A Streetcar Named Desire Essay Florea Leo * To what extent is “A Streetcar Named Desire” a tragedy?

“A Streetcar Named Desire” written by T. Williams is the tragedy of Blanche DuBois, a fading Southern belle. Coming from a rich aristocratic family, Blanche clearly has a noble past. The death of Allan, her first and deepest love, is the start of her downfall and the cause of her insanity, which is later strengthened by the loss of her possessions and her fate.
Blanche undergoes a great change in the course of the play. At the beginning of the play, she believes that inner beauty can cover her past sins and give her a clean reputation. Since her soul was not "in" her brief sexual encounters, she believes that she is still pure in heart. But at the end of the play, she realizes that most of the people in this world are unable to make distinctions. In their opinion, when a person falls at the physical level, there is a moral fall as well. "You know as well as I do that a single girl, a girl alone in the world, has got to keep a firm hold on her emotions or she'll be lost!" When Blanche comes to the French Quarter, she still has hope of finding a life for herself, including a suitable husband; at the end of the play, she has recognized the painful truth that she cannot even get support or sympathy from her own sister and brother-in-law, and because of them, she will never find a husband. She has learned that Stella and Stanley, characteristic of the modern age and in contrast to Old Southern tradition, are totally selfish; they have their own lives to lead and cannot be bothered with her problems. In fact, they simply want her to get out of their life. In contrast, Blanche, the symbol of the Old South, she has made extreme sacrifice for the family, having “duty” before pleasure. Now she recognizes the futility of her own existence in this modern age, and the knowledge literally drives her crazy. “I guess it's just that I have - old-fashioned ideals!".