The Smbolisms of the Name, Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire :: Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire

In the first few scenes of A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams shows us a complex woman, named Blanche Dubois. This paper will explore the symbolisms of her name.The name Blanche is French and means innocence or fair. Her last nameDuBois is of French origin as well(p) and translates as made of wood. The name suggests that Blanche is a very innocent and pure person. When she appears in scene one, she is daintily dressed in a whitesuit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, whitegloves and a hat (Sc.1 p. 2073). White is to a fault the color of lightand represents perfection and virginity but throughout the play itbecomes self-evident that Blanche cannot call any of the traits of her nameher own. She is a seductive and promiscuous woman. Only the illusoryimage, which she tries to create for herself, suggests these traits,but her true nature is not like that at all. She constantly tries tohide her embarrassing past from her sore acquaintances, because shefear s that they might not accept her anymore. In order to maintainher apparent social status among her new neighbors and friends, shebuilds an intertwined net of lies, which creates a false image ofher. She believes in this imaginary world, and as soon as there isthe slightest sign of destruction, she seems to be lost, and hernervous condition worsens. so all she cares about is to keepthat image alive. Her first name is therefore quite ironic since itmeans the exact opposite of Blanches true nature and character. Her last name, however, stands in contrast to her first name. Made ofwood suggests something solid and hard, which is the exact opposite ofher fragile nature and nervous condition. Wood can also be associatedwith forest or jungle, and regarding her past, the connection becomesclear. Blanche indulges in a rather excessive life sentencestyle. She has sexwith random strangers and is known throughout her hometown of Laurelfor that. Her former life is more like a jungle or a fores t, becauseit is hard to see through all this and detect the real Blanche. As ina jungle, Blanche cannot find a way out of this on her own. The termjungle appears in the play as well. In scene ten, when Stanley isabout to rape Blanche, the moth-eaten jungle voices rise up (Sc.10 p.2130). The jungle can be associated with wildness, brutality andinhuman behavior. As mentioned about, wood represents something hard,or hard working. The Du in front of that however, suggests something