Illusions in Streetcar Named Desire
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Illusions in A Streetcar Named Desire
In Tennessee Williams' play, A Streetcar Named Desire, there are many
examples where the characters are using illusions in an attempt to escape
reality.
The best example is found by looking to the main character.
Blanche Dubois was a troubled woman who throughout the play lives her life
in illusions. The story begins with Blanche going to New Orleans to stay
with her sister Stella, and her husband Stanley for a while. Here, the
illusions are revealed and the battle between the illusions and the
characters will begin. What initially leads to her illusions is love.
When she was young, "sixteen, I made the discovery - love. All at once and
much, much too completely" (1368). She met Allan Grey, the perfect man -
he had "a nervousness, a softness and tenderness which wasn't like a man's,
although he wasn't the least bit effeminate" (1368).
However, as we are eventually are shown, this illusion wouldn't
last forever...