Explore the theme of desire in 'A Streetcar Named Desire'

Tennessee Williams' 'A Streetcar Named Desire' is set in New Orleans in the 1940s during the Great Depression. The play demonstrates the great extent to which the protagonists will go in order to gratify their desires. For example, Blanche desires security and companionship. This is demonstrated by Blanche misleading Mitch: "I was somewhat flattered that you - desired me!... I guess you are used to...the kind [of girls] that get lost immediately, on the first date!" In this moment, Blanche is trying to act innocently to portray to Mitch that she cannot be seduced easily, through the use of 'lost' as a metaphor for having sex. However, this creates dramatic irony as, in the previous scene, Blanche tries to seduce a young man before Mitch arrives. The pragmatics of this line, therefore, suggest that Blanche believes Mitch will not desire her as much if she submits herself to him immediately. By taking the relationship slowly, Blanche believes it will build and lengthen his desire for her which will secure their relationship. Later, the audience discovers that, as a young girl, Blanche triggered her husband to kill himself by stating she was disgusted when she discovered he was gay. Ergo, Blanche's longing for a stable companionship directly relates to her desire to be desired as her husband mislead her to believe he loved her.