Blanche has very “old fashioned ideals” and this is shown in her concealment of her age. At the time of the play, a woman of Blanche’s age was expected to be married and settled down with a family. It would have been socially frowned upon that she had not yet achieved this. She cannot hide her lack of family, but can hide her age, so this is what she does.
Her lies of her age and drinking habits: -
“I - rarely touch it.” Progress into huge fantasises of a “Texan oil millionaire.” Williams has structured it in this way, with the illusions and fantasies of Blanche gradually encroaching the play, in order to make the ending credible. Stella and Stanley think Blanche’s fantasies are too great for her to go on living in a normal society, therefore send her to a mental institution.
However, whereas Blanche is aware of her hiding from reality
“I don’t tell the truth, I tell what ought to be the truth.” Stella is not. She blocks out things she doesn’t want to hear: -
“I don’t want to hear anymore!” So, although she is not creating fantasies, she is hiding from the truth, which in itself creates an illusion of things. She does this for an easier life. She chooses not to believe Blanche’s story of the rape, as she believes “life has got to go on” and that she should do everything in her paper to carry this through. Thereafter this statement, Stella’s relationship with Stanley is built on lies. Williams has structured the play so that it starts and ends on the Kowolaski’s doorstep. The closing and ending scenes are directed so that their relationship looks ideal. However, underneath this illusion, the audience is aware of the hypocrisy of Stanley comforting Stella as the curtain falls.
Blanche in fact has reasons for her fantasies. They are an escape from her loneliness. They are far better than facing reality. She does not care that her lies will be found out and gets entertainment from making and masking them. This is represented by Williams in the “It’s only a paper moon” song that Blanche sings. This song speaks of a make-believe world, which is phoney, but pleasurable, if everyone plays along.
Illusion and fantasy also link in with another very important theme in the play, death and desire. Death and desire are constant symbols throughout the play, most notably in the two streetcars; “Desire…and one called Cemeteries.” Desire and death are both strong features in the real world. Blanche has had to deal with substantial amounts of both. In her long speech about the deaths at Belle Reve in scene one, she rebukes Stella and Stanley’s desire: -
“I took the blows in my face and my body… where were you? In bed with your – Polack!” unable to cope with death or desire, Blanche turns to a third oblivion; dementia.
In all of her fantasies, Blanche clings to the American past and ideals. She does not want to admit her life as part of the Southern aristocracy has faded. Since the fall of her family she has had to associate with ‘New America’ and the working classes. This is another prominent theme in the play, New America versus Old America. Blanche refuses to admit her association with the latter therefore creates a world in her mind where the former still exists. This contrast is most notably portrayed by Blanche and Stanley. Stanley represents a down to earth American man who refuses to play up to Blanche’s fantasies: -
“Now – let’s cut the re-bop!”
The rape scene, which provides the climax of the play, displays the final conflict between Blanche and Stanley, old versus new, and reality versus fantasy. Blanche wears a “rhinestone tiara” represents a queen. This opposes the way Blanche has really been treated. After the death of her husband and family, Blanche was lonely and vulnerable. This lead to people exploiting her. Blanche hates “deliberate cruelty” therefore uses illusion and fantasy to mask her sorrow. In scene ten, Stanley cruelly exploits Blanche, which eventually leads to her destruction.
So, in “A Streetcar Named Desire” there are a number of themes such as death and desire, madness and old versus new America, illusion and fantasy are prominent in all of these.