Tennessee William's, A Streetcar Named Desire, introduces us to Blanche Dubois, former high school English teacher and owner of the family home in Belle Reve. Blanche is the agent of her destruction, causing her continued unhappiness and leading to her emotional breakdown and incarceration in a mental institution. This manifests itself through his many lies, his alcoholism, his desire to appear young, and his sexual tendencies. Blanche's destruction begins during her career as a high school English teacher. She is an elderly woman who lost the family estate and her husband to suicide. At this point in her life, she is considered a fallen woman in society. She has nothing left and has little chance of remarrying due to her age. To fill this gap in her love life and her desire to be young, Blanche has an affair with a 17-year-old student which gets her fired. However, this is not the only time Blanche attempts to preserve her youth. She constantly takes a bath to "calm" her nerves and says that "a woman's charm is fifty percent an illusion" (Williams 41), referring to her clothes and appearance. Without these things, Blanche's life is not worth living. Excessive bathing is a way for Blanche to cleanse herself of her problems, particularly alcohol and her promiscuity. Really with nothing, Blanche goes to the Champs Elysées to visit her sister. However, Blanche's surprise visit is not well received by her brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski, who suspects that Blanche is not telling the truth about her visit. First, Blanche lies about her alcoholism, Stanley asks her if she wants a shot, and Blanche replies: "No, I rarely touch it." (2.7) However, Stanley responds: STANLEY: "some people rarely touch it, but I... middle of paper... that's my limit" (1.111). when he is offered another drink. In reality, Blanche does not drink a glass but rather a bottle, when no one is looking at her. Her "bad luck" continues when she thinks she has found a new man to take care of her and Stanley puts an end to it, to protect his friend from Blanche's thirst for happiness. At the end of the game, when Blanche is taken to the insane asylum, it can be assumed that her condition is permanent. She suffered from addictions to alcohol, lust and lies. She needed the alcohol to give her self-confidence, which led her to lie to male suitors to make her more desirable, filling the void of dependence on men for compliments and happiness general. Additionally, without the constant compliments and interests of her male suitors, she could no longer function in life, allowing her to self-destruct...