Undesirable: The Tragedy of Blanche Dubois
Ashlynn Kufleitner
AP Literature and Composition
21 May, 2014
Period 1
Undesirable: The Tragedy of Blanche Dubois “The tragedy of these women is the tragedy of the civilization which bore them, nourished them, and cast them out.” This quote by Robert Emmet Jones, an associate professor specializing in sociology, parallels with A Streetcar Named Desire, in which the decline of the southern aristocracy left women, who were little more than decorative beauties, at the mercy of the real world. Knowing only their purpose of beauty, these women sacrificed their dignity for support, often facing and accepting abuse at the hands of men. One of the victims of this tragedy is Blanche Dubois, a delicate and fragile minded outcast. Ostracized by her hometown and abandoned by her family, she resorts to prostitution and alcoholism for consolation. In her efforts to assure herself of her own worth in her growing age, and to rescue her sister, Stella, from an abusive lifestyle, she offends the male-dominated society in which she is trapped. Despite Blanche’s controversial lifestyle and destructive actions, she is nonetheless a tragic heroine whose downfall resulted from poor treatment at the hands of a cruel society to which she refused to comply. Aristotle defined a tragic hero as a character of nobility with a tragic flaw that eventually leads them to their own downfall. Blanche Dubois, a beautiful and sophisticated belle, once represented the vision of the south. Born into a wealthy family and happily married to a young romantic, Blanche seemingly had everything desired by women of her period. However, when her young husband is revealed to be a homosexual, she is unable to cope and drives him to suicide with her disapproval. This sends Blanche into a spiral of mental degeneration, rendering her unable to adjust to the changes happening in her world, namely the fall of the south. When she goes to her sister Stella for support, she clashes with the ideals of Stella’s
AP Literature and Composition
21 May, 2014
Period 1
Undesirable: The Tragedy of Blanche Dubois “The tragedy of these women is the tragedy of the civilization which bore them, nourished them, and cast them out.” This quote by Robert Emmet Jones, an associate professor specializing in sociology, parallels with A Streetcar Named Desire, in which the decline of the southern aristocracy left women, who were little more than decorative beauties, at the mercy of the real world. Knowing only their purpose of beauty, these women sacrificed their dignity for support, often facing and accepting abuse at the hands of men. One of the victims of this tragedy is Blanche Dubois, a delicate and fragile minded outcast. Ostracized by her hometown and abandoned by her family, she resorts to prostitution and alcoholism for consolation. In her efforts to assure herself of her own worth in her growing age, and to rescue her sister, Stella, from an abusive lifestyle, she offends the male-dominated society in which she is trapped. Despite Blanche’s controversial lifestyle and destructive actions, she is nonetheless a tragic heroine whose downfall resulted from poor treatment at the hands of a cruel society to which she refused to comply. Aristotle defined a tragic hero as a character of nobility with a tragic flaw that eventually leads them to their own downfall. Blanche Dubois, a beautiful and sophisticated belle, once represented the vision of the south. Born into a wealthy family and happily married to a young romantic, Blanche seemingly had everything desired by women of her period. However, when her young husband is revealed to be a homosexual, she is unable to cope and drives him to suicide with her disapproval. This sends Blanche into a spiral of mental degeneration, rendering her unable to adjust to the changes happening in her world, namely the fall of the south. When she goes to her sister Stella for support, she clashes with the ideals of Stella’s
Cited: Berkman, Leonard. "The Tragic Downfall of Blanche Dubois." Modern Drama 10.3 (1967): 249-57. Web. 28 May 2014. <http://lincolnparkhs.org/ourpages/auto/2011/1/4/48459599/The%20Tragic%20Downfall%20of%20Blanche%20Dubois.pdf>. Cardullo, Bert. “Blanche Dubois as Tragic Heroine.” Bloom’s Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 4 Apr. 2014. Jones, Robert Emmet. “Sexual Roles in the Works of Tennessee Williams,” in THARPE (ed.), A Tribute, 545-557. Lant, Kathleen Margaret. “A Streetcar Named Misogyny.” Cambridge: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, 1991. Siegle, Lauren. “Blanche Dubois: An Antihero.” BU Arts & Sciences Writing Program (2001): 2013.