Unit Three: Individual 5/30 Streetcar Named Desire

I have very little sympathy for Blanche, and I feel that she has brought on her own demise with very little outside help. I understand that the situation surrounding her late husband was probably very taxing on her, but everything since then has been her fault. For a person who has no place else to go, she has no problem telling everyone around her, including her sister, all of their flaws. If you want help, don’t demean the only people you have left, don’t tell lies about your past, present, and future, and don’t pretend to be superior to everyone you meet. Stanley probably contributes to her mental breakdown, but only because he sees through her deceit and doesn’t let her continue with her delusional stories and lies any longer. I feel like Stella contributes to Blanche’s demise even more than Stanley. She encourages Blanche’s preferential treatment, encourages her to take 3 hour baths, waits on her day and night, and sticks up for her even after she has been found out. I understand that they are sisters, but Stella needs to realize when she is being taken advantage of and stop allowing Blanche to run over her and her family.

I like Stanley the most, followed by Stella, and finally Blanche. I like Stanley because he’s the only character who didn’t put up with a lot of nonsense and didn’t tolerate Blanche’s pitiful stories and behavior. Obviously, he’s not an ideal individual, but I related to him the most because he is the only character who can confront Blanche. In scene ten, Blanche is making up stories about how she turned down Mitch and is leaving town to meet up with Shep Huntleigh, and then Stanley stops playing along:

Blanche:

…So farewell, my friend! And let there be no hard feelings…

Stanley:

Was this before or after the telegram came from the Texas oil millionaire?

Blanche:

What telegram! No! No, after! As a matter of fact, the wire came just as—

Stanley:

As a matter of fact there wasn’t no wire at all!

… There isn’t no millionaire! And Mitch didn’t come back with roses ‘cause I know where he is—

… There isn’t a goddam thing but imagination!

… I’ve been on to you from the start! Not once did you pull any wool over this boy’s eyes! You come in here and sprinkle the place with powder and spray perfume and cover the light bulb with a paper lantern, and lo and behold the place has turned into Egypt and you are the Queen of the Nile! (Pages 127-128)

I view Stella as a fairly neutral character. She is very tolerant of both Stanley and Blanche’s behavior, but in the case of Blanche, she actually encourages her princess-like mentality. She’s caught in between her husband and her sister, between reality and ideality, between her new “common” life and the overly glorified, delusional lifestyle that apparently existed at Belle Reve. I didn’t dislike Stella, but her tendencies to stick up for Blanche are the reason I didn’t like her more than Stanley.

As I stated at the beginning of my post, I didn’t like or sympathize with Blanche at all. Everything about her is despicable. Even on her last leg, she cannot be truthful about anything to her own sister, who has accepted her into her home for an indefinite period of time and has taken care of her for the duration. She lies about being fired from her teaching job, tries to hide her residence at the Flamingo hotel, conceals her affair with a number of men including a 17 year old student, implies to Mitch that “she had never been more than kissed by a fellow” (page 98), lies about her intentions of returning to Laurel, and probably made up everything regarding Shep Huntleigh, possibly even his existence. I couldn’t find one redeeming quality about Blanche in the entire play. Does anyone disagree with me here?

I think there is some resolution for the Kowalski family at the end of the play. Stanley and Stella have their child, representing a new start for them. Blanche is finally out of the picture. Stanley has his own issues regarding drinking and abuse, but those problems were there before Blanche entered their lives. Stanley is optimistic about the future with Stella, on page 108:”Stell, it’s gonna be all right after she goes and after you’ve had the baby. It’s gonna be all right again between you and me the way that it was. You remember that way that it was? Them nights we had together?” He continues on page 112, “When we first met, me and you, you thought I was common. How right you was, baby. I was common as dirt. You showed me the snapshot of the place with the columns. I pulled you down off them columns and how you loved it, having them colored lights going! And wasn’t we happy together, wasn’t it all okay till she showed here?” Stanley is optimistic for the future with Stella and their new child, and I agree with him. Blanche tested their will to be together, and now that she’s gone, they may even be better off than before she arrived.