STREET NAMED DESIRED

In the play, Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, the need for security is shown as being a need for almost every individual. Everybody needs to be safe and secure, it is not only Blanche that’s seeks safety in life, other women equally do. When Blanche initially arrives at her sister Stella’s apartment, her internal struggles for desire and gentility are eminent. Her sexual desire serves as a speedy catalyst for her social end. Her dependence on men and great need for security is very evident. She is not safe without men.

Blanche struggles so much with fantasy and this is a major cause of her downfall. She ends up lying because she does not want to accept the hand of fate. She wants to feel safe, she wants to be secure. Naturally any human being wishes to remain safe and secure. Everybody wishes to feel protected so that his/her reputation is safeguarded. The society has a way of judging people harshly and Blanche does not want to be a victim. She says that she cannot speak the truth, she speak what ought to be true. If that is a sin, she accepts it and is ready to be damned for it. So huge is her insecurity that she fears telling men her age. She feels that this will scare away potential suitors.

Just like Blanche, people feel threatened by the loss of beauty; they feel scared by the fading dignity. The result is insecurity. No woman would feel secure especially when her man is still very active and there are several other potential suitors. They feel threatened when wrinkles begin to form on their faces. They try to hide from the impending reality and do as much as possible to restore the beauty. This is out of fear of being irrelevant in the next few years and it can best be described as insecurity. They do not feel safe. As such Blanche is not alone in this.

Stanley also appears insecure with Blanche. This propels him to searching for information about her blemished past. He tries to accomplish this mission by looking for people who knew her in Laurel, the town where she had been living and teaching English. It is discovered that she had been involved with a teenage: seventeen year old boy while at school. This is the main reason for her sudden departure. Also discovered was the fact that she was evicted from a hotel because of her seedy personal life. Stanley does not feel safe around her. Insecurity is hugely evident here. Consequently, it is very clear that apart from Blanche, other characters also feel insecure.

In conclusion, there comes a point in every individual’s life that insecurity must set in. For women like Blanche, several forces can be attributed to this insecurity. Their fading beauty is one major cause. Beauty does not remain forever. This makes women fear losing their men to other potential suitors. The feeling of being unsafe also lead people to lying to safeguard their reputation and remain loved and cared for. Life is a stage where everyone wants to feel secure. Even with the birth of the new order that makes women powerful, they still need men for security. The sense of masculine strength and power is still too strong to be underestimated. Each person seeks security in life. This is because it is a fundamental force that makes the existence of humankind easy and makes life worth living. Blanche and the others are therefore justified to seek security in life. It is not a weakness; it is a human need, a quest for self gratification and fulfillment.