In the play "A Streetcar Named Desire," Blanche and Mitch portray similar and different desires. Blanche in the one hand desires attention, protection, and stability. Blanche was raised in a society were middle class women were expected to portray delicacy, beauty, and attraction to others and Blanche was no exception to this. After loosing her husband in a horrible way, Blanche started looking and desiring for what she once had in her matrimony; that magic and romanticism she feels the need to have again. She desires a magic relationship that would give her back the light that she lost after Allan's suicide. That is why when she meets Mitch, Stanley's friend, she hopes to find and live what she desires with him. Mitch is a lonely young man, he has no wife and lives with his sick mother, whom is about to die. Mitch's desire is to have a wife, a woman that would become part of his family before his mother dies. His desire is not a bad or uncommon one; he wants a life companion, something very common to desire during the 1950's, because a man needs a woman. When Mitch first sees Blanche he sees an opportunity. An opportunity of getting to know a single beautiful woman who could offer him what he most desires; a wife. Blanche sees that opportunity as well, the protection and stability she needs and she knows he could offer. However, Blanche's delusional character ruined the relationship they started. The first time they talked to each other she lied to him, and eventually her lies where revealed. She lied to him about her past and her age, but in her mind she did no wrong because she had a justification for everything she said or did. The magical life she was looking for blinded her from being honest and her delusions and desires led her to her own demise. When Stanley tells Mitch the whole story of Blanche's past, the relationship dissolves and his desire to have her disappears as well. At the end, Mitch still has a chance to fulfil his desire with a woman who he can categorize as clean and pure because Mitch just could not accept that Blanche was not as pure as he thought she was. Sadly Blanche will never get the chance to find the man who would protect her and love her, not because she does not want to, it is because her sister and Stanley stole that opportunity from her after they sent her to the mental asylum. Both their desires could have been satisfied by each other but destiny changed the out coming of their future.
I really like how you related Blanche’s and Mitch’s desires. I agree that they were both looking for something the other had to offer, and you show this in a logical way. The arguments you make addressing each character’s desires could stand alone- Blanche needs support, and Mitch needs a wife. You do a good job relating them and showing how they can both have their desires if they work together. Then you say that Blanche’s lies ruined this chance for them to reach their desires, which I agree with, but I also think Mitch was harsh to Blanche. She did not think she was doing anything wrong and was trying to reach her goal, and she was trying to do this in the only way she knew how. If they had both just apologized and moved on, it could’ve been a happy ending. Nonetheless, you analyzed both character’s desires and related them nicely.
ReplyDeleteI didn't necessarily agree with what you were saying about Mitch. You said that his chief desire was for a wife, and that he saw the opportunity for this when he met Blanche, but when Blanche said she wanted to marry him he said that she wasn't clean enough to bring home to his mother. So in that scene, he wanted sex. Blanche was the one who wanted marriage. But I definitely agree with you when you said that Blanche destroyed her own opportunity for a relationship with Mitch by her lies.
ReplyDeleteThat's so true about Blanche. Poor woman! She was raised in a high class family, and perhaps spoiled. She somehow is misplaced in society as the play progresses. None of the setting really fits Blanche's way of life. She dreams a lot; she wants good things, beautiful things in life like all women wish for.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it was Blanche's delusional character that ruined her relationship with Mitch-- Stanley did. He tells Mitch about Blanche's secrets, and since then her hope for a man vanishes.
The last scene is a sad tragedy. Reality really crashes down hard on Blanche. Poor woman!
Also, "Mutual Desire" implies that both involved parties benefit. In this blog, both Blanche and Mitch benefit nothing from their desire. It only brings them sadness and depression...
"Sadly Blanche will never get the chance to find the man who would protect her and love her, not because she does not want to, it is because her sister and Stanley stole that opportunity from her after they sent her to the mental asylum. Both their desires could have been satisfied by each other but destiny changed the out coming of their future."
ReplyDelete-I don't think that it is because Stella and Stanley stole the opportunity from her that her desire to find a man to protect her and love her was ruined. She could have told the truth from the beginning instead of creating a world of how things ought to be and telling lies to hide it all. She basically did this to herself.
I agree with you on the fact that Mitch's desire was to have a wife and someone to love and care for. His desire isn't sex, just because of the scene where he said she was not clean enough. He only said that because of all the lies she told and all of the men she had sexual relationships with- him not being one of them.