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Paradox and Psychoanalysis in A Streetcar Named Desire

By J Mac

Takeaways The role of the paradox in A Streetcar Named Desire holds a poignant relationship with various theories related to the popular psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud and ParaDox? Jacques Lacan. In fact, the role of psychoanalysis within the construction of the play is extremely conspicuous, as the concepts of fantasy and reality, desire and symptomatic repression are central to the story line. Interestingly enough, at around the same time Williamss play hit the stage, Americans began to develop a growing interest in mental illness or madness and the field of psychoanalysis (website).
This relationship was paradoxical as well: Freud theories contested that virtually all neurotic symptoms were a result of repressed sexuality and desire; yet these same theories were eagerly consumed and analyzed by a population of Americans who actively censored and repressed their own sexuality and desire. A psychoanalytic reading of A Streetcar Named Desire expresses the function of the paradox, such as Stanleys desire for Blanche and Blanches reality based on a past that never existed, as the domain of the subjects impossible relation to the object-cause of its desire, the domain of the drive that circulates endlessly around it (Zizek 6). On a larger scale, this reading can be metaphorically applied to American culture in the 1950s, as the paradox and hypocrisy of American consumption and interests (i.e. Playboy, the Kinsey Scale, psychoanalysis)(website) paired with the mandates of censorship and oppression reveals itself as a neurotic symptom of repression caused by Americans relationship to the objectcause of their desire, a relationship rendered impossible due to societys constructed reality. In A Streetcar Named Desire the notion of the paradox acting as the domain of repressed desire operates on a variety of different levels. In the case of Blanche DuBois her neurotic symptoms emerge as she further represses the traumatic instance of discovering the true sexual nature of her husband, Allen. This painful rejection of her sexual love for him leads her into a spiral of extreme promiscuity. This promiscuity speaks of her need to control her sexuality with men and receive sexual validity through their desire for her due to the trauma with her husband. The ultimate testament of Blanches need to validate and control her sexual desirability is her relationship with a young, 17 year old student. By engaging in a sexual relationship with a much younger and inexperienced man, Blanche can be secure in her desirability to men of all ages and is much more adept to control the situation. Blanches impossible desire to have the man she loved, her husband, find her sexually desirable leads her into the realm of promiscuity. The uncontrollable instance of her homosexual husband having sex with another man makes Blanche eager to never lose that control to a man again. The paradox of this relationship is that by trying to control mens desire for her she gets swept up in uncontrollable, promiscuous behavior. Furthermore, through her promiscuity she ultimately makes herself undesirable to the one man she wants to marry her, Mitch. Furthering the notion of the paradox as the realm of repressed desire in Streetcar is the very construction of Blanches reality. The Lacanian notion of the real can be explained as a traumatic kernel that cannot be assimilated into some narrative of ourselves that we have going (Zizek 3-5). As Blanche enters her sisters apartment on Elysian Fields, her construction of her own reality reflects this notion of the real. She cannot assimilate the traumatic kernel of her husbands homosexuality and subsequent death into the narrative of her life. Moreover, the fall of her reputation and expulsion from her hometown of Laurel could not assimilate into the narrative of her life as she told it in New Orleans. Blanches inability to assimilate the real into her life story is a symptom of her desire to have a past that never existed in the first place. Blanches construction of her identity as the quintessential southern bell with a respectable sort of desirability is the fantasy of what her life could have been had she not experienced the trauma of the discovery of her husbands sexual orientation. Blanches relationship to her object-cause of desire, a respectable past and the love of a dead man, is rendered impossible because of the true story of her life in Laurel. Blanches desire for this fantastic past paired with her promiscuity form the paradoxical domain of this impossible relationship. Blanches constructed identity in Streetcar exists as a symptom of the desire aforementioned. The Freudian understanding of the construction of a symptom is that it is a substitute for something else that did not happen (ILP 262, 280), which in the example of Blanche fits well to explain her construction of a false reality. However, the paradox of the psychoanalytic concept of the symptom states that the symptom is an element clinging on like a kind of parasite and spoiling the game, but if we annihilate it things get even worse: we lose all we had, even the rest which was threatened but not yet destroyed by the symptom (Zizek 78, 216). This paradox is made evident by Blanches descent into madness after Stanley Kowalski annihilates her reality.
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In scene seven of the play, Stanley is revealing the truth about Blanches past to Stella. While this scene is taking place Blanche can be heard in the back ground singing the ominous lyrics, Its only a paper moon, Just as phony as can be-But it wouldnt be make-believe if you believed in me!(Williams 121). These lyrics represent the reality that Blanche has created for herself- its as phony as a paper moon, but as long as everyone believed her, it wouldnt be make-believe. She could go on believing it herself, so long as no one unveiled her repressed past. The juxtaposition of this song with Stanleys telling of Blanches true past form a powerful scene foreshadowing how Blanches psyche is about to be destroyed by the one man who represents everything she is not and cannot control. Stanleys uncovering of Blanches past eventually leads to the scene of her rape. This violent act of power is the ultimate in symptomatic rage, which Stanley experiences since his relationship to the object-cause of his desire, Blanche, is impossible due to their inverse relationship to each other. The paradox of Stanleys desire for Blanche is a paradox because of their intense differences and hatred towards one another. Blanche represents for Stanley everything he is not: Blanche is frail and moth-like, while everything that is Stanleys bears his emblem of the gaudy seed-bearer (Williams 25). Blanche was only too aware of the role Stanley Kowalski would play in her mental undoing as she admits to Mitch, He hates me. Or why would he insult me? The first time I laid eyes on him I thought to myself, that man is my executioner! That man will destroy me, unless (Williams 111). Stanleys final act of destroying Blanche is her rape. Although this may seem like a joining between Stanleys desire and the object-cause of that desire (Blanche), it is in fact a violent symptom of the impossibility of that relationship. Rape, as a violent and non-consenting violation, is an incomplete act of fulfilling desire because in terms of psychoanalysis the violent act of rape is seen as the displacement of repressed anger, which ultimately renders it a symptom of that repression. Psychoanalysis also stipulates that excessive shows of strength are often signs of weakness, so Stanleys act of violence towards Blanche portrays how desperate he feels towards the impossibility of his desire for her. (Freud ILP XXI, XXIII ) In Lacanian psychoanalysis there is something known as the petit object a, which is described as a material object, insignificant in itself, that illusionistically seems to embody desire or a force-it seems as though it has the capacity to catch and focus the desire (Zizek 1-6). In Streetcar, the petit object a is Blanches trunk, which represents the paradox of all desire within the play. Blanches trunk encloses the rhinestone diamond tiara and the old relics of Blanches hey-day, like her white fox-pieces. The trunk embodies the luxurious past that Blanche so desired; yet it is also embodies the phony knock-offs and fake rhinestone tiaras that represent her constructed identity of southern womanhood. In fact, Blanche is wearing the tiara when Stanley confronts her with her own lies, weaving together Blanches illusions with the real. For Stanley, the trunk represents Blanches notion of superiority over him, which he greatly detests. He believes her rhinestones to be real and her fabrics to be luxurious, a testament to wealth and pretension. The content of the trunk is what propels his initial distrust in Blanche because he believes that the only way she could afford such luxuries would be by swindling him (Williams 3233). The trunk represents Stanleys attraction and adversity to Blanche, which in turn represents the paradox of his desire for her. His attraction to Stella portrays his desire to be with a woman of a higher class and a more refined nature; yet he cannot stand the superiority and superfluities that come with this status in life. Blanche wholly represents both parts of this equation; therefore she becomes the pinnacle of Stanleys desire and hatred. The layers of paradox and conflicting desires within this play are many. They offer a clear reading of many different psychoanalytic theories and applications. These readings can provide one with a sense of what all this means on a larger, cultural scale. Applying the readings of this play metaphorically to the cultural climate to which it was released, one can analyze the role of the paradox of desire as described in this play and interpreted by psychoanalysis to the American psyche in the 1950s. America was becoming a homogenized community of suburban dwellers who became increasingly paranoid over the effect of the outsider invading the family unit or quiet suburbia. McCarthyism and the red scare exemplified this paranoia and fear of the unknown. Women and people of color were subjugated and expressions of sexuality were repressed. Sitcoms like Leave it to Beaver and Father Knows Best were widely popular and represented the ideal, asexual family life of the nuclear family. However, as this culture of drive-in movies and sock-hops gleamed on the surface, the teeming under-belly of impossible desire reeled under the surface. The 1950s also marked the time when Playboy magazine hit the scene with amazing success (website). The Kinsey reports on American sexual behavior were published, received nationwide attention, and became best sellers (website). The birth-control pill was well in its way to development and the sexual revolution was right around the corner (website). A Streetcar Named Desire appeared on stage for the first time in 1947 and received tremendous acclaim and all the while people were becoming increasingly fascinated with mental illness and psychoanalysis. This discrepancy between the cultural standards and the cultural consumption of the American 1950s forms the same paradox of impossible desire that is relevant in Streetcar and psychoanalytic theory. Artists and thinkers, like Tennessee Williams, portrayed
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an American reality that reeled forth with sexual desires, domination, passion, and madness. Yet the cultural standards of the time neglected these realities and pushed forth a culture consumed with normalcy and conservative moral values. Americans apparent desire for sexual expression and freedom was systematically repressed due to cultural constructs of decency and Judeo-Christian ethics; thereby causing the impossible relationship to the object-cause of desire that ultimately produces the paradox of American cultural conduct and construct. The 1950s was a time of hypocrisies and paradox, which Tennessee Williams so adequately portrayed in his play. American interest in this play and in psychoanalysis showcases a voyeuristic need for the repressed conscious of the American psyche to uncover their own desires and find an answer, through psychoanalytic concepts, to their symptomatic repression. Works Cited Freud, Sigmund, Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis. W.W. Norton and Co: New York, 1965. Williams, Tennessee, A Streetcar Named Desire. New Directions Books: New York, 1947. Zizek, Slavoj, Looking Awry: An Introduction to Jacques Lacan through Popular Culture. The MIT Press: Cambridge, 1991. www.idiotsguides.com/Quick-Guides/M6-TheFifties/file.htm

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