Blanche Dubois

Blanche Dubois is by far the most complex character of the play. She had suffered through the deaths of all her loved ones and the loss of her old way of life. At the mere age of sixteen, she eloped with a young boy named Allan, whom she worshipped and loved passionately. Life with Allan was sheer bliss for Blanche, but her faith was shattered when she discovered he was a bi-sexual degenerate. She expressed her disappointment in him, prompting him to commit suicide and then holding herself responsible. With Allan’s departure, the light had gone out of her life, seemingly forever: “On the dance floor- unable to stop myself- I’d suddenly said ‘ I know! I know! You disgust me…’ And then the searchlight which had been turned on the world was turned off again and never for one moment since has there been any light stronger...” Pg 184.
Afterwards, she was forced to sell Belle Reve, the Dubois ancestral home, to pay for the many funeral expenses. Cracking under the strain and ...