Symbolism runs ramped in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire. It is hard not to see that all the symbolism in this play connect back to Blanche DuBois. From light to poker, and all the way to music, Symbolism shows great significance in the development of this play. The arrival of Blanche to New Orleans alters the Life of Stanley and Stella in a way that makes the reader rethink their own sanity and their own thought of desire through symbolism.
Te Varsouviana Polka music comes up very often in the play. whenever Blanche goes off into her own dark world and thinks about her dead husband Allen, this strange yet intriguing music starts to play.the polka and the moment it evokes represent Blanches loss of innocence. The suicide of her young husband whom Blanche loved so dearly was the event that caused her to spiral out of control and helped triggered her mental decline. Since then, Blanche hears the Varsouviana whenever she panics and loses her grip on reality. In scene one the music of the polka rises to symbolize the pain Blanche feels and introduces us to the dark anguish that Blanche goes through from the death of her husband. We danced the Varsouviana! Suddenly in the middle of the dance the boy Ihad married broke away from me and ran out of the casino. A few moments later--a shot! (ASND page. 96). Later on Blanche comes to reveal the reason behind her agony when she tells Mitch of the untimely death of Allen. The music has haunted her since the incident occurred. The polka only stops when she hears the gunshot that ended it all.
Light suggests Blanches fear of growing old as well as to hide herself from the truth. Blanche makes a big deal out of never being seen in plain light.
"I dont think I ever seen you in the light. Thats a fact! [..] You never want to go out in the afternoon. [] You never want to go out till after six and then its always some place thats not lighted much. [] What it means is Ive never had a real good look at you." (Scene 9).
Mitch has never seen Blanche in a clear and bright light setting and he inquires to know why. She never wanted Mitch to see her for what she really was. When he forced her into the light, she had to reveal who she really was. Her insecurity about being in plain sight go far past the hesitation that most people would have about letting others know they are aging. Blanche has something deeper to hide. When Blanche tells Mitch about her stay at the Hotel called the Tarantula arms she tries to play off her sins as a joke. now thats shes clearly seen she tells Mitch that thats where she brought her victims. following her confession she pleads to keep the only thing, only man, that still wants her.
"Yes, I had many intimacies with strangers....So I came here. There was nowhere else I could go. I was played out....and I met you. You said you needed somebody. Well, I needed somebody, too. I thanked God for you, because you seemed to be gentle a cleft in the rock of the world that I could hide in! (Scene 9).
Bringing her past to light, Blanche loses the only man she could have. Mitch turns out to only want what all the other men wanted. Blanche is not clean enough for him. Blanche is now exposed and can no longer hide behind the shadow of life.
The death of Allan also shows symbolism through the use of light. She describes falling in love with him as though "you suddenly turned a blinding light on something that had always been half in shadow, thats how it struck the world for me." as any girl would be, Blanche was devastated to find her husband with someone else, let alone another man. Any girl would have a hard time with that. Through her confrontation with him, and his untimely end she claims "the searchlight which had been turned on the world was turned off again and never for one moment since has there been any light thats stronger than this kitchen candle" (Scene 6). As with almost anyone, being in love will light up your life and that is what happens with Blanche. When he died, that light was shattered and placed behind a great wall of darkness. Being in the dark does more than stop everyone from seeing Blanche. It also prevents Blanche from seeing the world. She does not want to deal with the loss of Allan or confront the fact that his death was not her fault. When the light was forced upon her, she could not take it and therefore went into crisis.
The poker night which starts off as the title of scene three is symbolic of who Stanley Kowalski really is. It is fair to say that Stanley's the only one of his crowd that's likely to get anywhere. (Scene 3). If this is true, then it is very uncharacteristic of Stanley to be losing this poker game. This symbolizes Blanches stay at his home, and foreshadows what it will be like while she is there. Many events unfold before poker is brought up again in scene eleven. It is finally time for Stanley to take his rightful place as the winner of poker. This scene symbolizes how Stanley has won more than the game, he wins the battle with Blanche. They send her off the the loony bin and the play ends with a game of poker. Stanley ends up right back where he belongs.
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