Luca Milletti
Blanche vs. Light
Throughout the play, Blanche avoids appearing in direct, bright light, especially in front of her suitor, Mitch. She also refuses to reveal her age, and it is clear that she avoids light in order to prevent him from seeing the reality of her fading beauty. In general, light also symbolizes the reality of Blanche’s past. She is haunted by the ghosts of what she has lost—her first love, her purpose in life, her dignity, and the genteel society (real or imagined) of her ancestors.In A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams uses the light motif in order to show the metaphorically and literally, shady relationship of Blanche and Mitch, as well as show the insecurities Blanche has of her age and fading beauty.
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Ultimately, showing that Blanche is lost in her own world, with ideas and actions that are aimless. Tennessee uses the paper lantern to hide Blanche’s true age and fading beauty, and Blanches fear of direct light to show her self-consciousness towards her looks. When she first arrives in Stella’s hometown down in New Orleans, she is immediately met with the stage directions saying, “Her delicate beauty must avoid strong light"(5), leading the reader to think that Blanche has a fragile exterior and a delicate aura. Although it is not detailed enough for one to say she is a delicate personality, Williams does hint at the aspect of Blanche that is shy of “strong light”, showing she is one to stay more in the shadows and hide herself. Furthermore, Blanche is not only afraid of strong light, but in general any light that could show her physical imperfections: “And turn that over-light off! Turn that off! I won’t be looked at in this merciless glare!”(11). With Blanche’s overreaction to the over-light, her fault of pride is finally shown. She does not want to be seen in the direct light because her daunting age and fading beauty are beginning to show through in her actions. It seems her problems are more mental than physical, and the hatred she brings on herself for something that everyone goes through, aging, shows that Blanche has a delicate personality and is upset that she is no longer the teenager she used to be. Throughout aspects of Blanche’s new life at the Kowalski’s Apartment, she consistently finds ways to let light get to her personal life in harmful ways, especially showing through in her relationship with Mitch Blanche enforces her strictly “no direct light” rule almost religiously, showing she has something to hide about herself, especially in her both metaphorically and literally shady relationship with Mitch.
In addition, she uses a paper lantern to block out the light of the naked bulb in Stella’s Apartment. The obvious conclusion is that she doesn’t want anyone to know, particularly Mitch, to see that she is no longer a young woman like she used to be. Furthermore, Mitch points out, "I don’t think I ever seen you in the light. That’s a fact... You never want to go out in the afternoon.… You never want to go out till after six and then it’s always some place that’s not lighted much… What it means is I’ve never had a real good look at you” (143-144). What the lack of light shows in this circumstance is the shadier and untruthful side of this relationship, especially from Blanche. Despite the light motif in this book being mainly geared to Blanche herself, it also does help formulate the complicated relationship between Mitch and Blanche. This quote shows the literal shade aspect of their relationship. While it shows how she hides her true age from him, it also shows she has a knack for not letting Mitch see her in anything besides shade or darkness. On a slightly different note, we see a more sensitive and honest side that the light shows in Blanche’s past love life and love in general. She describes falling in love as though love had, "... suddenly turned a blinding light on something that had always been half in shadow, that’s how it struck the world for me" (114). The light symbolizes her love life in the way that, without love, there is no light and the world is dark. In her mind, love and happiness are linked with light, and light is only present when she feels in love. Possibly, if she finally fell in love with Mitch, she would feel comfortable again and would loosen up and see herself as more of a gem than an ugly old lady. However, when Blanche finds out about
and confronts Allan about his Homosexuality, ultimately leading him to commit suicide, she claims that, "the searchlight which had been turned on the world was turned off again and never for one moment since has there been any light that’s stronger than this -kitchen- candle…" (115). In short, what she’s saying is that being in love, allowed her to see the world in a whole new light. With the death of Allan, the light goes out and she sees the world in darkness again.. Also, that shielding the harsh light isn’t just about blocking Blanche from the plain view of the world, but also about blocking the world from Blanche’s eyes. She doesn’t want to see it, or have any thoughts about the reality of her situation.
In Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire, main character Blanche Dubois to begin with seems to be a nearly perfect model of a classy woman whose social interaction, life and behavior are based upon her sophistication. The play revolves around her, therefore the main theme of drama concerns her directly. In Blanche is seen the misfortune of a person caught between two worlds-the world of the past and the world of the present-unwilling to let go of the past and unable, because of her character, to come to any sort of terms with the present.
The loss of her beloved husband kept Blanche’s mental state in the past, back when she was 16, when she only cared about her appearance. That is why at the age of 30 she avoids bright lights that reveal her wrinkles. Blanche does not want to remember the troubles of her past and therefore she attempts to remain at a time when life was simpler. This is reinforced by the light metaphor which illustrates how her life has darkened since Allan’s suicide and how the light of love will never shine as brightly for Blanche ever again. Although, throughout the play Blanche sparks an interest in Mitch, a friend of Stanley’s, who reveals in Scene three that he also lost a lover once, although his lover was taken by an illness, not suicide, and therefore he still searches for the possibility of love, when Blanche aims to find stability and security.
In this play the character blanche exhibits the theme of illusion. Blanche came from a rocky past. Her young husband killed himself and left her with a big space in her heart to fill. Blanche tried to fill this space with the comfort of strangers and at one time a young boy. She was forced to leave her hometown. When she arrives in New Orleans, she immediately begins to lie and give false stories. She takes many hot bathes, in an effort to cleanse herself of her past. Blanche tries also to stay out of bright lights. She covers the light bulb (light=reality) in the apartment with a paper lantern. This shows her unwillingness to face reality but instead live in an illusion. She also describes how she tells what should be the truth. This is a sad excuse for covering/lying about the sinful things she has done. Furthermore, throughout the story she repeatedly drinks when she begins to be faced with facts. All these examples, covering light, lying, and alcoholism show how she is not in touch with reality but instead living in a fantasy world of illusion.
According to the play in the starting and ending, Kazan choose to emphasize his treatment towards the "A Streetcar Named Desire" on how the film version is black and white, which it shows how the director didn't display the "lurid" colors in the play. However, Kazan uses different lighting effects to achieve a different atmosphere in the play. Blanche is never shown in the direct spotlight, which is a signal to the main theme of the book of fantasy and delusion. Blanche does not allow others to discover her true age or her looks instead she is always in a partly darkened spot whenever she is in the play. In this case this would refer as foreshadow towards the end and while giving Stanley's an reaction on Blanche. Some of the more important
Obsession is longing for something a person desires for and is unable to let go. Therefore, people go to certain lengths to protect those they love in order to feel satisfied in their life. Blanche and Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire look for love to satisfy the love they lost. Their obsession is a result of fighting for Stella’s attention when Blanche interferes with Stella and Stanley’s relationship, which causes tension between one another. Thus, Stanley disrupts Blanche’s arrival to illustrate the changes he faces because he goes through sudden interruptions in his love life. Blanche and Stanley seek out each other’s weakness to show their power against one another and achieve their bond. As a result, Blanche and Stanley play a game in their relationships that create more tension to hurt each other. In order to fulfill their obsession with love, Stanley and Blanche interfere with each other’s lives to search for the love they lost.
Throughout Tennessee Williams’s play “A Streetcar Named Desire,” Blanche Dubois exemplified several tragic flaws. She suffered from her haunting past; her inability to overcome; her desire to be someone else; and from the cruel, animalistic treatment she received from Stanley. Sadly, her sister Stella also played a role in her downfall. All of these factors ultimately led to Blanche’s tragic breakdown in the end. Blanche could not accept her past and overcome it.
A Streetcar Named Desire is a play of multifaceted themes and diverse characters with the main antagonists of the play, Blanche and Stanley infused by their polarized attitudes towards reality and society ‘structured on the basis of the oppositions past/present and paradise lost/present chaos’(*1). The effect of these conflicting views is the mental deterioration of Blanche’s cerebral health that, it has been said; Stanley an insensitive brute destroyed Blanche with cruel relish and is the architect of her tragic end. However, due to various events in the play this statement is open to question, for instance, the word ‘insensitive’ is debatable, ‘insensitive’ can be defined as not thinking of other people’s feelings but Stanley is aware of what he’s doing understanding the mental impairment he causes Blanche.
... all the games. Blanche’s fear of bright light is symbolic of her fear of being exposed for who she really is, and her incessant bathing is almost like a ritual cleansing of sins that she can never really purge. Her inability to use the telephone to contact Shep Huntleigh and Mitch is also indicative of her inability to communicate with the other people in her world, which is partly the reason for her subsequent insanity.
Blanche uses her fantasies as a shield; and her desires as her motivation to survive. Her fading beauty being her only asset and chance of finding stability. Stella’s relationship with Stanley also emphasis the theme Williams created in this book. They’re only bond is physical desire and nothing at all intellectual or deep rooted. Tennessee Williams exemplifies that their relationship which only springs from desire doesn’t make it any weaker. He also creates a social dichotomy of the relationship between death and desire.
who went through a lot early on in his life. He made an effort to get his life on the right path by studying to be a religious man. He was uprooted from the home he knew and the people he loved. Elie had to grow up quickly and deal with things that were beyond his capacity. He had to work hard labor and sleep amongst people in deplorable conditions. Elie kept his faith but there were times in his young life that he had to question why this is happening to him and his family. When Hamlet lost his father he had to deal with situations that were beyond his control. His mother married his uncle, who in the end was responsible for his father’s murder. Thoughts of revenge emerged in his mind. He wanted others to suffer the same way he was
The institution is a society or organization founded for a religious education, social, or similar purpose. A Streetcar Named Desire is about family and friends who lives in New Orleans. With the main character Blanche DuBois an insecure, dislocated individual that’s just desires happiness. But guilt, depression, and lying broke Blanche away from her friends and family. By the end of the play everyone was against her and wanted her to go away into an asylum.
In scene 1 it states, “Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light. There is something about her uncertain manner, as well as her white clothes that suggest a moth.” (p. 15). William describes Blanche as a moth as she is dangerous with her movements but frail in appearance. This was described by William when she entered Elysian Field lost and innocent along that the author sends a message that he will prove how she will withhold this statement true. In scene 3 it states, “I can’t stand a naked light bulb” (p. 53). Facing the aptitude to face life directly and with integrity. Blanche is shown that facing the truth can be bitter at times and to desire to not look at the light indicates a desire for an illusion, shadows, and magic. You can only dream that can be conceivable is in the semi-darkness where she is hidden from the
During scene one, the audience is introduced to Blanche as Stella's sister, who is going to stay with her for a while. Blanch tries her best to act normal and hide her emotion from her sister, but breaks down at the end of scene one explaining to Stella how their old home, the Belle Reve, was "lost." It is inferred that the home had to be sold to cover the massive funeral expenses due to the many deaths of members of the Dubois family. As Blanche whines to her sister, "All of those deaths! The parade to the graveyard! Father, mother! Margaret, that dreadful way!" (21). The audience sees this poor aging woman, who has lost so many close to her, and now her home where she grew up. How could anyone look at her, and not feel the pain and suffering that she has to deal with by herself? Williams wants the audience to see what this woman has been through and why she is acting the way she is. Blanche's first love was also taken from her. It seems that everyone she loves is dead except for her sister. Death plays a crucial role in Blanche's depression and other mental irregularities. While these circumstances are probably enough for the audience to feel sympathy for Blanche, Williams takes it a step further when we see Blanche's...
This can be symbolized by light. Blanche hates to be seen by Mitch, her significant other, in the light because it exposes her true identity. Instead, she only plans to meet him at night or in dark places. Also, she covers the lone light in Stella and Stanley’s apartment with a Chinese paper lantern. After Blanche and Mitch get into a fight, Mitch rips off the lantern to see what Blanche really looks like. Blanche angrily replies that she’s sorry for wanting magic. In the play, Blanche states “I don’t want realism, I want magic! [..] Yes, yes, magic! I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don’t tell the truth, I tell what ought to be truth. And if that is sinful, then let me be damned for it!”(Williams 117). Blanche wants to escape reality, but this only leads to her self-destruction. It is the men in her life and past experiences that is the main cause of her self - destruction. One of these being the death of her young love, Allen Grey. During their marriage, Blanche, attached to the hip to this man, walked in on him with another man. She then brought the incident up at a bad time; soon after, Allen took his own life, which I believe was the first step to this so called “self-destruction. Blanche could never forgive herself of this. This is the truth of her past, therefore,
In Tennessee Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire" two of the main characters Stanley and Blanche persistently oppose each other, their differences eventually spiral into Stanley's rape of Stella.