A Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire

Elizabeth Wurtzel, an American writer says, “Insanity is knowing that what you're doing is completely idiotic, but still, somehow, you just can't stop it.” In the play, A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche cannot accept reality and continues to lie about her past life. She knows it is not right to lie to the people she cares about, but she just cannot accept all the terrible things she has done in her life. These lies were a big part in her insanity, but many other characters in this play contributed to Blanche’s insanity. In life, people can harm people they care about without even knowing it. Blanche, Stella, Stanley, and Mitch are all responsible for Blanche ending up in the insane asylum, even if they didn’t realize they were doing any harm.

The first character discussed will be Blanche’s sister, Stella. She loves Blanche very much and doesn’t want to upset her. In doing so she has to hide some major details from Blanche. One major thing that Stella hides from Blanche is that she is pregnant. Blanche has to find out from Stanley blurting it out, and it affects the bond between the two sisters. Stella is younger than Blanche and she is starting a family, and Blanche doesn’t even have a husband to start a family with. Another part of the play where Stella is responsible for the insanity of Blanche is when she is pouring her a drink and Stella says “I like to wait on you, Blanche. It makes it seem more like home” (Williams 1828). This just reminds Blanche of her past in Mississippi and all of the bad things she has done. She cannot move on from her mistakes when she is being reminded of things she has done. A major theme throughout this play is who Stella is going to side with, Blanche or Stanley. She constantly goes between the two and ends up picking Stanley even though he abuses her. Maybe she picked him because of the birth of their child and to keep their family together. This also pushed Blanche to insanity because the only family...