As stated by the Merriam Webster Dictionary, the definition of insanity goes as follows: ‘exhibiting a severely disordered state of mind: affected with mental illness.’ Thesaurus.com says, ‘mentally ill; foolish.’ Lastly, our good and ancient friend, oxford dictionary says, ‘In a state of mind which prevents normal perception, behavior, or social interaction; seriously mentally ill.’ Throughout these definitions, ‘mentally ill’ is an all-present definition. Just to extend upon that definition, I looked up some symptoms of being ‘mentally ill,’ According to ‘Mentalhealhyamerica.net,’ some symptoms of mental illnesses are: confused thinking, prolonged depression, feelings of extreme highs and lows, excessive fears, worries, anxieties, delusions, social withdrawal, strong feelings of anger, etc. Examining each symptom mentioned above, would it be an exaggeration to say that most people feel all these mentioned characteristics? One issue with these dictionary definitions is that they are all encompassing and too broad. Literally anyone can align with these symptoms. Another issue is that the word has been watered down and trivialized, muttered in everyday conversation without much consideration for its purpose, but that is not too related. The term insane, it being a type of category that one is designated to, has blurry lines. A person can exhibit all symptoms mentioned above, but still be mentally sane. It is difficult to exactly delineate who is either insane or not insane. I also check off many of the aforementioned symptoms. Does that mean I’m necessarily insane? I don’t think so. In the upcoming paragraphs, I will be examining across which sides of the insanity line the characters of Blanche and Stanley fall under.
For the sake of my argument, let’s assume that Blanche is actually insane. She certainly sometimes exhibits habits or tendencies that would allow a reader to assume so. Towards the end of the story, Blanche says, “You know what I shall die of? I shall die of eating an unwashed grape one day out on the ocean. I will die – with my hand in the hand of some nice-looking ship’s doctor, a very young one with a small blond mustache and a big silver watch. […] And I’ll be buried at sea sewn up in a clean white sack and dropped overboard – at noon – in the blaze of summer – and into an ocean as blue as my first lover’s eyes!” This quote demonstrates Blanche’s delusions with her current situation. These delusions arise from the fact that she is unhappy with her current self. She is insecure that she is aging, she is insecure about her wealth, and she is also insecure about her looks. Her insecurities manifest into delusions, depression, and anxieties. But does her depression episodes really amount to insanity? Can they not be attributed as after effects of a greatly traumatizing experience? Is she not a recent widow? Although Blanche demonstrates insane tendencies, at least her insanity is justifiable. For Stanley’s case, it is harder to justify.
For Stanley, his illnesses are portrayed through his violent and sexually inappropriate actions. Even from early in the play, Stanley’s domineering sexuality was introduced and discussed. ‘He sizes women up at a glance, with sexual classifications, crude images flashing into his mind and determining the way he smiles at them.’ At the end of the novel, Stanley rapes Blanche. The way Stanley approaches sex is most definitely a mental illness. He exerts a hegemony by violent means, even beating his wife, and raping Blanche. It is clear as day that Stanley is more mentally ill than Blanche is. So why is Blanche the only one being lambasted for her insecurities? Reminiscent of Billy Corgan’s lyrics, the answer has to do with who exactly decides who is crazy. Stanley is not deemed ‘insane’ because he is the authority of his own domestic hegemony. In his household, he punishes his violators through violent means. Stella is an example. Stanley has beaten Stella multiple times, and even has domesticated her to stay with him. Stella says to Blanche, when asked about what kind of person Stanley is, she replies, “Oh, you can’t describe someone you’re in love with!” Stella has been manipulated to the point that she is completely blind to Stanley's oppressive power structure. As for Blanche, she was a character that was not able to be domesticated by Stanley. Her personality rebelled against his strict power hegemony, so Stanley pinned her as crazy, and institutionalized her. Who was really crazy here?
As mentioned above, it’s hard to justify Stanley’s insane personality. In the power structure that is demonstrated in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire,’ the house is run under a Stanley hegemony. Stanley, one who demonstrates his power through violent actions, exercises his dominance throughout the house in inappropriately violent ways. Therefore, Blanche, among other people, who are nowhere near as insane as Stanley is, are conditioned into thinking that Blanche is the mentally ill person. Both characters portrayed unhealthy habits, but Blanche was not the one that deserved to be institutionalized. In summary, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ can be a story that portrays the contradictory standards that are present under an unfair power hegemony. Although Blanche was the victim of this relationship, Blanche was the one institutionalized because she did not hold any physical or political power within Stanley’s hegemony.
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Hi Adam,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, wow... your post flows beautifully and I was able to comprehend your ideas and arguments pretty easily. In addition, I love that you didn't just jump right into the play; instead, you laid out your materials: definitions of insanity, the song by Smashing Pumpkins, etc... and then gracefully transitioned into the meat of your argument. Totally agree that Blanche's "insanity" with respect to Stanley's is less severe; yet, it's odd that she's the one put in the mental institution when Stanley demonstrates much greater signs of insanity. I don't have much to correct other than I recommend not ending a sentence with "is"- it sounds awkward and I was once corrected for this too by a previous professor. Overall, great job.
Dear Adam,
ReplyDeleteI had a really great time reading your post; it was thoughtfully written and flowed nicely. I especially liked how you drew from several different sources such as music, dictionaries, a thesaurus, and a mental health website to establish a definition of insanity, noting that they are all far too broad and that even a sane person could exhibit some of those characteristics. I most definitely agree that Blanche and Stanley’s respective fates were the product of an “unfair power hegemony” as you so eloquently phrased it and that Blanche’s supposed mental failings were far less grievous than Stanley’s. If you were to expand this into a longer essay, I think it would be interesting to provide an even more in-depth analysis of Stella-could she be considered insane for enabling Stanley's abusive behaviors towards both her and Blanche? One could easily say that she's insane for choosing to stay with a rapist and domestic abuser, but it could be argued that leaving him would be even more insane because aside from having to take care of herself, she now had a newborn to provide for and raise.