A Horneyan Interpretation Of Blanche's Neurosis In A Street Car Named Desire

Tennessee Williams is one of the most prestigious playwrights of the 20 th century. His masterpiece A Streetcar Named Desire is widely praised as soon as it is put on the stage and with this play, Williams receives the Pulitzer Prize. Scholars both from home and abroad have completed a train of academic writings concerning this work yielding countless remarkable achievements. This thesis intends to employ the neurotic theory of Karen Horney offering a comprehensive interpretation of the heroine Blanche's neurosis from the perspective of manifestations, self-redemptive measures, the disastrous outcomes of unresolved conflicts as well as the generators of Blanche's neurosisThis thesis consists of three parts: the introduction, the body and the conclusion.In the introduction part, the thesis first makes an introduction to Tennessee Williams' s career and A Streetcar Named Desire, and presents the past critiques home and abroad related to this play with a focus on those psychological studies. Besides, the reasons why this thesis tries to interpret Blanche's neurosis with Karen Horney's theory is explained and the issues this thesis intends to address are put forward. Finally, this thesis displays Karen Horney's neurotic theory on a macro level and points out two essentials which play a leading role in the argumentation.The body includes four chapters. Chapter one illustrates the manifestations of Blanche's neurosis. Due to destructive effects of anxiety, a neurotic person will show a morbid need for affections, sex, and compliments. Chapter two explains the self redemptive measures she adopts in order to relieve her inner conflicts. This thesis will find the hitting point from the aspects of �moving towards people� interpersonal strategy, the idealized image, and externalization. Chapter three interprets the disastrous outcomes of Blanche's unresolved conflicts, namely, fear of exposure and the hopelessness for life. Chapter four probes into the generators of Blanche's neurosis from the perspective of personal environments as well as social cultural environments.The thesis draws a conclusion that Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire is downright neurotic. Her neurosis is the joint product of personal environments and social cultural environments. Especially, the cultural clash between the north and the south after the civil war, the oppression of patriarchal values and the homophobic traditions are the chief criminals for her neurosis.