Pub 2

In the play “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams, there is a clear distinction between illusion and reality. The clash between these levels of consciousness lead to various problems such as the disbelief and eventual hospitalization of Blanche Dubois. In a conversation with Eunice at the end of the play, Stella claims “I couldn’t go on believing her story and live with Stanley.” (Williams 133) Stella’s inability to believe Blanche stems from the lies of her past and her tendency to believe in things that aren’t exactly true. Blanche’s ultimate demise comes at the point where she is taken away to a mental hospital. The false reality that she created for herself irked Stanley to no end, hence he calls the doctor to have her locked away.

At first meeting, Stanley and Blanche seem to get along fairly well. Stanley immediately says “My clothes’re stickin’ to me. Do you mind if I make myself comfortable?” (Williams 30) whilst he is in the process of removing his shirt. At this moment, there seems to be a level of sexual tension in the room. This ability to coexist peacefully soon fades as Stanley realizes that she may be lying about the sale of their estate: Belle Reve. While going through Blanche’s things with Stella, Stanley claims “Look at these feathers and furs that she come here to preen herself in! What’s this here? A solid gold dress, I believe! And this one! What is these here? Fox pieces! Genuine fox fur pieces, a half mile long! Where are your fox pieces, Stella? Bushy snow-white ones, no less! Where are your white fox pieces?” (Williams 35) This is the point where people begin to lose faith in Blanche’s ability to tell the truth. Stanley feels as if Blanche is lying about the foreclosure upon their estate and she secretly sold it and kept all the money. He believes that Stella is entitled to some of the money from the “sale” and begins searching through Blanche’s items in order to find any paperwork that would prove her a liar. Later on in the play, the reader learns of a budding romance between Blanche and Stanley’s friend Mitch. Unfortunately this romance did not last long due to Stanley telling Mitch the truth regarding Blanche. Mitch approaches Stella and breaks off the romance by saying “I don’t think I want to marry you anymore. You’re not clean enough to bring in the house with my mother.” (Williams 121) This shows that everybody is beginning to believe Stanley when he calls Blanche a liar. Ultimately, Blanche paints this illusion that a man named Shep Huntleigh was going to come take her away on a cruise together. Stella is able to recognize Blanche’s illusion and lies and has decided that she believes Stanley. This comes back to Stella saying “I couldn’t go on believing her story and living with Stanley.” She now realizes that her sister needs help and her husband may have been right all along. As a result of this, Stella and Stanley have Blanche sent away to an institution.

Stella’s decision to cast Blanche out can actually be compared to a very recent moment in politics. A few weeks ago, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was under scrutiny for lying to Vice President Mike Pence about his ties with Russia. Flynn claimed that he did not discuss sanctions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the new transition into the White House. Eventually, people dug up more information on the topic that put Flynn in the hot seat. Instead of being found guilty of a crime, Michael Flynn decided to resign from his position and give up on politics. This makes a clear connection to Blanche’s removal from the apartment due to her lies and deception. If Blanche were not so destroyed by her past relationship, there is a possibility that she would not have painted illusions for herself throughout her life. Stella wishes that Blanche was different, but she knew that Stanley was right in his judgement of her. Unfortunately, Blanche’s lies, Stella’s love for Stanley, and her desire to keep her child’s father in her life was enough to justify the removal of Blanche from the picture.

Works Cited

Haberman, M., Rosenberg, M., Apuzzo, M. & Thrush, G. (2017). Michael flynn resigns as national security adviser.