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    A Streetcar Named Desire - Themes

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    Claudia Navarro
    The document discusses several themes in A Streetcar Named Desire: 1) The dichotomy between the Old South and New South, represented by Blanche and Stanley respectively, and the culture wars within the Kowalski household. 2) The theme of fantasy versus reality, and how Blanche tries to hide truths and present a fantasy version of events due to her inability to cope with reality. 3) The web of dependence between characters, with Blanche seeking a man to support her and seducing Mitch when she can't find someone of her desired social class.

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    A Streetcar Named Desire - Themes

    Uploaded by

    Claudia Navarro
    686 views2 pages
    The document discusses several themes in A Streetcar Named Desire: 1) The dichotomy between the Old South and New South, represented by Blanche and Stanley respectively, and the culture wars within the Kowalski household. 2) The theme of fantasy versus reality, and how Blanche tries to hide truths and present a fantasy version of events due to her inability to cope with reality. 3) The web of dependence between characters, with Blanche seeking a man to support her and seducing Mitch when she can't find someone of her desired social class.

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    Themes that appear in the play.

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    The document discusses several themes in A Streetcar Named Desire: 1) The dichotomy between the Old South and New South, represented by Blanche and Stanley respectively, and the culture wars within the Kowalski household. 2) The theme of fantasy versus reality, and how Blanche tries to hide truths and present a fantasy version of events due to her inability to cope with reality. 3) The web of dependence between characters, with Blanche seeking a man to support her and seducing Mitch when she can't find someone of her desired social class.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    686 views2 pages

    A Streetcar Named Desire - Themes

    Uploaded by

    Claudia Navarro
    The document discusses several themes in A Streetcar Named Desire: 1) The dichotomy between the Old South and New South, represented by Blanche and Stanley respectively, and the culture wars within the Kowalski household. 2) The theme of fantasy versus reality, and how Blanche tries to hide truths and present a fantasy version of events due to her inability to cope with reality. 3) The web of dependence between characters, with Blanche seeking a man to support her and seducing Mitch when she can't find someone of her desired social class.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    A Streetcar Named Desire

    Themes
    Old South Versus New South
    One important theme is the dichotomy between the Old South and the New
    South. This is brought into light in the culture wars that happen within the
    Kowalski household. The Old South represented a clear separation of
    cultures and social classes. There was a clear hierarchy in the social order.
    Blanche represents this Old South. The New South represented diversity in
    race, ethnicity, and social class. Stanley most strongly represents this New
    South. It is interesting to note, in light of this, that Blanche succumbs to
    insanity and is hidden away from society in a mental institution while
    Stanley and Stella raise the next generation.

    Fantasy Versus Reality


    Another theme is that of fantasy versus reality. Blanche, herself, believes in
    hiding unfortunate truths. She says,
    ''I don't want realism, I want magic! 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!''
    It is important to note that these lines are spoken by a person who is not
    able to cope with reality and who ultimately loses control of her own mind.

    Dependence
    There is an interesting web of dependence in the play. Blanche looks for
    someone to support her. When she can't find a man of the social standing
    she desires, she seduces Mitch into marrying her. When her prospects with
    him fall apart, she starts speaking of an old acquaintance who she hopes
    will take her away on his yacht. A woman of the Old South would have had a
    man to take care of her, and Blanche is unable to stand on her own in the
    world when she does not have a husband.
    Cruelty
    The only unforgivable crime, according to Blanche, is deliberate cruelty.
    This sin is Stanley's specialty. His final assault against Blanche is a merciless
    attack against an already-beaten foe. On the other hand, though Blanche is
    dishonest, she never lies out of malice. Her cruelty is unintentional; often,
    she lies in a vain effort to plays. Throughout Streetcar, we see the full range
    of cruelty, from Blanche's well-intentioned deceits to Stella self-deceiving
    treachery to Stanley's deliberate and unchecked malice. In Williams' plays,
    there are many ways to hurt someone. And some are worse than others.

    Desire and Sex


    Desire is not only in the title of the play, but the concept permeates
    throughout the whole play. There is sexual tension between Blanche and
    Stanley although they despise one another.
    An argument could be made that desire is what destroys Blanche’s life. This
    happens on multiple levels.
    Her marriage ends when she discovers her husband in bed with another
    man.
    She loses her career when she sleeps with a student.
    While it is important to note that rape is not about desire, it is
    nonconsensual sex and the subsequent disbelief of those around her that
    leads her finally to fall into madness.
    There is a lot of desire between Stanley and his wife. He gets frustrated
    because he can not be intimate with Stella as often as he would want to
    because Blanche is there, and Stella returns to Stanley after he beats her
    because of what occurs sexually between them.

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