Theme Of Insanity In A Streetcar Named Desire

Insanity at it's Peak The best know definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. In one of Tennessee Williams most famous plays, A Streetcar Named Desire, his protagonist is exactly the definition stated above, insane. She is clinically insane however, she also does try the same thing over and over again to cope with her insanity. Blanche DuBois, the fading Southern Belle, of Tennessee William's A Street Car Names Desire is driven insane by prior, horrific experiences in her life and has a relapse of insanity during the play. Blanche is first driven insane by the horrific experiences she has had with her late husband, Allan. Unannounced to Blanche, Allan was a homosexual and he tiptoed

She has an affair with one of her students and is fired from her job. She is crushed, and penniless. So, Blanche heads to New Orleans to live her sister, Stella, and her husband, Stanley. Her sudden arrival creates stress for pregnant Stella and her husband. Stanley and Blanche never see eye to eye on anything. Which only increases tension between the three of them, who all have to stay in very close proximity due to the sheer small size of the house. This tension also adds to Blanche's insanity. This is very evident in her actions throughout the story, especially how she acts towards men, specifically, Mitch and Stanley. Mitch meets Blanche while Stanley is hosting a poker game and Blanche instantly wants to start a relationship. She tells Mitch while they are conversing, "I don't want realism. I want 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 the truth. And it that's sinful, then let me be damned for it!” (Williams 117). In this quote, Blanche admits not not wanting to live in reality, she wants to live in a fantasy world. She explains that she lives in a fantasy world by telling lies and when people believe them, her new 'reality' is created. However, she also recognizes that she is wrong for lying and confesses to her illness. Blanche knows she needs help and in confessing this to Mitch, she is pleading for

When she arrives on Stella's doorstep, she is looking for an escape from reality. Sh finds it with Mitch, however, her new 'escape' turns into the complete opposite. She ends up having the same feeling she did for Allan as she does for Mitch. This renewal of feeling of love, lust and regret sends Blanche spiraling into madness. One's past experiences make them who they really are. Blanceh is who she is because of her compilation of experiences. A person is shaped by what has happen to them, most often, it negatively impacting them. Blanche tells Mitch, “Show me a person who hasn´t known any sorrow and I´ll show you a superficial.”(Williams 54). Blanche, through her madness openly admits that she is shaped by the sorrowful things that have happened to her. Sadly however, Blanche is admitted to an asylum at the end of the pay. Here she will be able to receive the help she needs in order to deal with her insanity. Which is exactly what she desired the