One of the many themes in A Streetcar Named Desire has to do with sentimentality versus realism. Blanche represents the romantic and idealistic values of the Old South, whereas Stanley represents the harsh realism of the New South.
Another related theme has to do with the destruction of the Old South by the Civil War and the gradual emergence of a tawdry, honky-tonk New South out of the ashes.
Another theme is the triumph of earthy, animalistic, brutal physical force and primitive sexuality over the sensitive, poetic, romantic ideals represented both by Blanche and by the boyish husband who wrote poetry and died young.
And yet another theme is the tragedy of aging as represented by Blanche DuBois. She is losing everything. She has lost Belle Reve. She will soon be losing her little space in the Kowalski apartment. Her last hope appears to be marriage to Mitch. That would save her from destitution--and possibly prostitution. But Mitch destroys her pretenses and illusions when he tells her:
"You're not clean enough to bring in the house with my mother."
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