Blanche DuBois: Functioning through Fantasy
“We 're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we 're not alone.” This statement from Orson Welles perfectly sums up Blanche’s philosophy about life in A Streetcar Named Desire. Blanche DuBois is a young woman from a formerly rich southern family. Her life has been full of mistakes and tragedies that she can’t get over. She creates a fantasy life full of millionaires and expensive clothes in order to cope with it. Blanche attempts to make an “illusion” of a perfect life in order to feel less alone. In Williams’ A Streetcar named Desire, Blanche DuBois attempts to create a perfect appearance and life in order to hide the horrors of her past. Blanche is makes every effort to hide any imperfections, whether they are physical or emotional. Death is no stranger to Blanche. She has lost the majority of her family, faced the suicide of her husband and has bore the loss of her fortune. These were not welcome changes to Blanche and she has a very hard time adjusting to them. In describing her struggle with these tragedies she says, “I took the blows in my face and my body! All of those deaths!” (Williams 21). In this statement Blanche reveals that she believes her appearance reflects her inner feelings. This philosophy explains why Blanche insists on wearing elaborate, fancy, clothing. Through her bright attire she hopes to ameliorate her inner feelings. In her ‘perfect life’, Blanche constantly seeks approval for her flashy appearance, especially from men. When she is alone with her brother in law, Stanley, she asks him if he finds her attractive. Stanley responds with “your looks are okay” (38) to which Blanche replies “I was fishing for a compliment, Stanley” (38). She shamelessly feeds off the attention of others, believing that she needs to be youthful and radiant in order for others to take interest in her. This is exhibited when speaking with Stella, she says, “you 've got to be soft and attractive, and I-I’m fading now! I don 't know how much longer I can turn the trick” (92) thus revealing much of her true feelings about herself. She feels as though her worth is directly linked with how “attractive” she is in the eyes of society. Blanche feels as though she has to “turn a trick” in order for men to like her. Stanley sees through Blanche’s tricks and is very suspicious of how she has an abundance of expensive looking clothes, if she is so destitute. When inspecting Blanche’s bag, he finds a tiara that looks fit for an “empress”. Stella informs him that it is only “a rhinestone tiara [Blanche] wore to a costume ball” (35). The tiara is symbolic of Blanche because it disguises itself as a flawless …show more content…
This allegation is true but Stella chooses to take her husband’s side, coming to the conclusion that Blanche is mentally insane. Blanche at first believes that she is going with Shep Huntleigh, an alleged suitor of hers, on a fancy cruise. When instead a doctor comes to greet her, Blanche tries to ignore what is happening and becomes confused on why Shep has not arrived. But when Blanche hears from Stella that she will be going with the doctors, she acquiesces saying, “Whoever you are- I have always depended on the kindness of strangers” (Williams 178), showing her soft side that had long since disappeared. Berkman reinforces this idea saying, “confronted by the presence of the doctor, she can drop the pretense that Shep has at last come for her; but she is affirmative in maintaining the image of herself that mocks the card players”. The men playing cards when Blanche is being taken away are extremely rude to her but Blanche keeps consistent with her formal air even when she has been stripped of her fantasy. Blanche knows that she can no longer attempt to live in her fantasy world when she is faced with a physical manifestation of her insanity through the straight jacket the nurse threatens her with. In seeing the doctor instead of Shep, Blanche’s safety blanket of her fantasy world is gone and she spirals down into true
“We 're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we 're not alone.” This statement from Orson Welles perfectly sums up Blanche’s philosophy about life in A Streetcar Named Desire. Blanche DuBois is a young woman from a formerly rich southern family. Her life has been full of mistakes and tragedies that she can’t get over. She creates a fantasy life full of millionaires and expensive clothes in order to cope with it. Blanche attempts to make an “illusion” of a perfect life in order to feel less alone. In Williams’ A Streetcar named Desire, Blanche DuBois attempts to create a perfect appearance and life in order to hide the horrors of her past. Blanche is makes every effort to hide any imperfections, whether they are physical or emotional. Death is no stranger to Blanche. She has lost the majority of her family, faced the suicide of her husband and has bore the loss of her fortune. These were not welcome changes to Blanche and she has a very hard time adjusting to them. In describing her struggle with these tragedies she says, “I took the blows in my face and my body! All of those deaths!” (Williams 21). In this statement Blanche reveals that she believes her appearance reflects her inner feelings. This philosophy explains why Blanche insists on wearing elaborate, fancy, clothing. Through her bright attire she hopes to ameliorate her inner feelings. In her ‘perfect life’, Blanche constantly seeks approval for her flashy appearance, especially from men. When she is alone with her brother in law, Stanley, she asks him if he finds her attractive. Stanley responds with “your looks are okay” (38) to which Blanche replies “I was fishing for a compliment, Stanley” (38). She shamelessly feeds off the attention of others, believing that she needs to be youthful and radiant in order for others to take interest in her. This is exhibited when speaking with Stella, she says, “you 've got to be soft and attractive, and I-I’m fading now! I don 't know how much longer I can turn the trick” (92) thus revealing much of her true feelings about herself. She feels as though her worth is directly linked with how “attractive” she is in the eyes of society. Blanche feels as though she has to “turn a trick” in order for men to like her. Stanley sees through Blanche’s tricks and is very suspicious of how she has an abundance of expensive looking clothes, if she is so destitute. When inspecting Blanche’s bag, he finds a tiara that looks fit for an “empress”. Stella informs him that it is only “a rhinestone tiara [Blanche] wore to a costume ball” (35). The tiara is symbolic of Blanche because it disguises itself as a flawless …show more content…
This allegation is true but Stella chooses to take her husband’s side, coming to the conclusion that Blanche is mentally insane. Blanche at first believes that she is going with Shep Huntleigh, an alleged suitor of hers, on a fancy cruise. When instead a doctor comes to greet her, Blanche tries to ignore what is happening and becomes confused on why Shep has not arrived. But when Blanche hears from Stella that she will be going with the doctors, she acquiesces saying, “Whoever you are- I have always depended on the kindness of strangers” (Williams 178), showing her soft side that had long since disappeared. Berkman reinforces this idea saying, “confronted by the presence of the doctor, she can drop the pretense that Shep has at last come for her; but she is affirmative in maintaining the image of herself that mocks the card players”. The men playing cards when Blanche is being taken away are extremely rude to her but Blanche keeps consistent with her formal air even when she has been stripped of her fantasy. Blanche knows that she can no longer attempt to live in her fantasy world when she is faced with a physical manifestation of her insanity through the straight jacket the nurse threatens her with. In seeing the doctor instead of Shep, Blanche’s safety blanket of her fantasy world is gone and she spirals down into true