Existential Reflection: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Caused by Excessive Existentialism in 'A Streetcar Named Desire'

Abstract

In this paper, it is hypothesized whether Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire’s portrayal of over- existentially motivated behavior might cause or worsen BPD in Blanche DuBois. The research links literature and mental health as a way of exploring psychological disorders from an existential perspective. Thus, referring to the existentialistic paradigm of Kierkegaard which stresses freedom, choice and meaning, the paper performs the thematic analysis of the play and concludes that the links between the existential anxiety of the play’s characters and the signs of BPD like affective instability and identity disorder are rather profound. Information was gathered from textual analysis of the play and theoretical mind writings with the emphasis on the concept of existential crises influencing character’s machinist. What the results illustrate is how characters like Blanche are seen as existing existential anxieties comparable with BPD traits in illusions, abandonment, and mood swings. This multidisciplinary approach offers a fresh perspective on existential and mental disorder revealing an association between increased existential phobic symptoms and BPD.