.
She couldn't escape her troubles for long. She was a teacher at a high school and at one point had a ual relationship with one of her students. When the man in charge, named "Mr. Graves- discovered this, she was fired. Her image was completely destroyed. "Mr. Graves- sent her on the next stop of the symbolic journey - "Cemeteries-.
Her final destination was "Elysian Fields-. Now, when I hit this spot, I was stuck. I did a little research on Elysian Fields and discovered this: there was mention of Elysian Fields in the Book six of Aenied by Virgil. By doing a little research on this book, and of the reference to Elysian Fields, I gathered a quote that describes the place:.
They are the souls whose destiny it is a second time.
To live in the flesh and there by the waters of Lethe.
They drink the draught that sets them free from care.
And blots out their memory.
I was excited to make this discovery, as it all made sense. Blanche came to Elysian Fields to forget her horrible past, and to start a fresh new life.
I tried to observe patterns in Blanche's behavior. I found a pattern with a certain action: bathing. Blanche is constantly bathing. I thought there must be some sort of significance with it, because it happens so repeatedly. And the symbolism is blatant. She is trying to purify and clean off her past.
Another repeated behavior, is Blanche's problem with light. Light plays a crucial part in the struggle between Blanche and Stanley. Blanche insists that she cannot stand a light bulb. Light represents truth, and obviously, Blanche wants to cloak the truth by covering it up. Later on in the play, Stanley "brings to light- the true facts of Blanche's life. When Mitch, Blanche's admirer, is enlightened by Stanley about her past, he proceeds to rip of the paper lantern from the light bulb and demands a good look at her. The light is getting brighter, and Blanche is getting weaker.
