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Essay / The character of Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams'...
Blanche, the main character in William's play "A Streetcar Named Desire", evokes many contrasting emotions. Analyzing one's emotions regarding Blanche is not an easy task, to do it effectively one must divide the play into different parts and analyze them separately. The problem with Blanche is that she presents a character so confused in her own motivations and opinions that you're never sure if it's really her or an act she's putting on. The audience will find themselves constantly readjusting their position in relation to Blanche and the other characters as the play progresses and we will learn more about her history and the reasons for her inadequacies. Williams ensures that nothing is white or black but gray, so that at certain points in the play we struggle to find a reason for his cold manipulation and lust for power, while at d Other times we pity his pathetic life based on lies and misconceptions. Even when she tries to break up Stanley and Stella's relationship, we don't immediately label her as evil, we remember that if Stella hadn't left, Blanche might have become what she wanted to become rather than what that society dictated to him. When we see Blanche for the first time, we know immediately that she has no place in Stella's neighborhood, she is "delicately dressed" and her "delicate beauty must avoid strong light", she seems in a rather hysterical state but we can assume that it is completely normal since she is "incongruous to this setting". She seems to have difficulty speaking normally to a black person, so much so that we can already place the origin of her education in the South, probably in one of those huge mansions which housed rich white slave-owning families. . As the scene unfolds, the image of the rich man, somewhat sheltered...... middle of paper ......e thinking of her and the play they will feel sympathy or at least pity for Blanche. What Williams demonstrates with this piece is the power of memories and the cruelty of society. Works cited and consulted Brownmiller, Susan. Against Our Will. New York: Bantam Books, 1975. Dworkin, Andrea. Reports. New York: The Free Press, 1087Lant, Kathleen Margaret. “A Streetcar Named Misogyny.” pp. 225-238 in REDMOND. Redmond, James (editor). Violence in the drama. Cambridge University Press; 1991. Spoto, Donald. The kindness of strangers. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1985. Williams, Edwina Dakin. Remember me to Tom. St. Louis: Sunrise Publishing Company, 1963. Williams, Tennessee. Memoirs. New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc: 1975. Williams, Tennessee. A tram named Désir. New York: Signet. Original copyright 1947.