Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play by Tennessee Williams that explores the relationships between Stella (DuBois) and Stanley Kowalski and Blanche DuBois, Stella's sister. In the play, Williams analyzes how social constructs and expectations influenced Blanche's behavior and the factors that contributed to her mental breakdown. Blanche's mental breakdown piques towards the end of the play, however, it can be argued that Blanche was psychologically damaged before she arrived at the Kowalskis and her efforts to get herself out of her social situation were deliberately thwarted by Stanley.

In the play, Blanche uses fantasy as a coping mechanism. Throughout her life, she has had to deal situations that have overwhelmed her including the multiple deaths in her family and the suicide of her first husband. Because her behavior is significantly altered after finding out her husband was homosexual and after witnessing him commit suicide, one can argue that Blanche's...
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