The Analysis Of Blanche's Tragedy In A Streetcar Named Desire

Based on Hegel's tragedy theory,this thesis aims at offering a new illustration of Blanche DuBois's tragedy in Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire(abbreviated as Streetcar),analyzing how the American southern belle goes to destruction step by step in multi-level conflicts,which raises a comparatively new perspective for studying Williams's works.This thesis focuses on the analysis in three aspects:firstly,it analyzes the predestination of Blanche's fate.The story happens under the background of social transformation and cultural change in America,which provides a typical social situation to express the tragic conflicts in Streetcar.As a loyal defender of American southern traditions,Blanche is conflict with the realistic society,which causes Blanche's incompatibility with the outer world and gradually shattered inner world.The organic unity of the typical social situation and the typical character offers a necessary tragic context for Blanche's tragedy.Besides,symbolism as a form of diction,instead of metaphor,is widely used in the play to intensify tragic atmosphere.Then,it analyzes the embodiment of tragic conflicts in Streetcar from the perspective of Hegel's theory of tragic conflicts in detail.Influenced by specific ethical spirits,characters in the play all possess their self one-sidedness.The conflicts of social relations between Blanche and other characters and the spiritual conflicts within Blanche herself are unavoidable.Through the detailed analysis,it turns out that multi-level conflicts contribute to Blanche's tragedy,but only the spiritual conflict within Blanche herself can be the most fundamental conflict which is the root that causes Blanche's tragedy.These conflicts reconciliate with Blanche's destruction in the end.Furthermore,it shows the tragic effects that Williams creates.This thesis concludes that Streetcar is a tragedy with multi-level conflicts,it is the multi-level conflicts in the play that produce the tragic characteristic.This thesis analyzes Blanche's fate from the perspective of Hegel's tragedy theory,and explores the root of Blanche's tragedy in order that audience can comprehensively understand Blanche's tragic and bumpy life.Blanche's tragedy in the play is not an unique one,it reflects the tragedy of most American southern women who are marginalized by the mainstream society.Williams cares about the suffering and helplessness of this special group and appeals to audience's tolerance and understanding to them.Meanwhile,this play offers moral enlightenment for women in the new century in the process of pursuing love and equality between male and female and hence reveals Williams's strong humanism.