Marcy

Tennessee William’s A Streetcar Named Desire is a very character driven play with little plot to fully develop characters in other lights. Blanche’s arrival, rape, and departure from her sister and brother-in-law are the only significant plot events. Despite this the play manages to fully explore the relationships between the main characters. The modern style is very descriptive and gives a relation to a character’s appearance and personality. Blanche’s delicate description and idealist personality are example of this parallel.

Stanley and Blanche’s relationship is a contrast between reality and idealism that is, in fact, very fascinating as the story develops. Stanley’s character is fascinating in the sense that though he is cast as being a lower social class, brute, and more common than Blanche, yet in relation to Blanche he is in a position of control in the play. The parallel of Eunice and Steve, the upstairs neighbors, to Stella and Stanley’s marriage shows a different side of idealism that comes from ignoring the problem of violence and infidelity.

Stella’s acceptance of her husband’s side of the story on Blanche’s rape shows that the pregnant Stella is unable to deal with a reality that is not convenient. The way Williams shows Blanche’s descent into her own world while at the same time representing the reality her sister won’t admit is very informative on human relationships and becomes very fascinating. Because of Tennessee William’s experimentation with reality and idealism, the play is quite definitely worth a read or watch.