A Streetcar Named Desire: Short Essay

Although Stanley’s power works mainly to downgrade Blanche, his violent and aggressive nature also disempowers Stella. She is abused during poker night, a moment of masculine bonding. Following the poker night she is made powerful when she retreats to Eunice’s Flat. However, she returns to disempowerment when she leaves Eunice’s flat and Stanley ‘bears her into the dark flat’. Stella’s decision to stay with Stanley is not based on choice, but rather on the fact that she must. This enforces the dominant belief that women are unable to support themselves, emotionally and financially.

It was not just her self that put her in the lime light of being a victim; it is also her new change of environment and people. Stanley is Stella's husband; he is described to be very masculine and aware of his sexual magnetism. “Strongly, compactly built”. He is mostly at ease with people however, if they lack loyalty and affection to him, he will bully them. Especially women, as he believes them just to be easy conflict. It is seen in scene 3 that Stanley has little respect for women. “I said to hush up!” This is addressed to his wife who is seen emotionless and impassive in this play. As for Blanche how is fussy and at edge, she would be very effected by the crude attitude that Stanley presents and so tries to hysterical take Stella away from her husband. Stanley does not forget of this act of interference and makes him all the more determined to be rid of Stella’s “charity case”. The real reason for Stanley’s bulling is that Blanche immediately received all Stella’s attention. “How about my supper huh? I’m not going to no Galatorires’ for supper” This made Stella dominant in power over Stanley and Blanche, something Stanley was not used to. “I put you a cold plate on ice”.

He likes to possess and control everything around him, he almost ‘owns’ Stella, and he has changed from her days at Belle Reve, pulling her “down off them columns and how [she] loved it”. But the arrival of Blanche, and her aristocratic ways annoys Stanley, as Stella begins to revert to her old ways. Blanche encourages her to stand up to him, and continually stresses the difference in their levels, although Stanley is not ashamed that he “was common as dirt”. Therefore, the only way that he can overcome Blanche and restore his authority is to beat her and triumph over her physically, which he eventually does. Although ironically, it is the effect of Stanley and his actions on her mind that finally provokes her downfall.

Her passivity is shown on several occasions throughout the play. Blanche constantly commands Stella, ‘I like to wait on you Blanche’ , and this shows that Stella is considered inferior to Blanche. Moreover, her submissiveness is shown when Stanley hits here at scene three, this action is shown through stage directions ‘Stanley charges after Stella (…). There is a sound of a blow’. If Stella was a strong-willed character instead of a passive and submissive one she would have left Stanley for what he had done, but she chose to continue suffering domestic violence. In addition, it may be argued that her financial dependency on her husband is also one of the reasons she continues with her husband, this is linked to the Marxist theory as this the economic class of the character affects her personality and action. In addition, her subordination is also linked to a satisfying sexual life, ‘But there are things that happen between a man and a woman in the dark – that sort of make everything else seem – unimportant.’ This is linked to the Freudian theory as it shows that sexual pleasure affects her decision to keep tolerating Stanley’s abuse. The representation of Stella as the subordinating submissive housewife is a representation of the women in the 1940s, who lived in a patriarchal society and in some occasions suffered domestic

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

The point of Stanley aim for power over women, especially over Blanche not his wife Stella. Between with Stanley and Blanche have a lot of thing going on. The audience show unbiased toward to Stanley, getting

Although there is nothing wrong with Stella offering her sister a help and let Blanche stays in her place, but the biggest missing component, in this case, is the cause a huge embarrassment, that is Stanley. Stanley is Stella’s husband, they live together with peace and entertainment so far; nevertheless, the involvement of a third person would interrupt or even shatter the situation, and this person is Blanche. Stanley represents the new rising Americans, and we can envision him as urban-hunkey. His lifestyle is full of manhood; he goes to bowling, loves poker party, and we gain the picture of him as an aggressive, dominant and very sexual person. To satisfy Stanley is quite simple, first, his sexual desire would override his other senses, which means his sexual relationship with his wife is extremely important to him; second, Stanley enjoys maintaining stereotypical gender roles in his home and being respect as the head of the household. After Blanche’s visit, both of his old habits are being disturbed because Blanche takes herself as someone who’s more superior which goes against his gender role and she sleeps right across them with only a thin layer of the barrier which also stops his lovely night party with his wife. These reasons caused Stanley being so unsympathetic to the way Stella treats Blanche, which furthermore

It seems that Williams has made it seem that Stanley did not cause Blanches downfall to much extent that he only sped up Blanche’s decline as she was already on a decline, regardless of Stanley’s added affects. However it can be argued that although Blanche was on the verge of a downfall she would have recovered as she had the strength to go to her sister for help. Yet it can be said that Stanley stopped Blanche recovering and aided her downfall to continue. Williams shaped Stanley’s character as a dominant, prideful and somewhat possessive one... I believe that he is mainly sexually possessive as once Blanche questioned Stella on why she loves Stanley she admitted that it was because, he fulfils her sexual and sensual desires with a steady life. ‘Remember what Huey Long said-`Every Man is a King!' And I am the king around here, so don't forget it!’ Stanley was the dominant character between him and Stella however, with the arrival of Blanche Williams disrupts their simple life; Blanche criticizes his private life his character, his views and beliefs. Therefore Stanley turns against her this could be argued the cause for Stanley to start breaking her down, wanting

Desire is prominent in Stella and Stanley’s relationship; Stella is drawn to Stanley because he has a strong male sexuality and he is drawn to her because of her traditional feminine sexuality. Stanley abuses Stella, and when Blanche finds out she is perplexed. Stella explains that, “there are things that happen between a man and a woman in the dark—that sort of make everything else seem—unimportant.”(1.4). Stella and Stanley stay together because they use sex to smooth out their disputes. Stanley views sex as an important aspect in marriage (Panda ). He views women as sexual objects; Williams gives an insight on Stanley, he says, “[Stanley] sizes women up at a glance, with sexual classifications, crude images flashing through his mind”(1.1). Stanley ends up raping Blanche at the end of the play; thus causing Blanche to lose her sanity. Although Blanche’s husband is only mentioned a few times in the play, the audience is able to see that his own sexual desire leads to his

Finally, Stanley rapes Blanche because “he has tried and tried to keep her down to his level” (Kagan 26) but she cannot go there.  The rape is his way of getting her there.  In the powerful scene where Stanley loses total control of his actions and strikes the person whom he has sworn to protect, love and cherish, William's shows Stanley's lack of control and hatred of the new threat in his life, Blanche.  What makes this scene so important to the topic is the way that the three characters react once the party has broken up.  Blanche is in her usual state of panic; Stella has retreated upstairs, while Stanley stumbles around calling out 'Steeelllaaa' in a drunken sweaty animal-like manner.  Surprisingly Stella answers her mate's calls and embraces him, the two of them exchanging words of compassion and kisses.  Stanley then picks up Stella and carries her off to his den to make love, which is Stanley's way of apologizing.  Stanley has to be the dominant male figure in all his relationships, not only with Stella and Blanche, but with his friends as well.  He is a leader and instantly rises to the challenge whenever his status is threatened.

Lastly the dependence of men plays an extremely large role in this book. Williams uses Blanche’s and Stella’s dependence on men to expose and critique the treatment of women during the transition from the old to the new South. Both Blanche and Stella see male companions as their only means to achieve happiness, and they depend on men for both their sustenance and their self-image. Blanche recognizes that Stella could be happier without her physically abusive husband, Stanley. Yet, the alternative Blanche

Stella, too, is a major character who lives in a world of hopes and fantasies. Stella’s tears over her sister as Blanche was taken away at the end of play reveals that Stella’s fantasies have been crushed by Stanley’s brutality. Stella calls her sister, “Blanche! Blanche! Blanche!”(142) , as if she does not want to let go of her sister. In spite of the fact that Stanley tried to justify and to relief her, Stella knows that something acquitted and abandoned had banished. She knows that her happy and humble world and her sister’s hopes had gone. Through her fantasy world, she thinks she could keep her sister for ever, but fantasy does not always work and makes life appear as it should be rather than what reality is. Also, Blanche imagines the doctor as a gentleman who is going to rescue her from a life that she imagines it as a life that does not want to accept her. Blanche finishes the play by saying, “Whoever you are—I have always depended on the kindness of strangers” (142). Blanche’s irony is demonstrated for two reasons. First of all, the doctor is not a gentleman; he came to take her to a mental health care. Second of all, strangers are not kind to her; they are kind only for trade of sex. Instead, they feel sympathy for her for creating a world where she is the victim. Blanche never perceives stranger’s kindness as something that people take advantage of. Instead, she thinks that Stanley is the one who does not treat her well, although he wanted

In the play, A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, Stella and Stanley Kowalski have a far from perfect marriage. In the Kowalski household ranking is set in stone; Stanley is the alpha and protects his ranking by emotionally and physically abusing Stella. Stanley is an aggressive husband but signs of a softer side peak through Stanley’s hard exterior creating two personalities. Stanley has destroyed the meaning of sex, using sex for physical satisfaction and creating a sense of desire for Stella. By using sex as a type of desire Stanley has created an animalistic need for sex. Stanley has contrived authority over Stella, creating a strained marriage. Out of panic, Stella has become Stanley’s enabler, returning to him regardless how hard the hit, Stella accepts the abuse. Stella has become so manipulated by Stanley that she believes that the abuse is a large part of marriage. Stella has grown so dependant on Stanley that Stella grows panicked by the thought of being without Stanley. The Kowalskis have become trapped in an endless cycle of domestic abuse. Stanley Kowalski’s control over Stella Kowalski creates an environment of fear.

Stella admits that she is thrilled by Stanley’s behavior, and that even though Blanche wants her to leave, she’s not in anything that she would want to get out of. Blanche claims that Stella does not love him and neither does he love her- it's just their sexual attraction that holds them together.

Stanley Kowalski in "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams In the play, A Streetcar Named Desire, author Tennessee Williams does a wonderful job developing the character of Stanley Kowalski. To me, his character seemed most like that of a true person. On the other hand, Stella, Stanley's wife, is mainly displayed as being the loving type, and because that is basically the only character trait she displays, it is difficult to really understand her as a person. The character of Stanley Kowalski is developed much like a real person, having numerous personality traits.