Madness in A Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire revolves around a theme of progressing madness. Blanche is the focal point of the madness because she has a low self esteem and her behavior is delusional. Her delusional behavior consists of her alcoholism, promiscuity, and compulsive lying. She constantly tries to cope with the madness, but the people around her drive her deeper into a delusional mental state. Many aspects of her life; however, make her madness more justifiable. Blanche’s increasingly unstable state culminates in her being committed to an asylum. The cause and effect of Blanche’s madness are used to bring the play together as a whole and show how madness affects everyone in the play.
In A Streetcar Named Desire Blanche drinks, has sex and lies compulsively to help boost her own self esteem. Blanche’s husband commits suicide after Blanche finds him in bed with another man. The death leaves Blanch feeling lonely. Her promiscuity stems from the fact that she feels unwanted. In the p...