Blanche Dubois Character Analysis Essay

Blanche Dubois Character Analysis

Tennessee Williams’ play, A Streetcar Named Desire, is a well written play with a diverse cast of characters. The characters Williams focuses on in the play most include Blanche Dubois, Stanley Kowalski, Stella Kowalski, and Mitch. The story is about a young woman, Blanche Dubois, who is in her early thirties. She takes the summer to move in with her sister and brother-in-law. At this point, Blanche attempts to gather her life to produce a better future. Blanche Dubois is the main character throughout the story. There is a large amount of character development focused around her. Throughout the play, Blanche Dubois’ troubled past results in a complacent, and fragile character who lives in a make-believe world

She comes to her sister Stella because of her troubled past. She is an emotionally fueled character. Each time something in her life goes wrong, she wants to take a bath to calm her nerves. She constantly talks down on her sister and looks down on her lifestyle. She also talks down upon Stanley quite often. She refers to Stanley as a “Pollack” which is an improper way to refer to someone Polish. Stanley is tired of her ignorant use of the word and corrects her, “I am not a Polack. People from Poland are Poles, not Polacks” (Williams 1826). Blanche clearly used this word out of ignorance to talk down to Stanley. It seems she does this so she feels better about herself and her failures in life. Stella notices Blanche’s anxiety and states, “You seems a little bit overwrought or something.” (Williams 1783). Blanche responds with concern that Stanley may not like her. Blanche is certainly hoping to be accepted but is expecting the worst. Stella states “She is soaking in a hot tub to quiet her nerves. She is terribly upset.” (Williams 17880.This happens several times constantly. This seems to be a time to escape life for Blanche. Blanche also tries to escape her troubled past through the kind and loving Mitch. “Blanche tries to escape from her past through literal cleansing and the prospect of marriage to the simple but loving Mitch” (Dubois). Towards the end of the story there is a great amount of conflict between Blanche and Stanley. Stanley rapes her leaving an even more broken character than before. After the rape, Blanche starts talking nonsense. Blanche is convinced she is going to live with a rich millionaire, despite the fact she never officially spoke with a man. Instead she is sent off to a mental facility where a doctor could help her become better. There is no doubt that the tragic event that was the rape caused great distraught to Blanche. However, Blanche showed many signs of her