A Streetcar Named Desire

Plot Summary

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Stella and Stanley are a married couple who live in Elysian Fields. Unexpectedly Stella’s older sister Blanche arrives at their apartment to stay for a while. She goes to stay with them because their family estate, Belle Reve, has been lost due to no payments. Blanche needs somewhere to stay and so she stays with the Kowalski family. Since Blanche arrived at Stella’s house, Stanley and Blanche clashed because he did not trust her. He did not believe that Blanche had lost the estate, but that she had sold it and the Kowalski’s did not receive any profit from the sell. From the time that Blanche met Stanley, she felt uncomfortable around him and even more when she saw that he was not being gentle towards her. Stanley’s superiority complex came from feeling threatened by Blanche because she was one to stand up to him. Stella never did confront him about anything, but Blanche took a stand against Stanley and his hatred towards strong women, which shows the misogynistic element of the play. Throughout her stay, Stanley made remarks about Blanche and how she criticized their home. One day Stanley overheard Blanche and Stella talking about him, Blanche was badmouthing him. Since that day Stanley was all about destroying fragile Blanche. On occasions Stanley had his friends over for poker night, and on one of those nights he got drunk and ended up beating Stella. Blanche could not understand why Stella would go back to a man who beat her, but Stella did not think anything bad about it. Knowing that Blanche was convincing Stella about leaving Stanley made him hate Blanche even more. The day of Blanche’s birthday celebration Stanley gives Blanche a bus ticket back to Laurel which makes Blanche sick. Stanley returns home where he finds Blanche drinking and packing. Stanley becomes angry with her because she threatens to smash him in the face with a broken bottle. He then continues by carrying her to the bed and raping her. A few weeks later Blanche lets Stella know about what Stanley did to her but Stella does not believe her and decides to kick Blanche out and stay with Stanley. A doctor arrives at the Kowalski’s home to take Blanche away because she is not in the correct state of mind, all this is done behind Blanche’s back. Stanley could not stand that Blanche was a stronger woman than Stella and that she stood up for herself. Stanley believed that Blanche was only there to turn Stella into a bad woman, which was not true. Stanley’s misogynistic attitude was what made Blanche dislike him as well and tell Stella that he had raped her.

Character Analysis

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Stanley: Stanley is a man who takes a lot of pride in what he does and what role he plays in his household with Stella. Stella is submissive towards Stanley and does anything to please him. He likes to have control of his home and the women in his life, and when he feels that that control is in jeopardy due to another woman, he fights back. Stanley does not support female power or control, showing the misogyny and machismo that occurs in A Streetcar Named Desire.
Stella: Stella is a submissive woman, but at the same time she is not aware of the kind of man that Stanley is. He controls her, but she is blinded by the love that she feels for him and so she chooses Stanley over Blanche.
Blanche: Blanche represents the kind of woman that likes to take a stand for what she believes. She wants to have the equality between males and females, especially in a relationship, but at some points she cannot have that control and equality she wishes for. She hates that Stella is still with Stanley after he beat her, which makes Stanley question her intentions, which are not bad ones. She demands attention from men, but they are sometimes intimidated by her attitude.
Mitch: Mitch began to like Blanche, but once he discovered facts from her past at Belle Reve, he lost interest in her. Blanche was somewhat a promiscuous woman, but Mitch’s attitude toward her situation shows the double standard between women and men. Men are able to see many women at once and be praised for it, on the other hand, women are seen as a disgrace when they see many men at once. This is an example of the inequality between the sexes, and the hatred towards women’s relationships.

Detailed Analysis

2009-06-03T21:40:00.000-07:00

Reality and Fantasy: Blanche’s world is all fantasy. She cannot live in reality because of her painful past. She is unable to confront the pain that her past has left her with and so she finds comfort in making herself seem pure and innocent. Blanche thinks that by taking long showers, she will be cleansed of all evil. But Blanche is not that innocent and pure. She makes up stories that a millionaire will pick her up and take her away. Her reliance on men’s attention makes her vulnerable to being controlled by others.

Sexuality: Sexual relations and passion are at the core of Stella and Stanley’s relationship. Stella openly speaks about Stanley in a sexual way and is okay with that. When Blanche arrives at the apartment, she notices there is no privacy, which will make her part of Stanley and Stella’s sexual relationship. Blanche herself also has sexual desires as shown by her previous affairs. After Stanley beats Stella, she returns to him and they sleep together. At the end of the play Stanley begins to unbutton Stella’s blouse which shows their sexual attraction for each other. Stanley likes to dominate Stella in every way possible, he makes her distrust her own sister and kicks her out of their home.

The feminism and misogyny that is shown in the play is represented by the characters of Blanche and Stanley. Stanley’s macho personality makes him dislike Blanche and her materialistic life that she brings into his and Stella’s home. Stanley is threatened by Blanche’s presence because she lives a life that is very different from his and Stella’s. Blanche likes to be the center of attention and likes to have all the small things in life, while Stanley and Stella do not have all those things. The most important thing in their relationship is sex and how he controls the household. When Blanche arrives at the Kowalski’s home, Stanley does not seem pleased. It is like he is being plotted against by having two women in his home. Blanche is not the type of woman that will let Stanley step all over her, and he sees that right away, making him dislike her and not trust her. Blanche does not understand why Stanley feels that way about her and neither can she understand why her sister could be married to a man he feels he is much more superior to her. After Stanley beats Stella and she returns to him, Blanche is upset that Stella would go back to him like she has no one else to fall back on. Stanley’s misogynistic tone towards Blanche begins to be more obvious as Blanche openly tells Stella that she doesn’t like Stanley and that she should leave him. Stanley’s hatred towards influential women is shown when he rapes Blanche and denies it to stay with Stella. His careless attitude about how Blanche feels or how Stella feels about having to choose between her sister and husband becomes evident after Blanche is taken away and he begins to unbutton Stella’s blouse. Blanche seemed to be a barrier in their marriage and sexual life.