader to understand her and her feelings better but just makes her character seem more crazy and confusing.
The significance of this quote is that Blanche nearly admits to her insanity and tries to justify all the lies she appears to tell. The quote is Blanche describing what she wants in life in a way that seems utterly demanding and her way of justifying all of the terrible actions she has made. This quote shows the audience that Blanche’s fear of the “strong light” is about more than the age showing on her face. It indicates that she is not only hiding her appearances from everyone around her but is also refusing to look at the world in a harsh light herself. She seems to have a fear of people knowing who she actually is and cares largely about what others think of her.
There are many other conclusions that we can draw from the theme. One of these being that madness could be brought on by factors around the characters in the play since Blanche isn’t the only person to show signs of this. Madness could also be blamed on things, such as, living in the city or believing in a particular religion. Madness is a state of being mentally ill and can be caused by many different components. Deeper issues that may connect to madness could be problems brought on by stress. Stress can often cause issues within someone, which could be another reason Blanche acted the way she did.
You raise interesting points here about Blanche and how she is afraid for people to see who she really is. It's interesting, too, how she prefers magic to realism--that seems to be another way that she doesn't want to confront reality. Do you think that the environment at Stella and Stanley's house contributes to her breakdown? And do we see other characters who don't want to confront the truth/reality?
ReplyDeleteYes, I do think that the environment of Stella and Stanley's small, crowded house had a large contribution to her breakdown. Blanche- as you said- prefers to have a magical life and would prefer a castle and a magnificent gown more than anything else, so living in their house didn't live up to her dreams and made her face reality. When Blanche is faced with reality she seems to shut down and make senseless decisions. Another character that doesn't seem to want to face reality is Stella. She denies the fact that Stanley is a mean and abusive husband because she wants to also live happily ever after with who she thinks is her prince charming.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Dr. J saying that Blanche prefers magic. She's stuck her own fantasy where she likes the jewels, furs, pretty dresses and big fancy houses. She's shocked when she gets to Stella's home and she realizes that's not how her sister is living. Now that she has to stay there, I think it ruins her. The environment and living situation at the Kowalskis' home definitely contributes to her finally losing it, but I also think that it was inevitable that Blanche would go mad. She was slowly getting there long before she got to Elysian Fields. I just think it was the little push that made her completely go nuts.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting and eye-opening view. I hadn't really considered focusing on madness while reading this despite the play's clear display of madness at the end. Previously I had viewed the characters as southern and eccentric from my view. I now suspect much of this play is unusual for the south as well and is just madness. All the violence and anger isn't custom; it's madness.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I continue to ask myself, while reading A Streetcar Named Desire, and other novels and plays, is "Is the character really mad? Or just going through a hard time?" Because I think it's one thing to be mad, where you're acting crazy for no real reason, and another thing to be acting crazy when you've lost your house and had to move into an almost foreign territory with a abusive person in it. Personally, I think Blanche's act is justified. If I were in her position I would have acted much worse probably.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading I felt the quote above held a deeper meaning as well. However, I don't feel it portrays Blanche's "madness" but rather her insecurities. I do agree that it shows Blanche's fearfulness on how others perceive her. Because as you said if the spot light truly shines on her, she's scared people will look down upon her. But to label her as mad from this passage, I think seems to harsh.
ReplyDeleteI didn't really think of it as Blanche just going through hard times or that it's just her insecurities, but I do agree that she may be acting that way because of those factors. She may not be mad, but there are definitely some other underlining issues. I do still think there are some parts in this play that display madness in many different ways, everything that's going on can't just only be caused by insecurities or tough times.
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