The Destruction of Blanche in A Streetcar Named DesireA Streetcar Named Desire is a complex web of complex themes and conflicting characters. Set in the pivotal years immediately following World War II, Tennessee Williams infuses Blanche and Stanley with symbols of opposing classes and different attitudes toward sex and love, then backs away as the power struggle between them begins. 'then. Yet there is no clear line between good and evil, no character is either completely good or evil, because the main characters (especially Blanche) are so torn by conflicting and conflicting wants and needs. As such, the play has no clear winner, everyone loses something, and this is what gives the play its tragic character. In a broader sense, Blanche and Stanley, individual characters as well as symbols of opposing classes, historical periods and lifestyles, struggle and find a new balance of power, not because of ideological right and wrong, but for a historical question. inevitability. Interestingly, Williams finalizes the resolution of this struggle at the most basic level possible. In scene ten, Stanley subjugates Blanche and everything she represents, the same way men have subjugated women for centuries. Yet, while shocking, this is not at odds with the themes of the play because, in any matter of power, strength is the ultimate manifestation. And Blanche isn't entirely reluctant, she has her own desires that draw her to Stanley, like a moth to the light, a light that she avoids, even hates, but yearns for. A first reader of scene ten of the play might conclude that the sex between Stanley and Blanche seems inappropriate. This might not ring true given previous circumstances. There is not much overt sexual tension ... middle of paper ...... physical mechanism, and desire is only a reproductive function. However, this is not the case. Individual human destiny is far stronger than the force of history if only individuals grapple with who they are and the forces that pressurize them, and have the courage to confront the mass wave head on. Maybe no one in this room is doing it, but the desire is there and we can learn from their failure. Works CitedBloom, Herald (ed.). Tennessee Williams. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. Donahue, Francis. The dramatic world of Tennessee Williams. New York: Frederic Ungar Publishing Co., 1964. Hirsch, Foster. A Portrait of the Artist - The Pieces of Tennessee Williams. London: Kennikat Press, 1979. London, FH Tennessee Williams. New York: Frederic Ungar Publishing Co., 1979. Williams, Tennessee. A tram named Désir. Stuttgart: Phillip Reclam, 1988.