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A Streetcar Named Desire Psychological Analysis Essay

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Psychologist Sigmund Freud developed an idea that there is more than one aspect to the human psyche. The human psyche rather is structured into three separate parts including: id, ego, and superego. In a similar manner, Tennessee Williams has three main characters in his Southern Gothic play, A Streetcar Named Desire. In addition to the human psyche as the three mentioned categories, Freud introduced psychoanalysis, which is the belief that people could be cured through developing their unconscious thoughts or motivations into their conscious decisions, receiving insight (McLeod). Characters are shaped by their thoughts and actions, as this is present in A Streetcar Named Desire. Williams seems to have taken the ideals of Freud to build his characters in Freudian molds. Psychoanalytic ideas are revealed through the actions of the three main characters as Stanley is the Id, Stella as the Ego, and Blanche as the Superego. Creating an understanding of each individual as they pertain to a psychological approach, reveals the reasons they had for acting the way they did throughout the play. The first of the three psyche components are the id, or someone 's instincts to their personality. Impulsive and inherited …show more content…

By taking a psychological approach to the characters, it is evident that they stand for more than just Southern Gothic characters trying to get by in the 40s. What is present and portrayed by the writer, Tennessee Williams, is that he uses similar ideologies as great Psychologist Sigmund Freud. Williams does this because of the diversity of the city of New Orleans and the ability it can shape and potentially adapt to the various lifestyles. The human psyche divided into three categories is present in the play as the main characters play each one: Stanley as id, Stella as ego, and Blanche as superego. Each character works as their own, but also in unison just as seen in

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Williams is known for his powerfully written psychological dramas. Through the language used in this play one can easily recognize the conflict between the sensitive, neurotic Blanche Dubois and the crude, animalistic Stanley Kowaliski. By analyzing the dialogue of this text, the reader can easily understand the way in which the lines are meant to be projected and one can clearly see their emotions and feelings at any specific time of the events (Kolin 52). Concerning language, there are two levels of language are used in A Streetcar Named Desire, the words spoken by the characters in the play and the text of the stage directions. The dialogue is used to enable the reader to create an image of the characters, to decide if it’s

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The play “A Streetcar Named Desire” is about an emotionally unstable lady named Blanche. She moves in with her youngest sister and her husband because the landlord took the land away from Blanche because they could not pay for it anymore. After being their for a while Blanche starts remembering her horrible past which is something she was trying to do in the first place. The husband of Stella, Stanley Kowalski was also someone that made Blanche’s life miserable for complicating everything and harassing her in every possible way. Death is one of the most symbolic terms in this play.

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Examining Marriage in Tennessee William’s A Streetcar Named Desire Tennessee William’s 1947 play A Streetcar Named Desire takes place in Elysian Fields, New Orleans, and portrays the marital situation of this time. This play illustrates conflict over the marriage of Stella and Stanley. This marriage can be seen as strict, and controlling but also full of lust.

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Essential flaws are bound to be a part of people’s character. Flaws are a trait in human nature that everybody has because nobody is perfect. This play represents essential flaws in the way the 3 main characters express negative ways of being. In A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennesee Williams sketches many flaws that we encounter in ourselves and others in real life - Blanche’s desire for escapism, Stanley's incapability for sympathy and empathy, and Stella’s passivity. This affects each character’s interaction with another by keeping them from being able to connect with each other.

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