The Greek tragedian Aeschylus once wrote that “a god implants a mortal guilt whenever he wants to completely confuse a house,” and as the creator of A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams is no exception. Blanche DuBois's guilt makes the emotional, tragic, and often extreme circumstances of the play possible. Williams creates Blanche's vulnerabilities, including her dependence on others and her inability to face reality, so that her guilt over Allan's death becomes the root cause of her promiscuity, her neurasthenic behavior, and her definitive fall. Blanche's guilt, the main force that led to her downfall, stems from her involvement in the circumstances surrounding her husband Allan's suicide. After finding her husband with another man and realizing that he is homosexual, Blanche initially plays dumb. That evening, during a dance, she utters the words that push Allan to break away from her and commit suicide: “I saw! I know! You disgust me…” (204). Therefore, Blanche sees herself as the cause of Allan's death. As Bert Cardullo explains in his study of compassion in Streetcar, Blanche is not actually haunted by her husband's homosexuality (89). In fact, his greatest regret, in the words of Leonard Berkman, is that his “unconditional expression of disgust” was the cause of his suicide (see in Cardullo 89). These critics are right to recognize that Blanche's reaction is the main source of her guilt, but they forget to mention what this shows about Blanche's love for Allan. Because she is more devastated by her loss than by her homosexuality, the reader can infer that her love for Allan was pure and unconditional, which contrasts with her later merely physical relationships with men. This situation le...... middle of paper...... Williams. Bloom's modern critical views. Ed. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea, 1987. 9-11. Print.Mood, John J. "The Structure of a Streetcar Named Desire." Ball State University Forum 14 (1973): 9-10. Rpt. in student theatre. Eds. David Galens and Lynn M. Spampinato. vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1998. 294-96. Print.Riddel, Joseph N. "A Streetcar Named Desire: Nietzsche's Descendant." Tennessee Williams. Bloom's modern critical views. Ed. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea, 1987. 13-22. Press. "Tennessee Williams." Critical investigation of the drama. Ed. Frank N. Magill. vol. 6. Pasadena: Salem, 1994. 2569-2577. Print.Williams, Tennessee. A tram called Desiderio. Dramas of our time. Ed. Bennett Cerf. New York: Random House, 1967. 145-235. Print.Woolway, Joanne. Dramaturgy for students. Eds. David Galens and Lynn M. Spampinato. vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1998. 292-94. Press.