#playwright analysis

To start off with some context, A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) is a film adaptation of Tennessee Williams' original playwright (with the same name). In the story, we are introduced to the mysterious yet complex character Blanche Dubois, a typical southern belle from her hometown of Belle Reve, Mississippi. The plot follows her time staying at the home of her sister and brother-in-law, Stella and Stanley Kowalksi, in New Orleans.

It is clear throughout the progression of the narrative that Blanche isn't doing well mentally, and as the plot climaxes, we see the troubling origin of Blanche's distress: when she was 16, Blanche witnessed the suicide of her at-the-time husband. It can be inferred that Blanche's behavior could be a response to the trauma she experience in her youth as well as her own way of coping.

Now let's look at the symptoms, which I will be dividing into three categories: behavioral, cognitive, and psychological. Regarding behavioral symptoms, Blanche has a consistent pattern of being concerned over her appearance (i.e. avoiding bright lighting, degrading comments of her own looks, etc.). Additionally, she has a very flirtatious and sometimes seductive nature, and majority of the time, this brings inappropriate interactions in her relationships (i.e. the young paper boy). The final key behavior is her speech pattern. Blanche typically talks in a southern belle pattern for majority of the film. However, near the ending where she starts losing her grip on reality, her speech pattern drastically changes, and the southern accent completely goes away.

Most of the cognitive symptoms we see within Blanche seems to be related to her traumas. When she was talking to Stella about losing Belle Reve, it can be inferred that her way of thinking is distorted (i.e. accuses Stella of judging her when Stella wasn't displaying judgmental behavior at all). Blanche seems to experience flashbacks to her husband's suicide. There is a scene near the end of the film where she describes hearing the song Varsouviana Polka, claiming that the music would only stop once she heard a gunshot. This is the song that was playing when Allan (her husband) shot himself.

Psychologically, Blanche is a very emotional person, and the smallest trigger seems to have the ability to rapidly shift her mood or the emotions she's experiencing. She also appears to experience constant anxiety, especially about the way people perceive her. If she brings her looks into the conversation and doesn't receive the praise and validation she seeks, her mood negatively shifts very quickly.

These symptoms, as well as smaller non-noted details, is what leads me to believe that the most accurate diagnosis for Blanche is Histrionic Personality Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

HPD is a very controversial disorder diagnosis thanks to its supposed misogynistic contextual past. Regardless, seeing Blanche through the lens of these disorders, or mental health as a whole, shows a complex example of how different factors may combine after a traumatic event and manifest into personality disorders. It shows a very unique perspective of how a very real (despite controversial) disorder can affect an individual's life.

Anyways, I hope y'all enjoyed this slightly different post! I was very proud of how this paper come out and turning it into a more digestible post was equally as fun to write.