In A Streetcar Named Desire Blanche is so
focused on appearing to have a perfect life. She never brings up how she is
poor and needs help. Going to visit her sister is a cover up because she seems
to have run out of options. Her sister, Stella, seems to have the perfect life
with a baby on the way and a husband. Part of trying to appear that there is
nothing wrong in her life Blanche hides the fact that she has a drinking
problem.
By the end
of the play, when Blanche is taken away by the doctor, it leaves the reader
wondering if the only thing she was trying to hide was her drinking problem. It
seemed like extreme circumstances the way the doctor and matron had come in and
almost forcibly removed/restrained Blanche. At one point the matron asks, “Jacket,
Doctor?” (1176) referring to a straight-jacket. Reading this I automatically
think of a psych ward for the mentally insane. Which makes me wonder if Blanche
was mentally ill or if this was just a common procedure back then, since
Blanche did eventually leave voluntarily with the doctor.
After
watching part of the film I thought there were also hints that Blanche could be
mentally ill. In the film they chose to leave out the scene where Blanche calls
her friend Shep. Could this mean that they left it out because they interpreted
that scene to all be happening in Blanche’s mind? It would also be interesting
to see if the film left out the other scene towards the end where Blanche again
tries to call Mr. Shep. Although, they may have just left this scene out so
that the film would not be too long or they could have decided the scenes were
unimportant.
Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire: A Play. New York: New Directions, 1947. Print.
I like your point about Blanche going to see Stella as a cover up. It makes sense given what we know about Blanche's estate and money situation. I don't think her intentions were to end up in the looney-bin but she certainly should've gotten other kinds of help with money and such.
ReplyDeleteIt's very interesting that you said her conversation with Shep may have been in her mind. This would certainly make sense because actors in theater often talk to themselves so that the audience can see what's happening in their minds. Movies usually don't do this so what you said makes sense. I had never considered that though. Great post :)
ReplyDeleteI thought her conversation with Shep was made up by the end of the reading. I wish we got to see the ending of the film to see how that scene was played out! I thought it was interesting how Stella could have affected Blanche and what she revealed, I never thought of it that way.
ReplyDeleteI think the play leaves us with some important questions about how lucid Blanche is--how much of her past is "real" versus "imagined." How much of her current "madness" is a reaction to multiple traumatic experiences?
ReplyDelete