“Blanche borders on the unsympathetic because of her lack of self-awareness.” Explore this view in relation to Williams’ presentation of Blanche in Scenes One and Two.
The character Blanche is quite a complex member of the play; you do not see a true representation of her until several scenes in. The two opening scenes show different sides to the character depending on whose company she is in. Having come from a good family with a “proper” upbringing, it can be said that she has led a somewhat sheltered life and therefore finds it hard to relate and sympathise other characters that did not experience the same quality of life. Her actions are impulsive, spontaneous and often she acts without thinking of the consequences; this makes it difficult for the audience to feel difficult toward her and can ultimately be traced back to the fact that she has little self-awareness. However, just as there are examples of other reasons that she is disliked by the audience and other characters, there are also examples of Blanche feeling and showing sympathy. Blanche’s lack of self-awareness causes the audience to find it hard to sympathise with her. An example of this would be the exclamatory “you’re just as plump as a little partridge!” (Scene 1, page 8) directed at Stella. It is later revealed that Stella is in fact pregnant, and, as the stage direction describes, “rounding slightly with new maternity” (Scene 4, page 40). To Blanche this statement is complementary, and the declarative “it’s so becoming to you” (Scene 1, page 8) is supposed to be complimentary, however the simile comparing her to a partridge could actually be insulting. Therefore Blanche lacks self-awareness and comes across as rude, making it harder for the audience to sympathise. In the time the play was set girls from the South were called “Southern Belles” and stereotypically were beautiful and, coming from an upper class family, were polite. Although Blanche would probably seem like a Southern Belle, she does come across as impolite and so breaks this stereotype. However at times Blanche does seem to know what she’s saying and therefore is self-aware. After making it
References: Tennessee Williams (Penguin Modern Classics) (2009) A Streetcar Named Desire Hart Crane (Penguin Modern Classics) (2009) The Broken Tower