Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire is focused almost completely on its three protagonists: Blanche, Stella, and Stanley. It could be suggested that this play was influenced by Williams’ own upbringing: his sister Rose was mentally ill, and Williams’ was a doting older brother. Potentially, Blanche was inspired by Rose and that this play uses his unique perspective to comment on the treatment of the mentally ill. Williams may be using Stella’s conflict to highlight this.

This lack of control is then reinforced through her rape by Stanley, this is commonly inferred as the last tragedy that consequents in her complete mental breakdown. All this goes to reinforce the aforementioned idea that this play is not primarily about a struggle for power but about Blanche's struggle in her own

In the play, A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, gender roles were reflected on gender roles in the American Society in the 50’s. The male gender was predominant while the female gender was considered less powerful. Williams really emphasizes this stereotype, yet he focuses on the females in the play the whole time.

Blanche has a devastating and scarring past in which her tragic flaw originates from. The elements of love, sex, and death haunt her until she is unable to handle it any longer and loses what is left of her sanity and sparks her unstable mind. To expatiate, Blanche was once married to the love of her life, Allen Grey, until she found

Similar to Stanley, Blanche also faces a power struggle. Her ultimate downfall is a result of Stanley’s cruelty and lack of understanding for human fragility. Comments about Stanley’s ‘animal habits’ and ‘sub-human’ nature act as the agent of Blanche’s downfall. Stanley cannot deal with her mocking him in his own home and is fed up with her lies. During the final scenes his

It is clear from the beginning that Blanche is not a very honest character. She lives in a fantasy world of her own design. One of the very first things she does when she enters Stella’s

In the play, A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, the representation of male and female characters are based on gender stereotypes, which represent a patriarchal society. The way in which Tennessee Williams portrays the main characters: Blanche, Stanley and Stella, by using gender stereotypes demonstrates the patriarchal society`s value, norms and beliefs of the 1940s.

Much like Mitch, Stella does nothing to address Stanley’s overemphasized masculinity. Stella has convinced herself that she enjoys her role as Stanley’s sexual object, which allows him to continue his problematic behavior. She is there for his gratification and her well-being is irrelevant. To be fair, during this time period Stella did not have many options for herself if she were to leave Stanley, but her complacency speaks volumes. Stella is the example of what happens when no one challenges a patriarchal society. She is complacent and therefore in part responsible for her own downfall as well as Blanche’s. Her failure to acknowledge the assault Stanley carried out on her sister is almost just as bad as the assault itself. The reader is left to assume that because she has refused to stand up to Stanley for herself or for her sister, her son will grow up to be like his father, creating another generation of Kowalski men who believe that being a man means being brutal and oversexualized. Stella is undeniably in a tough situation and her fear of ending up like her

‘A Streetcar named Desire,’ is an interesting play, by Tennessee Williams. The character 'Blanche DuBois' is created to evoke sympathy, as the story follows her tragic deterioration in the months she lived with her sister Stella, and brother-in-law Stanley. After reading the play, I saw Blanche as the victim of Stanley's aggressive ways, and I also saw her as a hero in my eyes.

During the last scene of the play (pg. 142) Blanche is being taken away by a doctor. This is an extremely emotional time for Stella. She really needs someone to comfort her. Stanley being insensitive toward her kneels down beside her and reaches under her blouse. He makes no effort to hug or hold her close to him. This demonstrates his lack of sensitivity. The idea of him reaching under blouse cries out I am the one who needs you now focus your intentions on me she is gone. Even in Stella’s time of need Stanley is there only for himself and doesn’t extend himself to his wife.

A Streetcar Named Desire takes place in the 1950’s, an era where American’s were recovering from great losses. Blanche comes to visits Stella after she loses Belle Reve and her teaching job, however she doesn’t inform Stella on when she plans on leaving. In Stella’s two-bedroom apartment Blanche feels very uncomfortable because she comes from a high class society in the south, and doesn’t seem to understand why her sister Stella chose the life she has. Immediately she dislikes Stella’s husband Stanley due to his lack of manners and unlike others, he can see right through her. Blanche’s unexpected arrival in Stella’s apartment unravels a chaotic chain of events where everyone’s true colors are revealed The play was written in the late 1940’s

A strong contrast and fight for dominance is evident between the sexes. Men, unfortunately, contain all the power and women struggle to grasps whatever control they can from their oppressors. Such a strife is a universal female plight and so it is referenced and can be observed through all types of media and publications, including in the theater. A play that focuses on such a conflict is A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. Throughout the play, Stanley Kowalski presents himself as the domineering male figure and Blanche DuBois is the female protagonist who challenges his authority.

Stella’s husband Stanley Kowalski, was unwelcoming to Blanche, making her feel out of place and questioning her glamorous lifestyle. After Blanche witnesses Stanley abusing Stella, she tried to convince Stella to leave him, calling him an “animal” as well as many other insulting things. Stanley overhears this which accelerates the conflict between him and Blanche. Soon after Stanley finds out the truth about her life in Belle Reve, he rapes her. This is yet another unfortunate adverse situation that Blanche is burdened

My first impression of Blanche is that she lets her emotions get the better of her and that she is insecure. She talks fast and barely lets Stella speaks, showing that she is either nervous or hiding something, she uses alcohol to calm her nerves. She constantly asks for attention and compliments. When Stanley finds Blanches letters from her husband she reacts in an outrageous way “Now that you’ve touched them I’ll burn them!” (42).

The play A Streetcar Named Desire revolves around Blanche DuBois; therefore, the main theme of the drama concerns her directly. In Blanche is seen the tragedy of an individual caught between two worlds-the world of the past and the world of the present-unwilling to let go of the past and unable, because of her character, to come to any sort of terms with the present. The final result is her destruction. This process began long before her clash with Stanley Kowalski. It started with the death of her young husband, a weak and perverted boy who committed suicide when she taunted him with her disgust at the discovery of his perversion. In retrospect, she knows that he was the only man she had ever loved, and from this early catastrophe