Set in the French Quarter of New Orleans during the tensed years following World War Two, “Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams, is the story of Blanche DuBois, a high school English teacher with an aristocratic background from Mississippi. Determined to move to live with her sister and brother-in-law, Stella and Stanley Kowalski, in New Orleans after creditors merge the family property in Belle Reve. Blanche's flirtatious and presence causes many problems for Stella and Stanley, who already have a volatile relationship, causing a greater conflict in the Kowalski household. In this play two of the main themes are “Masculinity and Femininity” which according to the oxford dictionary means “Qualities or attributes regarded as characteristic …show more content…
As soon as she gets her sister's house started drinking. Because she is a woman she feels that she has to make excuses for her drinking and states: "Now don't get worried, your sister hasn't turned into a drunkard, she's just all shaken up and hot and tired and dirty!" This line is extremely ironic and it also denotes that alcoholism in a woman is a not acceptable, for which excuses need to be made. Male alcoholism is displayed as a totally normal thing, as they are male. That fact that Blanche is a woman means that she is expected to display decency at all times and that her gender does not allow her to become drunk and do things that women shouldn’t be doing. Blanche also challenges the typical female stereotype because she has been highly educated. Back in the days, being an English teacher by profession it was not a regular thing, women were not considered to need to be self-sufficient, educate themselves or hold gainful employment, because the men would always be there to rely upon. This higher education means that she can assert power and supremacy over others and be an independent woman. Williams stereotypically portrays Blanche as an insecure, high class and easy woman. Because she comes from a more and reputable and fancy background and she is different from all the woman’s in the play. She was raced different and used to being with richer men that treat women with respect, such as her old college boyfriend Shep
While “The Yellow Wallpaper” mainly touches on the treatment of women in Gilman's time and only majorly addresses how negative the reception was for them while the men of her world were well-respected individuals, “A Streetcar Named Desire” makes a commentary on the gender roles of masculinity and femininity as a whole, including the two different portrayals of masculinity and how femininity was still generally looked down upon by American society in the late 1940s, unfortunately noting that not much had changed in the time between the stories passed.
In ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Tennessee Williams depicts many of the convictions concerning to American society 's mind-set towards men and women 's gender roles in the mid-twentieth century. He deals with both male and female typecasts as well as society 's reaction to those who question these assumptions. In order to shape understanding of gender labels Williams uses a variety of techniques, such as dictions, stage directions, character foils, symbolism, sarcasm, and character. By signifying these truths Williams poses a question to society, as to whether or not these depictions are
In Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire, main character Blanche Dubois to begin with seems to be a nearly perfect model of a classy woman whose social interaction, life and behavior are based upon her sophistication. The play revolves around her, therefore the main theme of drama concerns her directly. In Blanche is seen the misfortune of a person caught between two worlds-the world of the past and the world of the present-unwilling to let go of the past and unable, because of her character, to come to any sort of terms with the present.
the world of her past and the world of her present, unwilling to let go of the past and unable, because of her character, to come to any sort of terms with her present. The final result at the end of the play is the deterioration of her mind and character and her self-destruction. Blanche dwells in illusion; fantasy is her primary means of self-defence against her weaknesses and shortcomings. The story begins with Blanche going to New Orleans to stay with her sister Stella and her husband Stanley. Straight away, we are introduced to Blanche?s illusions and the battle between the illusions and the characters begins.
Within Tennessee Williams's story about love and abuse within marriage and challenging familial ties, there lie three very different characters that all see the world in vastly different ways. These members of a family that operate completely outside of our generation’s norms, are constantly unsure of themselves and their station within the binary not only of their familial unit, but within the gender binary that is established for them to follow. Throughout the story of the strange family, each character goes through a different arch that changes them irrevocably whether it is able to be perceived or not by those around them. The only male, Stanley is initially the macho force in the home who controls everything without question. He has no consequences for his actions against his wife and is never held accountable for treating the people around him poorly; this lasts until Blanche arrives. Blanche is an outwardly demure, but spirited young woman who after experiencing untold misfortune breaks mentally and decides to no longer care what others may think of her. She lives her life lavishly and foolishly by having dalliances with younger or richer men who shower her with gifts and attention to get sex from her all too willing form. Her effect on Stanley is one of temptation and challenge; she continually tries to convince her sister that she is too good for the man and in turn fosters a resentment for her in him. Stella acts as the antithesis of Stanley and Blanche’s extreme personalities. She is innocence and purity where they are the darkness that threatens to overtake her life. Throughout, Stella is a pawn that they both try to use against the other to no real avail as she is determined to make the best choice for herself. In th...
Blanche’s immoral and illogical decisions all stem from her husband's suicide. When a tragedy happens in someone’s life, it shows the person’s true colors. Blanche’s true self was an alcoholic and sex addict, which is displayed when “She rushes about frantically, hiding the bottle in a closet, crouching at the mirror and dabbing her face with cologne and powder” (Williams 122). Although Blanche is an alcoholic, she tries to hide it from others. She is aware of her true self and tries to hide it within illusions. Blanche pretends to be proper and young with her fancy clothes and makeup but is only masking her true, broken self.
“Her appearance is incongruous to this setting. She is daintily dressed… looking as if she were arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party in the garden district. (Page 15) Blanche makes it a point to hide her alcoholism and true life from her sister, by telling her about her fictional life Blanche purposely points out to Stella that she is not an alcoholic and says, “Now don’t get worried, your sister hasn’t turned into a drunkard, she’s just all shaken up and hot and tired and dirty!” (Page 19) Blanche speaks to Stella in third person disassociating herself from the reality of her problem. She also feels the need to tell Stella that one drink is her limit, then pours herself a third. She continues her version of reality when she tells Stella that she is on a leave of absence from teaching. Stella listens to her sister and never questions her actions or motives. After a few drinks Blanche’s instability is easier to decipher. She says, “I want to be near you, got to be near somebody, I can’t be alone! Because—as you must have noticed—I’m – not very well…” (Page 23) Blanche tells Mitch, “There’s so much—so much confusion in the world.” (Page 61) Her world is confusing she also says, “I need kindness.” These are important comments the first shows her mental state the second tells what she is in search of. Mitch and Stella are both kind to her, but when Blanche no longer has their kindness she
A Streetcar Named Desire is a play founded on the premise of conflicting cultures. Blanche and Stanley, the main antagonists of the play, have been brought up to harbour and preserve extremely disparate notions, to such an extent that their incompatibility becomes a recurring theme within the story. Indeed, their differing values and principles becomes the ultimate cause of antagonism, as it is their conflicting views that fuels the tension already brewing within the Kowalski household. Blanche, a woman disillusioned with the passing of youth and the dejection that loneliness inflicts upon its unwilling victims, breezes into her sister's modest home with the air and grace of a woman imbued with insecurity and abandonment. Her disapproval, concerning Stella's state of residence, is contrived in the face of a culture that disagrees with the old-fashioned principles of the southern plantations, a place that socialised Blanche to behave with the superior demeanour of a woman brain-washed into right-wing conservatism. Incomparably, she represents the old-world of the south, whilst Stanley is the face of a technology driven, machine fuelled, urbanised new-world that is erected on the foundations of immigration and cultural diversity. New Orleans provides such a setting for the play, emphasising the bygone attitude of Blanche whose refusal to part with the archaic morals of her past simply reiterates her lack of social awareness. In stark contrast Stanley epitomises the urban grit of modern society, revealed by his poker nights, primitive tendencies and resentment towards Blanche. ...
Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire is a play wrought with intertwining conflicts between characters. A drama written in eleven scenes, the play takes place in New Orleans over a nine-month period. The atmosphere is noisy, with pianos playing in the distance from bars in town. It is a crowded area of the city, causing close relations with neighbors, and the whole town knowing your business. Their section of the split house consists of two rooms, a bathroom, and a porch. This small house is not fit for three people. The main characters of the story are Stella and Stanley Kowalski, the home owners, Blanche DuBois, Stella’s sister, Harold Mitchell (Mitch), Stanley’s friend, and Eunice and Steve Hubbell, the couple that lives upstairs. Blanche is the protagonist in the story because all of the conflicts involve her. She struggles with Stanley’s ideals and with shielding her past.
From the first moment the Williams introduces Blanche, it is evident that she believes herself to be of a higher class, and this is shown with how uncomfortable she is around those of a lower class. When Blanche is shown an act of kindness from Eunice, “Why don’t you set down?” her response to this person of a lower class than herself is dismissive, “…I’d like to be left alone.” She instantly expects too much from a place called ‘Elysian Fields’. Blanche feels uneasy about being around those that are of a lower class, especially of those who she does not know, which is clear when she is reunited with her sister. She immediately becomes ostentatious in her actions, and begins to speak with “feverish vivacity”, “Stella, Oh Stella, Stella! Stella for Star!” Perhaps she is relieved to be with her sister once again, or it could be that she feels she now has someone to be dominant over, since she has little control over her own life. Blanche comes across as being very motherly towards Stella, “You messy child” in spite of the fact that Stella is soon to beco...
Tennessee William’s A Streetcar Named Desire is one of the most popular plays in American history. The play contains this theme of Old South versus New South where old southern ideals and way of life clashes against newly formed ideals of the late 19th and early 20th century. The distinctions between the Old South’s emphasis on tradition, social class, and segregation versus the New South’s emphasis on hard work can be seen throughout the play. It is manifested in the main characters of the play. Blanche DuBois’s civilized and polished nature makes her a symbol of the Old South while Stanley Kowalski’s brutish, direct, and defying nature represents the New South. Tennessee Williams uses the characters of his play to present a picture of the social, gender role, and behavior distinctions that existed between the Old South versus the New South. Furthermore, the two settings provided in the play, Belle Reve and Elysian Fields can also be seen as different representations of the Old versus the New with the way both places are fundamentally different.
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is a play about a woman named Blanche Dubois who is in misplaced circumstances. Her life is lived through fantasies, the remembrance of her lost husband and the resentment that she feels for her brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski. Various moral and ethical lessons arise in this play such as: Lying ultimately gets you nowhere, Abuse is never good, Treat people how you want to be treated, Stay true to yourself and Don’t judge a book by its cover.
“. . . Women internalize the feminine wound or feminine inferiority so deeply, there's little or no female authority and esteem to fall back on. So they seek it by adopting and pleasing patriarchal standards.” (Sue Monk Kidd, the Dance of the Dissident Daughter)
Superficial is the first impression that Blanche gives when she enters the play. Consumed by appearance and face value, she is unable to see that Stella’s new lifestyle is not as horrid as she imagines. In comparison to Belle Reve, it is true that these New Orleans slums may not meet Dubois standards, but Blanche is unable to see beyond the way things appear in order to realize that Stella’s world does not revolve around material items. This flaw is intertwined with her vanity and her need keep up appearances. On the surface, Blanche appears to be snobbish and conceited.
A state of drunken stupor enables her to take a flight of imagination. When Blanche is own her own we discover a great deal about her personality. We see that Blanche continually lies about her drinking in order to portray herself as a true “lady”. When nobody is watching, Blanche consumes a reasonable amount of alcohol, leading her to destructive behavior as she deludes herself. In scene ten we see that Blanche has been drinking fairly steadily since Mitch left. “ How about taking a swim, a moonlight swim at the old rock-quarry? If anyone’s sober enough to drive a car! Ha-ha! Best way in the world to stop your head buzzing! (151) It is clear that Blanche, with the help of alcohol, has begun her retreat into a fantasy world. She dresses herself in a white satin gown and her rhinestone tiara. She stares at herself in the mirror and flirts with imagined suitors. Examining herself more closely, she catches her breath and slams down the mirror. It shatters. Blanche has been drinking to escape reality. She dresses herself in costume jewelry and gowns, but the only audience for her fantasy version of herself is herself. When she looks at herself more closely, though, even she can see through the illusion, and so she smashes the mirror, indicating the failure of her illusory world and also her nervous