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Theme Of Masculinity In A Streetcar Named Desire

Decent Essays

Explain how the idea of masculinity is important in giving the plot impetus.

In Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, masculinity is important in giving the plot impetus. The feminine characters in the play are trampled by a world in which machoism is rewarded, the story is furthered by Blanche and Mitch’s guilt revolving around masculinity, and manliness creates conflict through a Karpman Drama Triangle. Action in the play builds around the depicted masculine behavior.
Characters who display feminine behavior are depicted as weak, or are ‘punished’. Although their plight may not be directly caused by masculine characters, the 1947 setting of the play in religious New Orleans implies that they are a victim of a society idolizing manliness. Blanche’s husband, a young homosexual man, is described as having a “a nervousness, a softness and tenderness which wasn't like a man's” (Scene Six, pg 75). Blanche herself is disgusted by his effeminate tendency, and even many years later still describes herself as “unlucky. Deluded” (Scene Six, pg 75) for falling in love with a ‘boy’ like him. She even admits that she was “unable to stop myself” (Scene Six, pg 77) telling Allan “"I saw! I know! You disgust me..."” (Scene Six, pg 77). This is a metaphor especially relevant in modern progressive times, where if a person declares they are homosexual, society pretends “nothing had been discovered.” (Scene Six, pg 76). Homosexual individuals are theoretically accepted, intermingling

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