Blanches Struggle: Re-Creating the Past in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire
This 4-page undergraduate essay examines the question of how Blanche's past affects her present behaviour in Tennessee William’s play A Streetcar Named Desire. This essay examines how Blanche's relationships with all other characters and her reactions are informed by her past. This paper concludes that Blanche’s relationship to her past is a complex one. Since her past includes traumatic and humiliating sexual experiences as well as financial loss, Blanche comes to believe that she must act and avoid reality in order to avoid being hurt further. Unfortunately, her attempts at acting only anger Stanley, who sees Blanche as a threat to his agency within the home. Ultimately, Stanley brutally establishes his agency within the home by humiliating and raping Blanche, proving that her attempts at re-creating herself and her past cannot protect her. Blanche’s relationship with men is also tarnished by her past, as her suitor Mitch rejects her for her past. Further, Blanche’s relationship with her sister Stella is complicated by Blanche’s past, since Blanche’s attempts to hold onto the ideals of her past make her disapprove of her sister. This alienates the two sisters.
