Student Question
In "A Streetcar Named Desire," could the Du Bois family plantation name "Belle Reve" be intended as "Belle Rive," or is it Cajun French or Old French usage?
Quick answer:
The Du Bois family plantation name "Belle Reve" in "A Streetcar Named Desire" likely uses the feminine form of the adjective "belle" because it refers to a house or plantation, both feminine nouns in French. This suggests the dream was realized as a real place. Tennessee Williams may have used this name to emphasize the illusionary nature of Blanche's world and the antebellum South's inevitable collapse into reality.
I don't know a whole lot about French, but isn't it possible that the feminine form of the adjective is used because the name is not referring to a dream but to a house or a plantation? Both maison and plantation are feminine nouns in French. If the house or plantation were regarded as only a dream or illusion, then it might be proper to use the masculine form of the adjective. But the name "Belle Reve" seems to imply that the dream was realized, that it was a real place and not a dream. I really don't know if that makes any difference. Tennessee Williams evidently wanted to emphasize that Blanche had been living in a dream world, and/or that the antebellum South was a dream world which was bound to succumb to reality with time.
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