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Literature Essay – Character

Question: Write an essay on the importance of Blanche's characterisation in conveying
important tragic themes in play
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Critical viewpoints other than yours may be
used to further endorse your views
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The playwright’s choice of language and style as
well as a variety of contextual issues are highly effective in accentuating Blanche’s character
and heightening important tragic themes of the play
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Although Tennessee Williams wrote his plays for the stage and was eager to see them
performed, his stage directions, of which the theatre audience would remain unaware, often
go far beyond practical instructions and can only be appreciated when reading the play
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Her choice of clothing is also important
in many ways
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She is dead from within, having
experienced the loss of family members as well as the loss of cultural heritage, being Belle
Reve, therefore it could be said that she arrives in New Orleans in an attempt to find the light
as she is always in the dark
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Just as the moth is
scorched by contact with a bulb, her illusions are destroyed by the bright light of the truth
that Stanley and Mitch force her into
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Stanley
represents the American Dream that all men are born equal and can succeed equally, whilst
Blanche represents the old world, where class and race are still important issues
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”Thanks”
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Her attitude towards
these two women prepares us for her condemnation of Stella’s way of life, and implicitly, of
her husband, again foreshadowing the tragic ending due to her inability to accept and treat
him as an equal
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Her words “But don’t you look at me, Stella, no, no, no, not till I’ve bathed and
rested!” are evident of her obsession with her external appearance and insignificant things,
which greatly contrast with Stella’s simplicity and the practical way of life she chose by
marrying Stanley
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Important is also the fact that the darkness signifies her
promiscuity and unethical liaisons with young boys and men, in her constant search for
kindness, love and affection, which have, unfortunately, left her empty and scarred her
mentally with wounds that will not be mended, as in the end she remains in the dark by being
admitted to a mental facility
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His remark
“Liquor goes fast in hot weather” indicates this
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This is another part of her flawed character and
aids in the unfolding of tragedy and catastrophic ending
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This genre of theatre arose from Expressionism and is used to convey a
blatant parallel with the characters states of mind on stage, thus, the state of Blanche’s mind,
emotions, and memories are converted into the stage setting
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The polka often reminds
Blanche of the last day she spent with her young husband
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In
the middle of the Varsouviana when Blanche told him of how he “disgusted” her, he
committed suicide
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Williams depicts how the
music foreshadows the imminent disaster for her
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Williams thus uses
the music to bring about Blanche’s loss of the grip of truth and reality
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The
action doesn’t seem to signify strange or peculiar behavior considering what she had been
through before her arrival in New Orleans, with the tragic loss of Belle Reve, which was a
crucial element of their heritage, social class and affluent upbringing, as well as the numerous
deaths of family members, which, as revealed, were the cause of the loss of the place
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It could be said that it has become
a ritual, a ceremonious procedure which intends to cleanse her from her sins of promiscuity
and unethical involvements with young boys, as well as other secrets and immoral actions she
has committed and is trying to hide behind a confident façade
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Further in the scene, after finishing her bath, we witness Blanche’s exchange with the manly
and aggressive Stanley Kowalski, who demands to see the papers that prove Belle Reve was
not sold, but lost, after savagely tossing things out of her trunk that he believed to be
expensive furs and jewelry acquired from the sale of the place
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He
tells her that he doesn't go in for that sort of thing and only likes people who "lay their cards
on the table
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She is so open about it that Stanley says, "If I didn't know that you was my wife's sister I'd get
ideas about you
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She tries to use her charms and actually wants Stanley to admire her
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However, their opposition is also more elemental
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Blanche represents the Old South’s intellectual
romanticism and dedication to appearances
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When Stanley confronts Blanche after her bath,
she shows that she understands the nature of their clash when she tells him that Stella doesn’t
understand him as well as she does
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In conclusion, it is evident that Blanche’s character, as outlined by the incisive description of
Tennessee Williams, is the driving force behind her descend into madness, letting tragedy
overcome reason
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