This piece touches upon several of the common themes that we have discovered in earlier readings. Female sexuality and gender roles seem very important thus far in the reading of "A Streetcar Named Desire." I think that Blanche is a really interesting and controversial character.
Blanche has had a very sexual life, and seems to have been shunned from society for having lived such a life. I think that she has been made to feel very subconscious about herself because of this. She constantly needs to clean herself as if "washing away her sins." When she first sees Stella in Scene one, Blanche does not want her to look at her until she has bathed and showered. When I first read this I thought it was a little strange, but did not think that much of it (maybe she was just dirty and tired from making her travel). As the play went on though, It meant more to me. She is bathing very often. Then we learn of her exploited sexuality. I read a book in high school that had a similiar theme with water and trying to wash away the "sins of one's sexuality." This made the excessive themes seem a bit more noticeable and meaningful to me.
Blanche also brings evidence of gender roles. Also in Scene One, she is looking for a drink. She reassures Stella that she "hasn't turned into a drunkard. She's just all shaken up and hot and tired and dirty!" Women were not supposed to crave alcohol (much like today). Drinking is something for men. This also raises question to Blanche's character and what kind of past she has had.
Stanley and Stella are also a good example of southern gender roles. When Stanley thinks that Blanche has taken the money that was rightfully Stella's, he feels as though he has been cheated. This is because at that time, a woman's money and state belong to her husband. We also say this in Porter's stories. The grandmother had to let her husband make all the decisions with her money even though she knew he was making poor decisions. It just was not the female role to handle money.
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3 comments:
: I really liked your interpretation of Blanche bathing to wash away her dirtiness from having sex out of wedlock. I had thought that she was always bathing because of her vanity, just as she fishes for compliments, lies about her age, and tries to avoid bright light. However, after reading your blog, I am now convinced of your analysis of her bathing.
I think though that her vanity and her impurity are intertwined. I think that she is mostly burdened by the circumstances regarding the death of her young husband, which led her to crave compliments and to be sexually active with other men. She has been made insecure by his death and him being gay. Blanche loved him and he disappointed and hurt her. I think that now, most especially after she has been sexually active, she must invest a lot of time into her appearance to be satisfied with it because not only does she have to make up for her aging but also her impurity, and washing that away must take a lot of effort in her delusional mind (since it is impossible). I think she also avoids the light not just because of her vain insecurity about aging but also because she thinks her impurity is detectable in the bright light.
Like Nancy, my first thought was that her bathing came from the fact that she is a concieted jerk. It seemed that Blanche was judging Stell, and thought that Stella had "settled" for Stanely. But after reading further into the story, and seeing the way Blanche acted toward her sisters husband, watching him undress and getting what seemed like pleasure out of it- I had to agree with your post. Blanche is ashamed of what she has done but it's almost like she can't stop.
I definitely agree with your point on gender roles. Blanche is the agresser in most situations. It seems like she craves not only alcohol as you pointed out but sex as well- certianly not lady like at all. Stanley and Stella also depict gender roles in the fact that when Stanley hits Stella she defends him, and brushes it off.
I have to say that this play does address certain gender roles in their society. It really puts Stanley as the provider for Stella and that when Belle Reve is sold, both the money and Blanche become his as well. It almost make it seem like the women can't understand things like this and that they are given to a man because he is able to make decisions.
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