The central theme that is revealed in this passage is the tension between romanticism and realism, so as to create delusion as a consequence. This theme is first illustrated through Blanche’s “Discovery” of love (2). In this line, the word “Discovery” is capitalized outside of grammatical convention and as such, it is given a weight which demonstrates its potential power. For instance, since “Discovery” is capitalized, but the following word, “love” is not, the attention of the reader is drawn to “Discovery” over love. This stylistic decision reveals that Blanche is so drawn in by the exposure to love, that she is unable to foresee the nature of her relationship to Allan as being anything but the romanticism she finds. Moreover, this contrast of romanticism and realism is furthered in the passage’s initial metaphor (2-4). …show more content…
This metaphor is ironic because the intense brightness described creates parallels to images of clarity and “things coming into light” however, Blanche is instead blinded by the light of love and falls into the shadows of delusion (6-7). Furthermore, light contrasts dark visually in the same way that Blanche’s desire for a relationship contradicts