Topic > Blanche's Flaws and Why She Ultimately Failed

In Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, despite Blanche Dubois' desire to start over in New Orleans, her condescending nature, her inability to act appropriately according to his desires and rejection of all reality leads to his downfall. Blanche believes that her upper-middle-class roots place her above the "common people" she spends summers with, which gives her a pretentious attitude that annoys the other characters. Desire, a major theme of Streetcar, serves as a precursor to negative outcomes in Blanche's past and her time at Elysian Fields. Blanche also lives in a fantasy world, finding herself trapped in the lies she tells to others and to herself. These flaws in Blanche's character cause her ultimate destruction. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Blanche's distaste for the "commune" is present from the beginning and is condescending and offensive to others. Blanche is surprised upon her arrival at Stella's home in Elysian Fields, which is described by Williams as "poor, but, unlike the corresponding neighborhoods in American cities, has a refined charm." (13) When she finds Stella, she demands to know why her sister lives where she does. "Why didn't you let me know... That you had to live in these conditions?" (20) Blanche, coming from a lifestyle very different from those in this area of ​​New Orleans, expected more from her sister's married life. Stella argues that it's not that bad at all. Blanche also expresses her disapproval of Stanley, repeatedly calling him common and primitive. He again refers to their past, thinking that Stella deserves better: "You cannot have forgotten so much of our upbringing, Stella, as to suppose that any part of a gentleman is in his nature!" (71). She begs Stella to reconsider her life in New Orleans with Stanley: "He behaves like an animal, he has animal habits! ... Don't hold back with the brutes!" (72). Stanley's hatred for Blanche increases significantly during the time of Blanche's stay. He is extremely offended by Blanche's incessant comments about his vulgarity, rudeness and banality. Stanley: "You call me a commoner!" Stella: “…I grew up in very different circumstances than you.” Stanley: “So I was told! And told, told and told!” (98). Stanley finally has enough of Blanche's frustrating behavior at the end of scene ten. “You come here and sprinkle the place with power and spray perfume and cover the light bulb with a paper lantern, and behold the place has turned into Egypt and you are the Queen of the Nile! Sitting on your throne and quaffing my liquor!" (128). Stanley's anger towards Blanche quickly becomes uncontrolled, leading him to rape her. “The inhuman voices of the jungle rise. He takes a step towards her, biting his tongue that sticks out between his lips. 'Now that I think about it, perhaps you wouldn't do any harm to - interfere with…' (129). earlier. Rape was also foreshadowed by Blanche at the beginning of the scene, when she says: “Deliberate cruelty is not forgivable. It is the only thing unforgivable in my opinion and it is the only thing I have never, ever been guilty of ” (126). This observation gives more depth to Blanche's seemingly superficial personality and turns Stanley, who is “deliberately cruel,” into the villain. Stanley believes that Blanche's hateful behavior justifies the rape Blanche's fault, and she's one of themvictim, shows the effect his pretentious and offensive attitude has on others, especially Stanley. When Blanche first arrives at the Champs Elysees to visit her sister Stella, she talks to Eunice about taking a “streetcar called Desire,” a representation of the downward spiral of Blanche's life, driven by desire. “They told me to take a tram called Desiderio and then transfer to one called Cimiterie, walk six blocks and get off at the Champs Elysees!” (15). Later the streetcar is referenced again and the metaphor becomes clearer: “What you are talking about is brutal desire, simply desire! the name of that rattle streetcar that rattles through the neighborhood, up one narrow old street and down another... It brought me here.- Where they don't want me and where I'm ashamed to be...” (70 ). Desire has brought Blanche to a moment in her life that she is ashamed of. Readers are told that the negative consequences of Blanche's uncontrollable desires begin with her first love. “When I was sixteen, I made the discovery: love. All at once and far, too completely. (95). Blanche is infatuated with her husband and, as Stella tells Stanley, "worshipped the ground he walked on" (102). However, he kills himself after Stella tells him that she finds his homosexuality and desire for an older man disgusting. This sends Blanche into severe emotional distress. “And then the beacon that had been shone upon the world went out again and never for a moment has there been a stronger light…” (96). She tells Mitch that death is the opposite of desire, as she saw one outcome in the other: "Death: I was sitting here and she was sitting there and death was as close as you... We didn't dare." we even admit that we had never heard of it! The opposite is desire…” (120). Alone, full of remorse and emotionally fragile, Blanche tries to fill the void caused by death with desire. These actions lead Blanche to give up a respectable, wealthy, upper-class life in Laurel, only to be shunned even by those she considers inferior to her in the Elysian Fields. Blanche lives in her fantasy world, lying about her age, her appearance and her life. his past to feel young again. Avoid bright lighting to appear younger and soften its faded appearance. She is constantly worried about what people say and think about her, so she tries to hide as many shameful things about her life as possible. He tells Mitch, “I don't want realism. I want magic! [Mitch laughs] Yes, yes, magic! I try to give that to people. I misinterpret things for them. I don't tell the truth, I tell what the truth should be. And if this is a sin, then let me be damned for it! (117) When Blanche meets Mitch, she finds the tenderness and sweetness she once admired in her dead husband. Desperate to gain Mitch's approval, he lies about his morals, which readers know from Stanley's "research" to be questionable. “I guess it's just that I have… old-fashioned ideals!” (91) When Stanley warns Mitch that Blanche is not who she pretends to be, Mitch feels deceived. She confronts Blanche's promiscuous behavior and says she is unfit to bring her mother home. “That line about your ideals being so old fashioned and all the malarkey you've been dishing out all summer. Oh, I knew you weren't sixteen anymore. But I was stupid enough to believe you were straight." (117) Blanche's false correctness only backfires. In the seventh scene, Stanley reveals the truth to Stella about his sister. "The problem with Dame Blanche was that she couldn't act Laurel anymore… That's why she's here this summer, visiting the royals, putting on this whole show, because she was basically told by the mayor to leave town!”..