Pub #2
“I couldn't go on believing her story and live with Stanley" (Stella, 1232).
In a “Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams, his main characters, Blanche, Stella, and Stanley, are prime examples of the human condition. Stanley with his dominance and underneath his insecurities, Blanche with her coping mechanisms which leads to her attempted secret addiction, and Stella with her ignorance and state of denial, which is portrayed in the quote. In today’s time Stanley may seem a little over the top, but would still be seen as a pretty normal guy. While Stella and Blanch would be perceived as mentally unhealthy. Stella not as much but defiantly Blanche. Many of the mental issue with Blanche and partly with Stella are caused by the time period. As known in sociology there are certain folkways (informal norms) that people in society must follow or will be seen as “weird.” In present day folkways aren’t taken as seriously and are often brushed off if not follow but in the past if not followed a person would be a outcast and ostracizes .
This became the reality for Stella. Though deep down inside she may have known what her husband Stanley really did to her sister Blanche, she could not believe it. Divorce was not common in that day, especial if the woman were pregnant. This is why Eunice stated to Stella “Don't ever believe it. Life has got to go on. No matter what happens, you've got to keep on goin.” (Williams 144) This was the root of Stella’s denial, she refused to become a victim to the truth. If she believed her sister, like the quote stated, she could not continue living with Stanley. If she divorced and left Stanley where would she go? Her only sister moved in with her because she had nowhere else to go, there was no mention of any other relatives, and in that time period they did not have women settlers and places like that. She would have ended up homeless, with a child, and no way to take care of her or the child. So the best thing to do at that time, would be to stay in denial. They often say ignorance is bliss.
This was also the reality for Blanche, but in more extreme terms. She had a past that she could not discuss, an addiction that wasn't acceptable, and was getting older by the minute. In today’s time Blanche would not be consider “old,” but in that time period she did. When talking to Stella, Blanch declares “Especially when the girl is over--thirty. They think a girl over thirty ought to--the vulgar term is—‘put out.’...” (Williams 84) In that time period it was unheard of for a women of her age to not be married. This is why she created and lived in an illusion, this is why she liked the dark and always tried to create “magic” it was all a part of her coping mechanism. In an article title the “Coping and Defensive Behavior in Four Role Playing Situations” written by Clorinda Hunter, she talks about how coping mechanism are natural psychological defensives. She states “The efforts of the infantile ego to avoid ‘pain’ by directly resisting external impressions belong to the sphere of normal psychology.” This means in order to avoid pain a person will rely on a coping mechanism to maintain comfort. This is what Blanche did, she had a painful past and in order to avoid the pain of the past she created a world where it did not exist. Same with Stella in order to avoid the pain of her reality she lives in denial.
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