Comparing Blanche And Blanche In A Streetcar Named Desire

er. This indicates how society viewed women. Ignorance and beauty may not be virtues, but they are attributes that Daisy believes will best equip her child to survive in the world.

In order to conform to the rigid expectations and survive American society, it is required for female characters to be dishonest. In patriarchal society, as a woman who has to be subordinated to men, Blanche steps out of her assumed female role to challenge men's authority, specifically Stanley in order to better her situation, which from the beginning we know will not end well because she has no support, no husband and is therefore why she turns to promiscuity “intimacies with strangers was all I seemed able to fill my empty hearty with”,. Blanche is a character
This exaggerates that it is acceptable for men to indulge in what they want, whereas when Blanche does-“I had many intimacies with strangers”- it is seen as dirty and formidable. This is due to her gender and double standards, in American society at the time, in which men were considered superior to women. But when she moves in with Stanley and Stella she is dishonest in order to survive, or she will not be respected in the way that she wants to be. This is shown when Mitch discovers the truth about her. His respect towards her is gone and he even tries to insult her “fumbling to embrace her: What I have been missing all summer”. Mitch’s action towards Blanche is completely overlooked because Mitch thinks it is acceptable to violate her as she is “not clean”. Whereas Blanche’s action towards the young man is not
This could be because of her gender or that she is a southern belle who is seen to be old fashioned in modern America and is victimized in her surroundings “Her appearance is incongruous to this setting”. The two characters are interconnected by their mutual loneliness and desire to be with someone to deflect their previously suffered emotional damage; “The girl’s dead now”. Though they both have similar experiences in life they deal with it with different attitudes. Blanche has to adapt herself to suit the environment in which she finds herself. Blanche’s actions towards Stanley are dictated by her fundamental nature. The woman must create an illusion: "After all, a woman's charm is fifty percent illusion." Yet if Blanche cannot function as a woman, then her life is invalid. She therefore tries to captivate Stanley by flirting with him “I was flirting with your husband!” She knows no other acceptable way to enter into her present surroundings. Likewise, she must change the apartment. She can't have the glaring light bulb, she must have subdued light. She does not want to see things clearly but wants all ugly truths shielded by the beauty of imagination and