A Street Car Named Desire

In A Street Car Named Desire by the playwright Tennessee Williams, the author redefines the protagonist who is "no longer an idealistic 'doer' who ventures to 'save the day'" but who is instead a "muted survivor living a life of 'quiet desperation,' a victim of societal pressure, animal desires, and the lost of integrity." In the play, one is able to see that the main character Blanche Dubois is not a "knight in shining armor" but instead she is this "redefined protagonist." Blanche suffers from societal pressure, her animal desires and throughout the years she has lost her clean integrity. Living a life of desperation, Blanche is always looking for help. Blanche tries to survive in this new, changing world but in the end she is a tragic hero who ends in demise.

In the play, Blanche Dubois is an aging southern belle, a woman who belonged to the upper class, who lives constantly worrying about her fading beauty. Blanche is a victim of societal pressures; she is always worried about her appearance and what others think of her. Blanche, for example, won't tell Mitch her true age, claiming to be younger than her sister, Stella, to make herself seem more attractive. Blanche knows that she is aging, and that her youthful beauty is escaping from her. In order to keep Mitch from not knowing her true appearance she tries to never see him under bright light, refusing to go out with him during the day and never going to lit up places. At the beginning, Blanche, while speaking to Stella, also claims to not have gained weight and for Blanche, looking good is all about maintaining her youth and the illusion that nothing has changed. Apart from suffering society's pressures on beauty and appearance, she also suffers the pressures of social status. Blanche represents the dying "old south," and for having been raised in a wealthy family Blanche has high standards, and is totally surprised when she finds out the circumstances in which her sister lives in this new industrialized world. In order to keep the illusion of her high social status and reputation Blanche lies to her sister, lies to her about her past and of why she is truly there. Also, the idea that she has a superior social status gives her an idea of superiority, toying with Mitch by talking to him in French and finally claiming that "I have been foolish - casting my pearls before swine!" (10.44). Apart from experiencing herself the pressures of society, Blanche was also a firsthand witness to the pressures that brought the demise of someone dear to her. The societal pressures of acceptance caused her husband to commit suicide for not being accepted as a homosexual, this event deeply traumatized Blanche.

Blanche, as stated before, is also a victim of animal desires. Blanche is victim to her own animal desires, sexual desires, and desires for young men. And it is this desires that cause her to get to a state where she doesn't want to be. This is symbolized by the street car named "desire" which takes her to the Kowalski house, a place where she would rather not be. Blanche's sexual desires shattered her reputation. Her sexual relationship with one of her young students gets her thrown out of school, and during the scene of the newspaper boy one is able to see her desire of young men, something which she doesn't seem to be able to control. It is clear that Blanche's