Blanche Dubois As Tragic Heroine Essay

How far does Blanche Dubois measure up to the status of tragic heroine?Looking at the definition of hero, we see that in mythology and legend, a man, a full(a) deal of divine ancestry, who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his bold exploits, and favoured by the gods. A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially wholeness who has risked or sacrificed his or her life soldiers and nurses who were heroes in an unpopular war. A person noted for special achievement in a particular field. The principal example in a novel, poem, or dramatic presentation.Blanche Dubois sack up be seen as a tragic heroine within A Streetcar Named Desire on a number of occasions. In the opening scene of the play, Blanche is introduced as someone who seems to be very sensitive and in some ways innocent, we see this when Williams writesShe is daintily dressed to kill(p) in a white suitlooking as if she were arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party.Both he r sensitivity and appearance atomic number 18 an obvious contrast to not only Stanley, but his apartment also, w present Blanche ironically chooses to stay. Within Streetcar, Blanches life is evidence of how a single, tragic event can, in effect, end someones life. In Blanches case, this tragic event is her fall into complete incapability to cope with real life situations and failure to take away herself from the fantasy sphere she has created for herself. This can be seen as one of Blanches main tragic flaws, that is the error of a tragic hero that in date leads to the heros defeat, such as Macbeths success to the throne, yet his actions that brought him there eventually causes his death.In an effort to escape the misery of her life in Laurel, Blanche drinks heavily and has meaningless affairs. She needs alcohol to stop the polka music which symbolises Allans death, from repeating in her head and to avoid the truth of her life. She gives herself to various strangers in an attem pt to lose herself. She seduces young boys in memory of Allan. But her empty heart finds no peace, and her bad reputation ends her teaching career.Blanche cannot stand a plebeian remark, a loud noise, or a harsh light. With Allans departure, the light seems to have gone out of her life. As a result, she prefers darkness and dim candlelight, the blameless setting for her sop up-believe world that has no pain or memories. It also hides the reality of her departed youth and advancing age, which is yet another flaw that she has, her fixation about not getting old because then no man will want her.Blanches dim perception with real life feelings and situations can first be seen when she discusses her past husband. She believed that her marriage to Allan was genuine, however refused to acknowledge his sensitive and effeminate qualities, perhaps in fear of the consequences. This is evident as we see hereThere was something different about the boy, a nervousness, a softness and tendernes s which wasnt like a mansAt the age of sixteen, she cancel in love with, worshipped, and eloped with a sensitive boy. She believed that life with Allan was sheer bliss, however her faith is shattered when she discovers he is a bi-sexual degenerate, her discovery of this lead Allan to take his avow life. Blanche is seen to hold herself responsible for his untimely death due to the way she spoke to him after discovering his secret. She is full of enough remorse that the thought of Allan alone is enough to make Blanche vomit, as can be seen in Scene 1 when Stanley asks her about her past marriageThe boy the boy died. She sinks back down. Im acrophobic Im going to be sickBlanch is in no way perfect, the audience is made to feel sorry for her at times, and to loathe her at other times, but despite the fact that another of her main flaws is her ability to deal with situations like an adult, the tragic event leading Blanche to her fantasy world and on occasion depression, is the deat h of Allan. This sets off Blanches downfall into what could be diagnosed as insanity, as it is the loneliness and and the fact that she feels her life doesnt have a purpose without a man, she experiences after Allans death that forces her to seek attention in the wrong way and from the wrong company. Such as the flamingo hotel, which is a good example of her dealing with a bad situation badly.