CHARACTER ANALYSIS - 'A Streetcar Named Desire'

BLANCHE DUBOIS

Blanche is one of the main characters in the play; she is the sister to Stella who came to live with them in their home as she had lost hers. She comes off as a southern belle, raised in a very proper way and in a proper neighbourhood who likes to get her way. Blanche is also a very confusing character as her attitudes and mannerisms suggest a lot of different things at the same time, in this play she tells a lot of lies- about her age, her past, her way of life, and her job. I’d say that she is very much in denial about her reality and tries to put on facades to cover it. She bathes all the time and always wears immaculate white materials which she detests being stained, this behaviour links to her personality as she is trying to cover who she really is with the appearance of being pure “there is something uncertain about her white clothes, that suggests a moth” She also hides from her own self as she hates being exposed to direct or bright lighting “I like it dark. The dark is comforting to me”. I’d described her as being bipolar and leading a double life as she is all prim and proper in the faces of the people who do not know her very much and is detested by the people that know her and what her character is really like. Blanche is a very educated woman, she taught English as a profession which gives us an impression of how her dialect would be like. She speaks very proper and doesn’t forget to hint us about her wide spread knowledge as she mentions occasionally some very prestigious individuals. She dresses as if she were going to a party every time, with her fancy wares and her beautiful fabrics. She is an epitome of the old American glamour.

The character of Blanche believes a lot in having her own peace of mind – her own man to be there to always care and take care of her, not necessarily for love but for peace of mind. In my opinion I believe that she values the presence of a man in her life. She also believes that she can erase her past and lead a new life without addressing her issues. Blanche is a character that someone like me would be sympathetic towards, as I believe that she needed strongly for someone to be there for her as she had dealt with a lot.

STANLEY KOWALSKI

Stanley is another character in the play; he is the husband to Stella, Blanche’s sister. In the play his character is associated with the imagery of animals “he acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits!”, he is the man of the house so he likes everything to be done the way he likes it, nothing more and nothing less ‘Every man is a king! And I am the king around here, so don’t forget’. He hates oppositions, doesn't care much about other people and doesn't like to be told what to do. Stanley likes the sound of his own voice making him a very strong patriarch. Stanley is sometimes violent which allows us to lose respect for his character. He speaks in very simple and broken sentences most of the time; he is portrayed as always raising his voice and trying to maintain order. He uses a lot of slang in his speech which shows his level of education as being not that heightened.  He dresses in very simple and basic wares, nothing extravagant and over the top – the exact opposite of Blanche.

Stanley believes strongly in the American Dream and also values time with his wife and Patriarchy.

The character of is not one that I would particularly be sympathetic with because he sees Blanche as a victim and takes advantage of her.

STELLA KOWALSKI

She is the wife of Stanley and the sister of Blanche. In the play she mainly is a very peaceful, cheerful and lovely character who tries to keep the peace around her. She tolerates a lot from the bipolar attitude of Blanche and the needy attitude of Stanley; she is one of my favourites if not my only favourite. I’d described her as a very strong character who tries to see the good in everybody and every situations, she is also a good and caring wife. Like Blanche, she is capable of speaking very well but mostly opts for simple speech as it goes with her environment and like Stanley, she dresses very simple.

Her values are looking for the best in people and focusing on it and also family. I feel as though she is the most unfortunate one in the play as she has to deal with a lot of things on a daily basis and should be commended for keeping her head held steady and being as strong as she is. She should definitely be sympathised with.

HAROLD MITCHELL (MITCH)

Mitch is the friend of Stanley who then becomes Blanche love interest. He is a very gently, shy, caring, loving man who is looking to settle down. He is also educated and in the know like Blanche is, as he expresses this in some of his discussions with Blanche. Mitch, like Stella speaks according to environment, while with Blanche he speaks calmly, gently, politely and in simple but easily comprehensible words but when with Stanley he speaks very much like him – loud and with a lot of slangs. Mitch dresses like his character, he sometimes wears simple clothes and sometimes if not most times is dressed in a full on suit and tie.

Mitch values his mother and being very curtsied and presentable “A man with a heavy build has to be careful of what he puts on him so he don’t look too clumsy”. He seems like a hard worker too. His character is a very unfortunate one as he is caught in all the lies told by Blanche which gives us another outlook on him as he tried to get his way with her after he found out her truth. He comes off as a sad, lonely man in some cases which increases our sympathy for his character.