In Tennessee Williams’s play, A Streetcar Named Desire he creates a very complex psychoanalytic plot. Freud's most enduring and important idea was that the human psyche (personality) has more than one aspect. Freud saw the psyche structured into three parts the id, ego and superego, all developing at different stages in our lives. These are systems, not parts of the brain, or in any way physical. The three main characters in the play can each be compared with one of the three parts of the human mind. Stanley’s character corresponds with the id, Stella’s character can be compared to the ego, and Blanche’s character would represent the superego. Looking at the play through this lens one can see Williams’s reflection of himself throughout his work with an alcoholic, abusive father of his own, a strict demanding mother, and a schizophrenic sister. Knowing this A Streetcar Named Desire brings on new bigger …show more content…
Also, the repetitive comparison of him to an animal or ape is the perfect image not the id as it is the instinctive part of your psyche. The way this passage leaves the reader is very powerful saying that “maybe he’ll strike you” is a good example of Stanley’s aggressive nature, and when Blanche says “or maybe grunt and kiss you” is a very good example of his sexual nature. Stella Kowalski’s character, parallels to Stanley’s and represents the ego in the play. herself from her hometown and start a life in this vigorous world made by Stanley. she stands for the ego who wants to create a balance between desires and ideas, between body and soul, heart and mind to have a normal life. Blanche is the only one who wants to warn her of what she does. Loving Blanche, she also dislikes her and at the same time fears her. She hopes Blanche marry Mitch for her sister’s sake and for herself too. Actually she wants to get rid of
Or, as Mary Ann Corrigan later puts it [as does Judith J. Thompson, 38], the Blanche-Stanley struggle is purely an external dramatization of what is going on inside Blanche’s head: “the external events of the play, while actually occurring, serve as a metaphor for Blanche’s internal conflict” [Corrigan, 392]. Critics who share Sharp’s and Corrigan’s views feel that Streetcar is essentially a psychological drama about Blanche’s internal struggle with herself.”
Her character represents absolute indifference due to her largely domestic and submissive role. Stella is almost a prisoner in her own home; she is continuously indoors from the outset of the play. Her character is subjugated by the language in the play. She is rarely called by her name, and is continuously referred to as "honey", "baby", or "sweetie" instead. This is one of the characteristics of the feminine struggle for equality within contemporary society; her name is not used to confirm her identity - instead she is branded by condescending labels which overwhelm her individuality. Stella is often belittled physically through the violence her husband subjects her too; for example, Stanley 's response to her request for help to clearing the table:
When discussing the notion that “Love can often lead to the creation of an ‘Outsider’." there are cases in our literary examples that would agree with the statement, and some that would not. Outsiders in Much Ado About Nothing, Pride and Prejudice and A Streetcar Named Desire are created by both love and other themes, whether it be class, power, disinterest or a scandal.
...ices, such an attempt to elicit sympathy for this monster falls short” (Bell 2). Stanley is looked at as the monster of the play which is how he should be viewed. Luck was not on Blanches side through her life which made her make the mistakes she made. Even though her past was not clean, Stanley did not purge her of this. He tried to show her the reality of the world, but through his brutal treatment, only made her sensibility worse. Stanley is a primitive ape-like man, driven only by instinct, who views women as objects and has no respect for others. He is a wife batter and a rapist who is responsible for the crumbling sanity of Blanche who is “the last victim of the Old South, one who inherits the trappings of that grand society but pays the final price for the inability to adapt to a modern world that seeks to wipe grace and gentility out of existence” (Bell 2).
Blanche one day tells Stella that she shouldn't stay with Stanley because he shouldn't treat his wife abusively, especially when she's pregnant. Blanche describes in full detail that he “acts like an animal,has animal habits! Eats like one, moves like one, and talks like one!” (74) All that Blanche wants to do is speak to Stella so she does not put up with the domestic abuse. Blanche feels that Stella does not deserve to be mistreated by her husband. Williams excellent use of diction most certainly proves how Stanley is both an animal and an abusive husband to Stella. Although Stella feels mistreated and abused, she never considers leaving Stanley because she has a great desire for him no matter his abusive actions. Stella at times finds herself the cause of Stanley's actions. She feels that she's the reason why Stanley hits and abuses
He embodies the traits found in a world of old fashioned ideals where men were meant to be dominant figures." It was also justified with the scenes that included the interactions between Stanley and the other women in the play. In the first scene Stanley tosses the meat at Stella which displays his barbaric side. This behavior can be compared with the characteristics of a caveman that brings dead meat into the cave after a good
The character Stanley represents the theme of reality. Stanley Kowalski is the simple blue-collar husband of Stella. His actions, reactions, and words show reality in its harshest most purist form. His actions are similar to a primitive human. For example he doesn’t close the door when he uses the restroom. This rudeness represents the harsh reality that Blanche refuses to accept. Moreover, when he was drunk he hit Stella. This attack on Blanches sister could be a symbolic “wake up” slap to the face of Blanche.
In Tennessee Williams' play, A Streetcar Named Desire, Williams uses the suicide of Blanche's husband to illuminate Blanche's insecurities and immoral behavior. When something terrible happens to someone, it often reveals who he or she truly is. Blanche falls victim to this behavior, and she fails to face her demons. This displays how the play links a character’s illogical choices and their inner struggles.
Blanche, in particular, is much more of an anachronism than Stella, who has, for the most part, adapted to the environment of Stanley Kowalski. Finally, both Stella and Blanche are or have been married. It is in their respective marriages that we can begin to trace the profound differences between these two sisters. Where Blanche's marriage, to a man whom she dearly loved (Miller 43), proved catastrophic to her, Stella's marriage seems to be fulfilling her as a woman. Blanche's marriage to a young homosexual, and the subsequent tragedy that resulted from her discovery of her husband's degeneracy and her inability to help him, has been responsible for much of the perversity in her life.
She struggles with Stanley’s ideals and shields her past. The essential conflict of the story is between Blanche, and her brother-in-law Stanley. Stanley investigates Blanche’s life to find the truth of her promiscuity, ruining her relationships with Stella, and her possible future husband Mitch, which successfully obtain his goal of getting Blanche out of his house. Blanche attempts to convince Stella that she should leave Stanley because she witnessed a fight between the two. Despite these instances, there is an essence of sexual tension between the two, leading to a suspected rape scene in which one of their arguments ends with Stanley leading Blanche to the bed.
Stella represents an important part in this drama by providing a contrast to how life can change people when they go down different paths. In Contrast to her sister, Stella is bound to love. Although she fell in love with a primitive, common man, she most definitely loves him. Stella desires only to make Stanley happy and live a beautiful life together. She wants to find peace between her sister and her husband yet instead she finds conflict afflicting her on both sides. Blanche uses her dilutions and tries to sway Stella away from Stanley yet Stella takes all these slanders and belittles them. Stella does this because she loves Stanley and since she is pregnant with his baby.
Stanley, the protagonist, is a symbol for society’s view of the stereotypical male. He is muscular, forceful, and dominant. Stanley’s domination becomes so overwhelming that he demands absolute control. This view of the male as a large animal is revealed in the opening of the play where Stanley is described as “bestial.” His power and control throughout the play are foreshadowed in the opening stage directions.
She would be able to get sympathy with Stella, Stanley, and Mitch if she understood their condition as well. Stella’s condition is opposite from Blanche’s aristocratic lifestyle. She is living in poverty and is unable to provide for Blanche’s elaborate needs. “Streetcar quote” Blanche recognizes her current condition but fails to understand it and empathize, instead she Slanders Stella’s home and invades it “Some people rarely touches it, but it touches them often” If she was a decent guest and sister, she could seize the opportunity to help Stella in the home, perhaps by helping with the daily chores or by fixing it up to become more “homely”. By doing this she would then gain a sense of purpose, cleaning could possibly become a healthy coping mechanism, she would be doing something positive, and by helping around the home, she would gain a healthier, supportive, relationship with her sister and the homes other resident, Stanley. Being unable to empathize with Stanley was key for Blanche downfall; she invaded his home, degraded him in front of his friends and family, and tried to steal his wife from him. If Blanche was able to recognize the positive traits of Stanley, that he is passionate and loving towards his family, she would be able to ignore the “primal, animalistic” manner of Stanley. If she could empathize with his current
2. What causes Mitch and Blanche to take a "certain interest" in one another? That is, what is the source of their immediate attraction? What seems to draw them together? What signs are already present to suggest that their relationship is doomed/problematic?
Stanley (Stella's husband) represents a theme of realism in the play; he is shown as a primitive, masculine character that is irresistible to Stella and on some levels even to his "opponent" Stella's sister Blanche.