A Streetcar Named Desire Astrological Analysis

Though many scientists cast astrology aside as a pseudoscience, it does define the characters in A Streetcar Named Desire. Blanche and Stanley often portray similar character traits to their astrological signs. Also, Blanche often refers to constellations to emphasize a point in the play. Astrological signs first make an appearance in scene five. Blanche speculates that Stanley is an Aries because he is, “forceful and dynamic” (76). Aries typically have short tempers and are very stubborn, which are both traits seen in Stanley. A show of stubbornness can be found in scene two just after Blanche has first arrived. When he hears that Blanche has lost Belle Reve, Stanley loudly demands to see the legal documents for the plantation. Even after
When the paperboy comes to collect for The Evening Star, Blanche finds it amusing. She says, “I didn’t know that the stars took up collections.” (82). What people see as the evening star is either of two things. Most commonly, it is the planet Venus. In various mythologies, Venus represents lust, beauty, and youth. The evening star is also sometimes the planet Mercury which is the Planet that rules Blanches sign, Virgo. The fact that this young boy is collecting for a paper called the Evening Star is a sign to Blanche. She sees this sign and it allows her to make advances on this boy, guilt free. To her, the stars have predetermined this occurrence to happen. Later, after her date with Mitch, she mentions to him that she sees the Pleiades constellation. These stars represent seven of the titan Atlas’ daughters. When Zeus punished Atlas by forcing him to hold the weight of the sky on his shoulders, the seven sisters committed suicide. Zeus immortalizes them by turning them into stars. It’s only a short time later, that Blanche recounts her husband's suicide. The mentioning of the Pleiades is a very subtle way of telling the reader or viewer what is going to happen