Stanley has his own desires in which he tries to fulfill by using other characters. He desires power and dominance, and by raping Blanche, he tries to regain that sense or power and attention that he had lost after Blanche arrived. Stella began to pay more attention to Blanche and tending to her needs by going out and buying her Coke and letting her take the constant hot baths, and her attitude towards Stanley began to change. Stanley's desire for attention forces him to get rid of the "problem"- he bought Blanche a bus ticket back to Laurel for her birthday. Stanley begins to feel his victory of regaining his dominance when he decided to expose Blanche's past, lies and reality to Stella and Mitch, and stopping the relationship between Mitch and Blanche. When Blanche was sent away to the asylum, Stanley was standing there with Stella and the new baby, comforting her, portraying the image of the idea husband; however, this wrongful representation is yet another thing Blanche cannot accept because she told the truth and is being sent away, while Stanley is not what he seems and is still accepted by Stella. Ironically, this is not how things should be, but how they ought to be, from Stella and Stanley's point of view.
Blanche's desires come from her past experiences. She had married at a young age to a young boy named Allan Grey with poetic aspirations who she was very fond of; however, she catches Allan with another male and could not accept the fact that he was homosexual. Blanche then tells him later that night that he "disgusts" her, which shows her harshness and cruelty. In a way, this also shows her impact on Allan, and the way he died- he shot himself in the head, which is a harsh and cruel way to die. Furthermore, this can also lead to the consequences she has to face for her actions, referring to the way she is treated throughout the play simply because she still can't accept reality. Blanche's desire of finding a companion, finding a lover causes her to constantly make up stories of how things should be. When she arrives at New Orleans, she uses this chance as a way to start new- ironically, she doesn't. She creates an image of herself of how she wants others to see her. She desires attention, but avoids the light because she doesn't want to show her true self. Usually, the light symbolizes something good, that it's leading one out of darkness, but Blanches inability to grasp reality forces her to remain in the darkness, in the world she has created for herself. Blanche’s sexual desires has led to her loss of Belle Reeve, her position in Laurel, and at the end of the play, her expulsion from society at large. Blanche created this "perfect world" of how things "ought" to be, and dug a hole so deep for herself that even when she told the truth about Stanley raping her to Stella- her own sister,- she doesn't believe her and ultimately is the one who sends her away to an asylum. In the end, Blanche is sent away to an asylum, which can be seen as a harsh and cruel place/thing to put a person through. The harshness and cruelty continues throughout the play to the end because it is reminding Blanche of the way she treated Allan Grey and what she has put others through. Shep Huntleigh is just another figment of her imagination, he does not exist. He never appears on stage, and never says a word. She created this figure to make herself feel better about herself and make her feel like she is not alone in this world she has created. He is suppose to be her savior, her escape from reality. Since he never existed, she ends up alone still.
