The Symbolism of Cleanliness in A Streetcar Named Desire Anonymous College

The play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams has many formal qualities that make it stand out as one of the most prominent works of its genre in the twentieth century – its rich symbolism being the one that stands out most. Throughout the whole piece, the author intersperses plot points with subtle messages only caught by keen, analytical eyes. Not only are his characters carefully built to be archetypes suited as vehicles for his themes, but their actions imply such inextricable connection with the author’s intention that, as critics have pointed out and acclaimed, symbolism’s importance in the play becomes undeniable.

Blanche DuBois, the aristocratic sister, stands out as the most incisive deliverer of these subtle messages. We learn as the play moves along that Blanche DuBois has an impure past she’s embarrassed by. Being raised in the hearth of a refined, old southern lineage she has trouble conceiving herself as less than princess-like – a false belief that, by creating a conflictive sense of identity, became the root of her inner struggles to reconcile her messy past with her desire to be who she’s “meant” to be. Since her first interaction with Stella DuBois, a sister that harbors her in New Orlean's foreign...