Three authors present characters who are disturbed, whose disturbance has a particular effect on friends and family, and whose problems are addressed in different ways by the authors. Tennessee Williams creates a memorable character in Blanche DuBois, the genteel Southern lady whose sexual obsessions are followed by her in a world of illusions by which she maintains some sense of self. She comes up against harsh reality in the form of her sister's husband, Stanley Kowalski. Lila Wingo is the mother of the suicidal patient in Pat Conroy's novel Prince of Tides, and she has her illusions as well. She is a source of distress not only for her daughter but for her son, Tom--daughter and son are twins. Beth Jarrett in Judith Guest's novel Ordinary People is a third woman who uses illusions to protect herself from the outside world and from the reality that would destroy her completely. She is a family woman, and her family becomes the center of her illusion.
Each of these women is desperately unhappy. Blanche sees herself as a martyr and is always referring to the way life has treated her. The loss of her and Stella's childhood home is a key reference point. Blanche's character is revealed as it contrasts with that of Stanley. A key conflict in the play is the threat Blanche poses to the domesticity of Stanley and Stella, and from Stanley's point of view this is bound with his belief in reality as contrasted with Blanche's desire to live by illusion. Stanley is a character who is open and direct. From the beginning of the play he is made to seem elemental. The first line of the play is Stanley yelling up at his wife, "Hey, there! Stella, baby!" (Williams 13). He tosses her a package of raw meat, emphasizing his brute nature and the sexual relationship always between them. He is rough and crude, but he is also honest and open. He says what he means and challenges anyone to dispute him. Stanley is happy with his domestic ...