Essay On Stella Williams In A Streetcar Named Desire By Tennessee Williams

Kryptonite

Every great character in history has layers. Every great villain has human characteristics that inspires empathy from the audience, and every great hero has his fatal flaw that kindles doubt in every reader. However, this character depth is not restricted to only comic books and superhero movies, but it can also be seen in plays and novels throughout history. American playwright, Tennessee Williams, is no stranger to this method. Williams had an uncanny ability to create characters that are both equally admirable and flawed, and this can be seen in two of his characters Stella Kowalski from A Streetcar Named Desire and Maggie from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Stella is admired as a character for her love towards her sister and down

Her excessive loyalty to her husband. Loyalty is not necessarily a bad trait, but too much of it is. At the end of everything Stella takes Stanley’s side and this leads to some flawed decisions. When Stanley attacks Stella and goes on a drunken rage, Stella forgives him and takes him back at his first attempt at sympathy, “He was as good as a lamb when I came back, and he’s really very, very ashamed of himself” (A Streetcar Named Desire 72). This is not the first time Stanley has abused Stella, and she has forgiven almost immediately. This excessive loyalty clouds her judgment and contributes to her making decisions that cause her avoidable harm. Her excessive loyalty also leads to her most immoral decision of the play. After Stanley rapes Blanche, Stella knows the truth of what happens, but chooses to ignore it and “believe” that Stanley is innocent, “I couldn’t believe her story and go on living with Stanley” (A Streetcar Named Desire 165). Stella is so blinded by her loyalty that she is willing to send her sister to a mental hospital and spend the rest of her life with the man that raped her sister. This shows that even though Stella has some very admirable traits she is also very