China University of Geosciences (Wuhan)

School of Foreign Languages

Title: An Analysis of the Implied Theme in A Streetcar Named Desire

Course: Selected Readings of English Drama and Poetry

of the 20th Century

Den

Student: 曾心

Dec. 9th, 2023

 An Analysis of the Implied Theme in A Streetcar Named
Desire

Abstract: A Streetcar Named Desire is a masterpiece of Tennessee Williams, who

is one of the three foremost playwrights in the 20th century. Though it has been nearly
80 years since its debut, the studies of its implied theme are not completely yet. The
first Chapter of this thesis is brief introduction to this play and literature review. In the
second Chapter, an analysis is made demonstrating the reasons and proofs of
describing Blanche as a homosexual. The fourth Chapter explore the implied the
theme of this play, which is the playwright’s accusation of the discrimination and
prejudice received by marginalized groups like homosexuals. The last Chapter is a
concise conclusion of this thesis. Though with many deficiencies, this thesis can
hopefully be though-provoking for some beginners.

Key Words: Tennessee Williams; A Streetcar Named Desire; Implied theme;

Homosexual

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内容提要：《欲望号街车》是 20 世纪三大著名剧作家之一田纳西·威廉姆斯的代表作。
虽然它问世已近 80 年，但对其隐含主题的研究尚不全面。本文第一章是对该剧的简要介绍
和文献综述。第二章分析了布兰奇描述为同性恋者的原因和证据。第四章探讨本剧隐含的
主题，即剧作家对同性恋等边缘群体所受到的歧视和偏见的控诉。最后一章是对本文的简
要总结。虽然这篇论文有很多不足之处，但仍希望能对一些初学者有所启发。

关键词：田纳西·威廉姆斯；《欲望号街车》；隐含主题；同性恋者

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 Ⅰ. Introduction

1.1 Introduction to A Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play which made its debut in
1947, has always been regarded as one of the greatest and most influential plays of
Tennessee Williams, who was known as “one of the three foremost playwrights in the
20th century American drama, along with Eugene O’Neill and Arthur Miller” (Na
Heya, 2016).
This play narrates the story happens to Blanche, a typical southern belle suffers a
lot from the death of her families, including her beloved young husband, and the loss
of Belle Reve. Escaping from Laurel to Elysian Fields on a streetcar named desire,
she comes here to seek shelter in her sister Stella’s home, yet it is exactly where her
old wounds are reopened, new hopes are shattered, and the nervous breakdown is
brought to her. The narration is unfolded chronologically, intertwined with Blanche’s
recollection of her past. In the first encounter between Blanche and Stanley, a sense of
disharmony has emerged, which worsens during their daily contacts. The very
existence of Blanche, who is a living embodiment of those exquisite and civilized
southern aristocrats, is enough to ignite the fire of hatred in Stanley’s heart, which
eventually leads to his sexual assault on Blanche. Blanche’s relationship with another
protagonist, Mitch, on the other hand, promising at the beginning, yet is smashed to
pieces due to Stanley’s ruthless revelation of her past. However, Blanche’s tragedy
can only be partially attributed to these two, because she is already on the verge of
breaking down even before she sets foot in Elysian Fields.

1.2 Literature Review

The studies of this award-winning play at home and abroad are, generally
speaking, comprehensive, yet with some less popular perspectives, like homosexuality,
left unexplored due to multiple reasons.

1.2.1 Studies on A Streetcar Named Desire Abroad

The studies abroad pay much attention to the performance of this play, including

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his “plastic theatre”, poetic language, the acoustic effect, and so on. Other researchers
try to explore possible themes in it from different perspectives, for instance,
psychoanalysis, perspective of discourse, and conflict between the North and the
South, yet there are only a few articles focusing on its homosexuality theme.

1.2.2 Studies on A Streetcar Named Desire at Home

Although the domestic studies on Tennessee Williams’ works began as early as

1970s, it was not until the beginning of this century did the research of the implied
gay theme in his plays appear, with only two doctoral dissertations and twelve
journals concerning this theme till 2011 (Zhang Min, 2011:159). Most of the domestic
research focuses on artistic skills or the themes, like southern plantation culture and
sexual violence, involved in this play. There are two possible reasons lying behind this
phenomenon. On the one hand, homosexuality is still a sensitive topic even today. On
the other hand, some researchers are not so willing to take this perspective.

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 Ⅱ. Tennessee Williams’ Description of Blanche as a
Homosexual

When being interviewed by Roxana Stuart, Tennessee Williams once admitted

that deep down in Blanche’s heart, she has already become Allan, acting like what
Allan will do (1979). Yet his camouflage is so ingenious that most of the readers and
audience fail to notice the true identity of Blanche. Therefore, it is essential to learn
something about the life experience of the author, especially for works from a
particular historical stage, so that his intention can be better understood, and the
implied theme of this masterpiece can be unveiled.

2.1 Historical Background

When A Streetcar Named Desire premiered, homosexuals in American society

suffered a lot from discrimination and prejudice because of both religious and
political reasons. firstly, the doctrine of Puritanism, which is the major religion in
America, regards homosexuality as “taboo, degeneration and unforgivable evil” (Na
Heya, 2016). Additionally, speaking from political aspect, the “Lavender Scare” was
prevalent during 1950s, which was caused by Senator Joseph MaCarthy, who
groundlessly associated homosexuality with communism on the ground of anti-
Communist political necessity (Jiang Zhenchun, 2017: 71,72). At that time, there was
even a regulation, Wales Padlock Act, which prescribed that plays “depicting or
dealing with, the subject of sex degeneracy, or sex perversion” was guilty of
misdemeanor.” Under this circumstance, homosexual characters are strictly not
allowed on stage. Homosexuality was also diagnosed as psychosis during those days.
Not surprisingly, with all these disadvantages combined together, the “homophobia”
atmosphere was quite ubiquitous. And it was not until 2003 did the U.S. Supreme
Court returned a verdict of not guilty for homosexual behavior.

2.2 Tennessee Williams’ Life Experience

Born as the descendant of an aristocratic family in Mississippi, Tennessee

Williams was able to enjoy a decent, poetic, and secluded childhood, under the
influence of his mother Edwina, a classic southern belle. Yet his father Cornelius

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Williams, a shoe sales man, was unsatisfied with Edwina’s over protection and
Tennessee’s lack of masculinity. Due to Tennessee’s over reliance on his mother, and
his seclusive attribute, he developed sensitive and delicate character. As he was
growing up, opposing views about sex were given by his incompatible parents, who
were Edwina with decent birth and firm religious belief, and Cornelius with crude
manner and rebellious spirit. Therefore, when he first fell in love with his roommate,
he was tortured by the conflict between his puritanical belief and desire, because
homosexuality was forbidden in the society. Even when he was in relationships with
his two deep lovers, he didn’t stop manifesting his straight nature, showing his
masculinity, and attempting to be straight. In conclusion, Tennessee Williams’ love is
doomed to be disturbed and bumpy owing to all his struggle and uncertainty.

2.3 Tennessee Williams’ Description of Blanche as a Hidden Feminine

Homosexual

“The fact that Blanche shares dozens of similarities with gays and several lines
with implication both suggests that, under the façade of a depraved woman, Blanche
turns out to be a gay.” (Li Shanghong, 2008: 119) As homosexual character is not
allowed on the stage, yet Tennessee Williams needs to find vent in his creation, he
ingeniously portrays Blanche as the incarnation of Allan, that fragile and gifted boy,
so that he can “reappears” onstage, which can be told from following perspectives.

2.3.1 Lines with Implications

From the perspective of lines, two obvious implications can be found, which
indicate that Blanche has a hidden identity. Firstly, the name of Blanche’s hometown,
Belle Reve, which contains a feminine adjective “belle” and a masculine noun “reve”
that means dream in French, is grammatically incorrect. It indicates that this mansion
may only be an illusion, leaving Blanche’s identity as a southern belle in doubt. Apart
from that, after Mitch’s illusion about Blanche is shattered, he roared against Blanche
“But I was fool enough to believe you was straight”. (qtd. in Williams 135) Blanche
asks back immediately “Who told you I wasn’t—‘straight’?” (135) The adjective
Williams deliberately used undoubtedly serves as polysemy, especially when he uses a
quotation mark with it, referring not only to being decent, but also to being

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heterosexual. Another proof is the Polka music heard by Blanche whenever she
memorizes Alan, which won’t stop until the gunshot that stands for Allan’s suicide.
This acoasm also demonstrates the long-last impact engraved on Blanche. These three
factors mentioned above all point at an intended truth that Blanche is actually a
homosexual as the incarnation onstage of his deceased husband, Allan.

2.3.2 Blanche as a Hidden Feminine Homosexual

At the very beginning of this play, Williams writes that “There is something
about her uncertain manner, … that suggests a moth.” (qtd. in Wiliams, 11) Moth, as a
creature known for its ability to have a metamorphosis, indicates that the woman, who
stands at Elysian Fields right now, has gone through a thorough change.
And this metaphor “moth” also refers to the white clothes she wears, which is
emphasized in several different occasions later, which can be interpreted in two ways.
Firstly, it can be seen as a disguise to camouflage her profane past. Some other
researchers like Li Shanghong (2008: 120), regard it as a symbol of homosexual, as
presented in Williams’ other plays, for instance, The Knightly Quest (1966), and The
Poet (1948). Yet this thesis is inclined to agree with the first opinion, because after
Blanche’s sordid past is unveiled by Stanley, the playwright mentions it no more,
except for the stained white dress at the beginning of the scene ten, which
foreshadows the upcoming tragedy.
The preference for darkness, as one of moth’s nature, can also be found on
Blanche, which turns out to be an obvious indicator for her hidden homosexual
identity (Wang Yanxia, 2019). As early as her debut, Williams has depicted Blanche as
“Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light” (qtd. In Williams 11), which drapes a
mysterious veil around Blanche. Her fear of light is repeated within the play. In scene
three, Blanche asks Mitch to put a “adorable little colored paper lantern” over the
light bulb, because she says “I can’t stand a naked light bulb, anymore than I can a
rude remark or a vulgar action”. In scene six, when Blanche is telling Mitch about her
deceased husband, Allan, a locomotive, whose highlight “glares into the room as it
thunders past” (qtd. In Williams 109), is heard approaching. Blanche “claps her hands
to her ears and crouches over.” (109) until the train passes by. And in scene nine, after
hearing the notorious past of Blache from Stanley, Mitch comes to question her
indignantly. He insists on turning the light on so that he can take a look at Blanche

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good and pain, even though Blanche is reluctant, because he finds that Blanche
always makes excuses avoiding going out begore six. Finally exposed to the light
again, Blanche “cries out and cover her face.” (qtd. in Willams 135) All of these
demonstrate that Blanche, who is on the verge of breakdown, is a fragile homosexual
in disguise. Willams has turned Blanche into the incarnation of Allan, and she also
think so. That’s why she is so uneasy when exposed to the light. She is afraid of the
divulging of not only her concealed past or her age, but also her hidden homosexual
identity, which is a definite taboo at that time.
Additionally, Blanche’s preference for delicate young man is also pronounced.
There are five love affairs mentioned in this play, including those with Allan, young
officials, the seventeen-year-old boy, the young man charging for magazine, and
Mitch. All of them are young man, except for Mitch, who is merely Blanche’s
disguise out of her desire to seek security, or “a cleft in the rock of the world”. (ptd. in
Williams, 137) Just like what Li Shanghong (2008: 120) has said in his paper
“Blanche likes young man like gays do”. She loves Allan so much that Stella
describes Blanche as “worshipped the ground he walked on! Adored him and thought
him almost too fine to be human!” (qtd. in Williams 102). Because of this kind of
profound love and guilt about causing his suicide, Blanche imagines that she has
turned into Allan, imitating how Allan approaches those young men (Wang Yanxia,
2019:34). Therefore, the very first sight of the young man charging for the magazine
immediately makes her mouth watering, and arouses her desire to touch and kiss him,
even though she was expelled out of the high school exactly because of an affair with
a seventeen-year-old boy.
From the analysis above, numerous similarities between Blanche and Allan, or
homosexuals, can be found, which suggest that Blanche is actually turned into Allan
onstage by the playwright, imitating Allan’s behavior as a homosexual, suffering from
all possible prejudice and discrimination against Allan, because at that time, for
Tennessee Williams, “she is the best candidate to represent a homosexual onstage
when any homosexuals are not allowed to appear.” (Na Heya, 2016: 20)

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 Ⅲ. The Implied Theme in A Streetcar Named Desire

As one of Tennessee Williams’ most controversial plays, A Streetcar Named

Desire contains desire, violence, and conflict between different culture. In the early
stage of the studies on this play, most of the researchers take Blanche only as a
southern belle due to Williams’ ingenious disguise. Therefore, it is widely
acknowledged that this play mainly reflects the conflict between illusion and reality,
southern plantation culture and northern industrial civilization, and traditional and
unti-traditional power. For instance, professor Wang Yiqun believes that “this play
primarily describes the contradiction and conflict between Blanche and Stanley,”
“Blanche’s tragedy can be viewed as the failure of conservative, out-dated southern
culture. (1992: 79,81) However, all this research fails to take Blanche’s hidden
identity, homosexual, as demonstrated in the previous Chapter, into consideration. In
the following Chapter, the implied theme of this play will be observed and explored to
have a better understanding of this masterpiece.

3.1 Allan’s Influence on Blanche

Previous Chapter has proved that Blanche has been turned into the incarnation of
Allan by Williams, because she imagines that she has become her deceased husband
Allan as a gesture of atonement. Yet the reasons lying beneath worths further
exploration.
Blanche’s husband Allan Grey, a beautiful and talented young man, is exactly
who tells Blanche what love is. “It was like you suddenly turned a blinding light on
something that had always been half in shadow, that’s how it struck the world for me.”
(qtd, in Williams, 95) This explains, to a certain extent, why Blanche prefers darkness
after Allan’ death, because she has lost her “light”. Her love is so deep that she even
“worshipped the ground he walked on!” (102). Unfortunately, this attractive and
gentle boy is actually a homosexual whose sexual orientation is an absolute taboo at
that time. His secret love affair with other man is caught by Blanche, which becomes
a time bomb afflicting him all the days until Blanche’s brutal remark on a ball—“I
saw! I know! You disgust me…” (96) finally drives him crazy, and he commits
suicide out of overwhelming desperation.
This traumatizing event, which is even more destructive than the loss of Belle

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Reve, eventually degenerates into the root of Blanche’s own tragedy. She is tortured
by the grief of losing her love and the guilt of causing his death. Her guilt is so strong
that she feels responsible for all things, including Allan’s “degeneration”. Because of
the profound impact of Allan’s death, Blanche atones for her fault by imagining being
Allan, flirting with young boys and facing all those prejudice and discrimination as
Allan may do.

3.2 Unaccepted Situation of Homosexuals as a Marginalized Group

Being a homosexual in American society, which can obliterate a person’s all

other merits, is intolerable for a long period of time, because of religious, political and
social reasons. Though as perfect as Allan, he is still considered “degenerated” by
Stella even years after his suicide. He has tried to seek help from Blanche, yet she is
too young and innocent at that time to catch it. The fear of the possibility of exposing
his hidden identity is strong enough to drive him to suicide, from which the desperate
situation of homosexuals as a marginalized group can be told.
After the death of Allan, Blanche has turned into his incarnation. She prefers
darkness because she has a profane past and a hidden identity that are not accepted by
the outside world, yet her paper lantern is squashed by Stanley; she tells so many lies
to create a tolerable façade, yet all her lies are gradually exposed by Stanley because
he always wants to prove Blanche is not a straight southern belle as she presents; she
tries to seek security by flirting with Mitch, yet she fails because her true identity is
unveiled and there is no room left in the society for those marginalized people like
Blanche and Allan due to biased mainstream social values
Through depicting the tragedy of both Allan and Blanche, the playwright not
only manages to shed light on the unaccepted situation of homosexuals as a
marginalized group, but also makes people of the later generations aware of the
discrimination and bias which marginalized people suffer from.

3.3 Doomed Ending of Homosexuals

Tennessee Williams once said in an interview that “and the meaning of the play
is that this woman who has potentially a superior person was broken by—society.”
(Terkel 1968: 81) Living in the society at that time, the destinies of marginalized

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people like Blanche and Allan are doomed because there will always be brutal persons
like Stanley who cannot tolerate anyone not conforming to his value. Even Mitch,
who has a masculine body yet with a little sissy temperament, also receive constant
mockery like “when he goes home, he’ll deposit them one by one in a piggy bank his
mother gives him for Christmas”. (qtd. in Williams, 52) Actually, Stanley is portrayed
as the symbol of the brutality of the society, who is powerful and barbaric, and
dominates his own territory. It is predictable that after being sent into the mental
asylum, Blanche will meet countless “Stanley” who will reopen her wounds again and
again ruthlessly, because “Stanley is not the only perpetrator, and Blanche is not the
only victim.” (Li Shanghong, 114). Even if Allan can survive Blanche’s harsh remark,
his life is still destined to be miserable, because it is impossible for marginalized
individuals to bear the brunt of the mainstream. This play, generally speaking, is a
silent accusation by Tennessee Williams of the discrimination and prejudice from
which marginalized groups like homosexuals are always suffer.

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 Ⅳ. Conclusion

This thesis aims to explore the implied theme of A Streetcar Named Desire, a
masterpiece of Tennessee Williams. With meticulous study of the historical
background, the life experience of the playwright, and most significantly, the script, it
can be found that Blanche is, in fact, the incarnation of Allan, a homosexual, from
which it can inferred that the playwright intends to make silent accusation of the
discrimination and prejudice received by marginalized groups like homosexuals. Due
to the limited ability of the author, there are still considerable deficiencies among this
thesis, for instance, the lack of solid evidence and clear logic. Hopefully, this thesis
may still provide some enlightening thoughts to beginners. And some more thorough
elucidation about Tennessee Williams’ plays is expected to help readers understand
the implied theme in his works better.

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References

1．Roxana Stuart, “The Southernmost Desire” in Tennessee Willams Newsletter 1,2

(Fall, 1979), p.6.
2．Studs Terkel, “Studs Terkel Talks with Tennessee Williams” in Albert J. Devlin ed.
Conversations with Tennessee Williams. Jackson, University Press of Mississippi,
1986, p. 81.
3． 娜和芽. 同性恋遭受的歧视和迫害—《欲望号街车》和《热铁皮屋顶上的猫》的隐含主
题[D].内蒙古大学,2017.
4． 张 敏 . 田 纳 西 · 威 廉 斯 研 究 在 中 国 : 回 顾 与 展 望 [J]. 当 代 外 国 文 学 ,2011,32(03):157-
166.DOI:10.16077/j.cnki.issn1001-1757.2011.03.026.
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77.DOI:10.13713/j.cnki.cssci.2017.02.011.
6． 李 尚 宏 . 悲 剧 并 不 发 生 在 舞 台 上 — — 《 欲 望 号 街 车 》 主 题 辨 析 [J]. 外 国 文 学 评
论,2008(03):113-121.
7． 王艳霞. 谎言或真相-身份伪装视域下《欲望号街车》中布兰奇的“悲剧”解读[D].安徽
大学,2019.
8． 汪义群： 《当代美国戏剧》 [M]，上海外语教育出版社，1992: 79,81

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