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The Illusion of Reality – Blanche Dubois and Her Individual Perception of Life

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The Illusion of Reality – Blanche Dubois and Her Individual Perception of Life The illusion of reality – Blanche DuBois and her individual perception of life. The ambiguous construction of self in A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams Svea Sophie Pahlke Luz Dissertation in Performing Arts (Artes Cénicas) September, 2016 Dissertação apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Artes Cénicas realizada sob a orientação científica de Professora Cláudia Guerra Madeira. À minha Lisboa. THE ILLUSION OF REALITY - BLANCHE DUBOIS AND HER INDIVIDUAL PERCEPTION OF LIFE. THE AMBIGUOUS CONSTRUCTION OF SELF IN A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE BY TENNESSEE WILLIAMS SVEA SOPHIE PAHLKE LUZ ABSTRACT This dissertation seeks to analyse the way illusion and reality converge in the play A Streetcar Named Desire1 by Tennessee Williams2. The protagonist Blanche DuBois will be the central figure of this analysis. Blahesàpesoalàpeeptioàofàealitàleadsàtoà ambiguity and a metamorphosis of truth. The dissertation will explore whether Blanche DuBois can reveal a deeper reality to us. Quotes refer to the edition published by Reclam (Stuttgart, 2015). A staged example of the piece, in the form of the German production Endstation Sehnsucht3 (German title of A Streetcar Named Desire) directed by Lars-Ole Walburg4 will also be referred to. KEYWORDS: reality, illusion, utopia, fiction, perception, truth, self, communication 1 date premiered: 3.12.1947 2 ´Tennessee Williams` (Thomas Lanier Williams III) (* 26.03.1911; †à..àasàaàáeiaà playwright and art critic 3 The play Endstation Sehnsucht was premiered at 16 April 2016 at Thalia Theater in Hamburg. More information at: https://www.thalia-theater.de/de/spielplan/repertoire/endstation-sehnsucht/ last accessed: 28.06.2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBzw5Lr-1js last accessed: 28.06.2016 4 Lars-Ole Walburg, German theatre director and artistic director of the Schauspiel Hannover in Germany, was invited to direct Endstation Sehnsucht at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg. A ILUSÃO NA REALIDADE – BLANCHE DUBOIS E SUA PERCEÇÃO INDIVIDUAL DA VIDA. A CONSTRUÇÃO AMBÌGUA DO PRÓPRIO SER EM A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE DE TENNESSEE WILLIAMS. SVEA SOPHIE PAHLKE LUZ RESUMO Esta dissertação tem como objectivo analisar a forma como a ilusão e a realidade convergem na peça A Streetcar Named Desire5 de Tennessee Williams6. A protagonista Blanche DuBois vai constituir a figura central desta análise. A percepção pessoal de Blanche acerca da realidade é relacionada à ambiguidade e a metamorfose da verdade. A dissertação problematizará se a construção da personagem pode revelar um sentido mais amplo de realidade. As citações referem-se à edição publicada pela Reclam (Stuttgart, 2015). Um exemplo recente de encenação da peça, na forma da produção alemã Endstation Sehnsucht7 (German title of A Streetcar Named Desire) dirigida por Lars-Ole Walburg8 também será referida neste trabalho. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: realidade, illusão, utopia, ficção, percepção, verdade, próprio ser, comunicação 5 Data da primeira estreia: 03.12.1947 6 ´Tennessee Williams` (Thomas Lanier Williams III) (*26.03.1911; †..àeaàuàautoàdatioàeà crítico de arte. 7 A peça Endstation Sehnsucht teve sua estreia no 16.04.2016 no Thalia Theater em Hamburgo. Mais informações: https://www.thalia-theater.de/de/spielplan/repertoire/endstation-sehnsucht/ último acesso: 28.06.2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBzw5Lr-1js último acesso: 28.06.2016 8 Lars-Ole Walburg é um diretor artístico alemão e diretor de teatro no Schauspiel Hannover na Alemanha. Ele foi invitado de encenar Endstation Sehnsucht no Thalia Theater em Hamburg Index I. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 I.I. Content of the dissertation .......................................................................................... 4 I.II. Literary Movement and historical overview ................................................................ 5 I.II.I. Struggling individuals in the spirit of the times ............................................................. 6 I.III. General overview of the play in the context of the Southern States Renaissance ........ 7 I.III.I. The plot of the play (focussing on Blanche DuBois) ..................................................... 7 I.III.II. The characterisation of Blanche DuBois and her ambiguity ..................................... 10 I.III.III. Symbolism of light and darkness .............................................................................. 13 1. Self-delusion and the individual construction of reality ....................................... 15 1.1. Personal opinions over reality.................................................................................. 17 1.2. A set design to illuminate ambiguous perceptions of reality ..................................... 19 1.3. Utopia and illusion in reality .................................................................................... 20 1.4. Fictional worlds in theatre ....................................................................................... 21 1.4.1. Realistic moments in fiction ...................................................................................... 21 1.4.2. Levels of meaning in staged fictional worlds ............................................................ 22 2. The nature of truth – the perception, representation and creation of truth ......... 23 2.1. Poetic Realism – A key to the literary expression of inner truths ............................... 26 2.2. The clash of truths ................................................................................................... 27 2.3. Lies within truths ..................................................................................................... 28 2.4. Different ways of expressing truths and untruths ..................................................... 29 2.4.1. Dehierarchicalisation as a key to truthful expression ............................................... 30 2.4.2. Physicality as a key to truthful expression ................................................................ 33 2.5. Truths and untruths in memory ............................................................................... 35 3. Blanche and her creation of the self .................................................................... 36 3.1. The social chameleon .............................................................................................. 38 3.2. ´To Be or not to Be [herself]: that is the question` (Hamlet, Act III, Scene I) ............... 39 3.3. The formation of identity ......................................................................................... 40 3.4. The narrative or narrated self .................................................................................. 42 3.5. Self and the sense of self ......................................................................................... 44 3.6. Complexity and intangibility of self .......................................................................... 46 4. Conclusion – Reality, communication and community ......................................... 47 Bibliography ........................................................................................................... 52 Music References ................................................................................................... 55 References about the production at Thalia Theater ................................................ 55 Image Index ........................................................................................................... 56 I.àItodutio This dissertation seeks to investigate the role played by the individual in the construction of reality. Its main part consists of an analysis of the interrelationship between reality and illusion. Blanche DuBois (the character portrayed in the original play by Tennessee Williams and the German staged interpretation of the character by Karin Neuhäuser9 in Endstation Sehnsucht, which premiered on the 16th of April 2016 at Thalia Theater in Hamburg) will be the focus for analysis, as she exemplifies ambiguous individual perceptions of reality and truth. Throughout the dissertation theàteàealitàdoesàotàeaàtheàetietàofàtheà earth and the cosmos, but specifically the different perceptions of reality experienced by Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire and Endstation Sehnsucht (the staged version is going to be analysed mainly in following subchapters: 1.2. and 2.4). We will see that the smallest part of the whole, filtered through personal perception, is not a clearly definable entire reality in itself because it is ruled and formed by subjective perceptions. Therefore it is difficult to conceptualise reality as a tangible idea. To underline the diversity in the perception of reality and truth and therefore to emphasise the so-called ´transition between realities` (Luckmann, Berger 39) I will use particular terms. The precise definitions of these terms will be refined throughout the dissertation and each will stand for important shifts in Blanche`s perception of life and of herself. Following terms will describe the different phases of Blanche´s unique, individual perception of reality and truth: personal reality, subjective truth, inner truth and individual truth. Other terms will be used to underscore differences in the way she approaches her environment and the more ´objective reality and truth` she finds there, namely: common reality, objective truth and real truth. In analysing Blanche`s
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