Blanche's Loneliness In A Streetcar Named Desire

Although Blanche tries her best to cure her loneliness, she ultimately fails at getting closer to others as she tries in misguided ways to make people like her, and is frequently hampered by deception and self-delusion. Blanche’s loneliness has been the root cause of not only her problems with people, but with her problems with mental health as well. Upon arrival to the Kowalski household, Blanche catches up with Stella since they've been seperated for a very long time. While they are talking, Stella brings up their home, Belle Reve, and Blanche falls into hysteria about losing their home and family and tells Stella, “You just came home in time for the funerals, Stella. And funerals are pretty compared to deaths. Funerals are quiet, but deaths-not

In the middle of the book, Stella is informed about Blanche's risque past in Laurel and Blanche can sense that she knows. In defense Blanches tells her that, “I never was hard or self-sufficient enough. When people are soft - soft people have got to shimmer and glow - they've got to put on soft colors, the colors of butterfly wings, and put a - paper lantern over the light... It isn't enough to be soft. You've got to be soft and attractive. And I - I'm fading now! I don't know how much longer I can turn the trick.”(92). Blanche has always believed that her beauty is her most important trait and now that she's getting older she's losing all her self worth as she loses her looks. As a way to make men stay interested so she doesn't die alone she decides that she has to become deceptive to keep up appearances and make men believe that she is younger and prettier than she actually is. When Mitch and Blanche are on a date they make it back to the house and Mitch tries to kiss Blanche. But instead of kissing him she says,“I guess it is just that I have--old fashioned ideals![She rolls her eyes, knowing he cannot see her face…]”(108). Even though Blanche has been very willing to sleep with men in the past, she tries to deceive him by pretending to be a southern belle who won't even kiss him because of

Throughout the book Blanche drinks heavily, but she can't admit she has a problem. When Blanche and Stella return from their night out, Blanche tells the boys, “I’m not accustomed to having more than one drink. Two is the limit – and three! [She laughs] Tonight I had three”(59). From there on out her problem only gets worse, but she continues to believe that she only has a limit of one and delusional enough to believe that she actually isn't alcoholic. At the end of the story Blanche is about to get raped by Stanley. In a last ditch attempt to save herself she dials the phone and says,“Operator, operator! Give me long-distance, please….I want to get in touch with Mr. Shep Huntleigh of Dallas.”(159) Throughout the story Blanche talks about this rich guy Shep who she used to know in high school and lies about how she knows him and tells people that he's going to come and get her. But when she is in a moment of peril, when she is about to get raped by Stanley, she has a brief moment to at least try and save herself. But when she tries to call someone she calls Shep who she should know won't pick up because she doesn't even know him, but she is so delusional that she truly starts to believe that she actually knows him and calls him for help instead of the police. After Blanche is raped she tells Stella, but Stella