Motifs and Symbols in “A Streetcar Named Desire”
A Streetcar Named Desire was written by Tennessee William in 1947. This extremely remarkable playwright was presented with the Pulitzer Prize, the New York Drama Critics Award, and the Donaldson Award. A Streetcar Named Desire is a playwright that takes place at the house of Stanley and Stella Kowalski in New Orleans during the year of 1946. When Stella’s sister Blanche arrives to the Kowalski home looking for a place to stay, a difference in attitudes and morals are noticed between Blanche and Stanley. The power struggle between Blanche and Stanley becomes more extreme and violent through the course of the story eventually ending in Blanche’s demise. Although this power struggle seems to be the main theme in the story, Tennessee Williams used many sub themes which he explains through the usage of motifs and symbols.
During the story, Blanche Dubois slowly revealed important information to the audience through two motifs. The first motif used is that of Blanches age. Blanche is extremely insecure about her age as well as her slowly fading looks. She has a fantasy based image in her head of what she looks like and how old she really is. Williams illustrates Blanche’s avoidance of reality on numerous occasions in which Blanche purposely darkens lighted areas or just avoids them completely. There is evidence of this as soon she enters the Kowalski’s home. Blanche constantly has a paper lantern over the lamp to dim the light in the bedroom of the house to help shadow her looks. When Blanche arrives in New Orleans, she never leaves the apartment during the day. Blanche will only go out during the night whether with Stella or Harold Mitchell. Eventually Harold Mitchell, or also known as, Mitch catches on to her insecurity, which is noted when he says. “‘I never seen you in the afternoon’… ‘What I mean is I’ve never had a real good look at you, Blanche. Let’s turn the lights on here.’”(Williams 1223) Blanche responds, “[Fearfully.] ‘Light? Which light? What for?’”(Williams 1223).
Another motif Williams uses represents Blanches need to isolate herself as well as to constantly cleanse herself. Blanche pampers herself through bathing in order to help her escape from reality. Bathing helps Blanche remain alone for a certain period of time, away from all the issues and insecurities she would have to face in reality. Bathing also creates the idea that Blanche is trying to cleanse herself of her dirty soul and past mistakes. Williams provides evidence of this when he writes “[STELLA goes out to the porch. BLANCHE comes out of the bathroom in a red satin robe] Blanche: [Airily.] Hello Stanley! Here I am, freshly bathed and scented, and feeling like a brand new human being!’”(1179). The bathing doesn’t rid her memories of the past completely but only for a fraction of time until she has to bathe once more.
Meanwhile at the same time these motifs were being used, Williams creates symbols to help better explain general ideas in more detail. This music symbolizes Blanche’s remembrance of her deceased husband. The Polka music played is due to fact that the night Blanche’s ex husband committed suicide they both were attending an event at the Moon Lake Casino. Before attending the event Blanche walked in on her husband and another man fornicating. Later after this event when Blanch and her husband were dancing to Polka music at the casino, Blanche “suddenly said-‘I saw! I know! You disgust me…’”(William 1212) Soon after Blanche said this her husband ran out of the casino and shot himself in the head. The thought of her husbands death gives Blanche a small flashback of that tragic night.
In addition to the Polka music another symbol Williams uses is in scene 9, when the Mexican Woman is selling flowers for the dead. This last chance at happiness is shot down once Stanley breaks the news of Blanches history to Mitch. During the same time that Mitch confronts Blanche of these allegations, “[a vendor comes around the corner. She is a blind MEXICAN WOMAN in a dark shawl, carrying bunches of those gaudy tin flowers that lower-class Mexicans display at funerals and other festive occasions…]”(Williams 1225) When the Mexican Woman offers Blanche flowers it seems that even though the woman is blind she can sense the death of something. What the Mexican Woman senses is the death or end of Blanches sanity. Soon after this incident, Stella and Eunice have Blanche taken to a mental institution.
A final motif Williams creates is the loss of everything Blanche desires. Blanche’s life seems to have been slowly deteriorating ever since the death of her husband. Blanche is slowly but surely loosing her looks as time progresses. She lost her teaching job due to an affair with one of her students and lost the home in Belle Reve where her and Stella grew up due to lack of pay. What drove Blanche to New Orleans is her loss of her money and the loss of her view to the public. And finally once Blanche losses her chance of marriage with Mitch, Blanche losses her sanity.
In conclusion, Williams creates these motifs and symbols to help keep the audience on edge and deeply focused on the story. Williams focuses on Blanche and how she fantasizes of how she wants to be rather than how she really is in reality. With Stanley’s help of destroying Blanches fantasy world , Blanche losses her last ties with reality. Stanley’s plan to ruin Blanches life is successful. Williams in deep and emotional style of writing is the sole reason why A Streetcar Named Desire is an extremely popular story and won so many prestigious awards.
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