Mitch: The forgotten hero of T. Williams’s a streetcar named desire

Abstract

This study aims to demonstrate the significant role Mitch (Harold Mitchel) assumes in Tennessee Williams’ most prominent play: A Streetcar Named Desire. It focuses on Mitch’s outstanding contribution to the development of the play, to its thematic concerns, and to its depth and richness. It also highlights the crucial part he plays, which has always been underestimated in favour of Stanley Kowalski, in the tragic conclusion of the play and the fate of its heroine, Blanche DuBois. In juxtaposing the characters of both Mitch and Stanley, the current article delineates their characters and brings to light Mitch’s main personal attributes that qualify him to get from under the shadow of Stanley who, according to the mainstream critical view, enjoys critical acclaim as being the antagonist of Blanche, and who is responsible for her insanity. It is against this general view that this article tries to do justice to Mitch and show his personal traits that outweigh Stanley’s in every aspect: in developing the actions in the play, in his relationship with the other characters, and more importantly in his relationship with Blanche that creates hope, expectation, suspense, and eventually in her mental collapse and gives the play its tragic dimension.