Streetcar Named Desire Violence Quotes

QUOTES:

Stella: "He was as good as a lamb when I came back and he's really very, very ashamed of himself" (Williams 72).

In this scene, Stella blindly defends Stanley against Blanche after being beaten up by him in front of the poker crowd. Keeping in mind that Stella was pregnant at that time, the domestic abuse in their marriage not only highlights Stanley’s disrespect towards women but also his lack of remorse in harming an extremely vulnerable mother. In spite of this fact, Stella still defends Stanley and downplays his behavior to a metaphorically tamed lamb. Thus, Stella’s denial of Stanley’s real character exhibits that this may not be the first time Stella experienced brutal force in the duration of their marriage. Hence, the usage

of this metaphor is significant as it accentuates the irony of Stanley’s true nature compared to how his victims perceive him. In contrast to the innocent lamb, Stanley embodies a beast-like lion relentless for power and has no regard to the agony he inflicts on his prey. In addition, this scene portrays how society as a whole incite domestic violence and exempt these abusive men from both punishment and shame. Thus, through this scene, Tennessee Williams produces an explicit illustration of male dominance as they delude both their victims and society of their true nature. This manipulative skill of deception makes it possible for males to successfully bring victory and glory to the apes in the expense of their victims being oblivious to their own misery.
Blanche: "The first time I laid my eyes on him I thought to myself, that man is my executioner! That man will destroy me..." (Williams 111).
In this scene, Blanche verbally exhibits to Mitch the "Predator and Prey" relationship between her and Stanley. From the very beginning, as Blanche first laid eyes on him, Blanche has always been aware of Stanley's brutal desire for power and viewed him as an extremely intimidating character. Specifically, William's usage of the metaphor of Stanley being Blanche's executioner establishes that Stanley possess the power and has completely control of Blanche's fate. This effectively foreshadows that Blanche will face her tragic fate at the hands of the merciless and savage Stanley. Eventually, it was later revealed that this animalistic abuse signifies Stanley raping Blanche. This event scars her forever and clearly depicts male dominance in which the predator successfully strips of his prey's dignity and sanity. Despite the fact that Blanche did not actually die in the end, Stanley has definitely done enough damage to annihilate Blanche's last shred of chance of recovering from her traumatic past. Thus, this culminate Blanche's "execution" as she is committed into a mental asylum caused by her destroyed capacity to decipher her fantasies from the cruel reality. In addition, Stanley's manipulative nature emphasizes not only his role as Blanche's killer but also a destroyer responsible for wrecking Blanche's credibility as he successfully forces Stella into abandoning her own sister. Given that Stella is the only family Blanche has, losing her was a detrimental factor to the instability of Blanche. Thus, proves that males, as represented by Stanley, triumphantly institute their superiority over fragile women like Blanche.
Blanche: "I don't want to pass in front of those men" (Williams 170).
Significantly, this quote exemplify Blanche’s development as character as it embodies Blanche’s transformation towards the end of the play. In this scene, Blanche is about to be taken away into the asylum and she has no clue of what’s about to come nor a sense of reality as she is rendered mentally unstable at that point. In addition, at that specific time, there was a poker game going on in Stella and Stanley’s residence. With this in mind, this quote embodies Blanche’s attitude toward the Stanley’s poker buddies. Her demand to not pass in front of them reflects the result of how Stanley raping her has scarred her. At the beginning of the play, she exhibited a promiscuous character who shameless appeal for the attention and adoration of Stanley’s friends. However, towards the end of the play, Blanche transforms into a fearful and introverted woman that is extremely wary of their gazes and even anxiously hides so they won’t notice her. Thus, this scene proves the ultimate victory of the apes by displaying the triumph of barbarity and brutality over gentility and fragility that captures the shattering purity of delicate women.
Google Classroom Source: "Last Stop: Blanche's Breakdown"
"So although Blanche dislikes Stanley as a person, she is drawn to him as a type of man who is resoundingly heterosexual and who is strong enough to protect her from an increasingly harsh world. This seems to be the dynamic behind her brief relationship with Mitch, but in jungle parlance Stanley is the strongest male in the pack and subconsciously Blanche recognizes this" (Galloway).
This article analyzes Blanche’s downfall and specifically elaborates on the juxtaposition with relationship between Blanche and Stanley. In “Last Stop: Blanche’s Breakdown”, Shirley Galloway highlights the complexity of Tennessee Williams’s characters and how their lives inevitably intertwine. Provided that Blanche and Stanley are the protagonist and antagonist of this play, Williams make it apparent that they repel each other and struggle to coexist together. This is due to the fact that Blanche and Stanley come from polar opposite class and backgrounds as represented by the Old South vs. New South theme. From the very beginning, Blanche has always been in disbelief on Stella’s absurd choice of husband while Stanley despises everything about Blanche and everything she stands for. Driven by Stanley’s frustration that he has no control of Blanche the same way he can manipulate Stella, infuriates Stanley. Thus, he has been primitively finding ways to dominate Blanche by destroying her relationship with Mitch, Stella and even to herself. However, both their lives are connected by the common denominator, Stella. As the play progresses, the tension between Blanche and Stanley further intensifies given that Stanley is territorial and perceives Blanche as a threat to his power. On the contrary, Galloway argues that, besides Stella, Blanche and Stanley are undeniably connected by the “jungle mentality”. This mentality is the attractive force between the repelling nature of this complicated relationship. In particular, Galloway elaborates that Stanley takes pride for being the “strongest male in the pack” while the damaged Blanche naively seeks his protection. This is supported by that fact that Blanche is characterized as dependent on male sexual admiration for her security and self-esteem. Hence, Tennessee Williams intentionally exposes Blanche’s vulnerability of loneliness and desperation to escape her cruel reality so that Stanley can take advantage of her and triumphantly bring Victory to the Apes.
Group Contribution: HTRLLP Foster Connection
Chapter 11: "...More Than It's Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence"
Foster has always been persistent in emphasizing that it is a student's task to always ask what the misfortune in a literary piece signify and how this contributes to advancing the overall plot.

Furthermore, Foster stresses that in literature, violence often has multiple meanings beyond its physicality. Consequently, violence is prevalent in A Streetcar Named Desire as portrayed by Eunice and Stella's abusive husbands and Blanche's downfall. For example, Tennesse Willams depict deeper implications of violence in this play that coincide with male dominance, domestic abuse, suffocating marriages, and how society reacts to such scenarios. Notably, the violence embodied by Stanley contribute in developing the plot. As Stanley's beast-like aggressiveness is gradually revealed, Williams point out that there was no significant change in how the bystanders react. Indeed, it is evident that the characters in A Streetcar Named Desire act indifferently to the violence the male characters evoke upon women. As a result, these characters encourage the act as they fail to recognize that abuse, regardless of victim, should be unacceptable. Moreover, Williams highlights the fact that Blanche is the only character who passionately disagrees with the principle of violence. This was shown when Blanche persistently tries to convince Stella that Stanley is not the "ideal husband" Stella defends him to be. Unlike Eunice who encourages Stella to stay in her abusive marriage while Blanche was being taken away into the asylum and the poker players, besides Mitch, who show no concern to these victimized women. Hence, this contrast with the way characters react to domestic abuse embodies that society in that era are numbed and blind to the violence they witness. Disturbingly, it takes an outsider like Blanche to enlighten them that violence, is unethical. Therefore, the significance of violence in A Streetcar Named Desire, as supported by Foster's analyzations, is to demand a change.

Tennessee Williams, through this play, emphasize that men have all the power while women are trapped by the dictations of a patriarchic society who justify this discriminatory behavior.