Blanche DuBois Term Papers

A Streetcar Named Desire’s, Blanche DuBois, is as tragic a figure as can be found anywhere in American drama or literature.  Tennessee Williams portrays her descent from a wealthy and beautiful southern belle, to penniless, broken-down alcoholic as a painful and frightening one.

After living through the deaths of her entire family, and suffering the eventual loss of the family estate, Belle Reve, to creditors, Blanche is forced to leave her home in Laurel, Mississippi and live with her younger sister, Stella and her husband, Stanley, in New Orleans.  Blanche has lost everything but maintains her aristocratic attitude. She is denial over many things, often choosing to fabricate details about herself and her past rather than tell the boring and less desirable truth.  Upon her arrival in New Orleans, Blanche clings to her past, and though she is just as poor as Stella and Stanley, she looks down on their humble apartment and is initially disgusted by the brutish, blue-collar Stanley. Her motivation is to re-establish her relationship with her sister, escape the sullied reputation she had built for herself in Mississippi, and build a new life.

Blanche harbors resentment toward Stella for leaving home when things were falling apart.  Stella’sattitude toward Blanche is that she feels sorry for her older sister and to see her in her current state.  But ultimately, Stella seems to have but one interest, and that is her desire and worship of Stanley. Blanche is both repulsed and jealous of the relationship between Stella and Stanley.  Stanley’s attitude toward Blanche is one of mistrust and disrespect.  He believes, incorrectly, that Blanche is holding out their part of the family fortune.  Blanche is conflicted by her feelings for Stanley, which seem to be equal parts disgust and fascination.