1. Introduction
A Streetcar Named Desire has been described by critic Brooks Atkinson as a play of “almost unbearable tragedy”. The play’s storyline revolves around the conflict between Blanche and Stanley. The heroine of the story, Blanche, comes to the home of her sister Stella and brother-in-law Stanley in New Orleans after a life of debauchery. The brother-in-law, Stanley, is a laborer, poorly educated, rough and strong. He is at first incompatible with Blanche, who is a delicate, sensitive and fragile woman. The conflict between the two sexes is the main theme of the play and has a profound meaning.
The play shows the struggle women have to face in situations where they are seen as inferior to men. Society, or men, put many restrictions on them that prevent them from living their lives fully. They rely on men to determine what their lives should be like. Through all of the female characters in the play, we see the roles they are supposed to accept without complaint, but through all of the male characters, we also see that they must also fulfill some of the roles that are imposed on them. Both men and women are raised by society, which teaches them that women are made for one thing and men are made for another, and that there should be no exceptions to this rule. This play gives us an insight into the lives of Blanche DuBois, Stella and Stanley Kowalski as we see how gender roles control and destroy their lives.
1.1. Historical Context
At a broader level, the play symbolizes the deterioration of the noble families that have long been linked to the Southern region. These formerly important families had diminished in historical importance due to the South’s inability to rival the new industrialization with its agricultural foundation. The region’s agricultural sector saw a collapse with the defeat of the Civil War and faced additional blows after World War I. The Southern agriculture industry faced challenges due to a scarcity of workers as a result of a significant portion of male laborers being enlisted in the military or employed in defense enterprises. Many landowners, faced with large tracts of land on which no one worked, moved to urban areas. As industrialization increased from the 1920s to the 1940s, the labor force structure evolved more radically to include large numbers of women, immigrants, and blacks. In 1920, women gained the right to vote and the tradition of agrarian family aristocracy in the South, dominated by men, began to come to an end. Gender Roles in A Streetcar Named Desire Throughout history empowerment and marginalization has primarily been based on gender. In the play A Streetcar Named Desire, this idea of empowerment is strongly flaunted. Tennessee Williams’ characters, primarily Stanley, Blanche, Mitch, and Stella, conform the expected roles of men and women at the time [1] . Although World War Two temporarily allowed women a place in the work force, they were dismissed from such empowerment when the war came to a close. Characters in A Streetcar Named Desire are accurate representations of the social historical context of that time.
Blanche’s challenges can be attributed to the limited opportunities available to women in this era. Despite her education and experience as a teacher, Blanche remained constrained by the societal norms and expectations prevalent in the Southern region. She was aware that she required males to rely on and safeguard her. She possessed a thorough understanding of the concept of sexual liberation in previous times, yet recognized that such liberation contradicted the modest and virtuous conduct that Southern women were traditionally expected to uphold. Mickey becomes aware of her infidelity at home, confirming her apprehension of being rejected. Mickey’s rejection of Blanche highlights the disparity between women’s actual conduct and society’s expectations of them, exposing his foolish belief in her as the ideal lady.
1.2. Brief Biography of Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams is a great playwright after Eugene O’Neill. He was active in the middle of the century, at the center of the American theater. “O’Neill is a dramatist of tragedy, Miller is a dramatist of ethics, and Williams is a poet of the soul.” Williams set his plays in the South, but the convincing thematic approach to his plays made them universal, earning him international audiences and worldwide acclaim.
As a middle-class writer, Tennessee Williams lived almost his entire life in the South. He paid close attention to the fate of the middle class in the South. Williams always used his experiences in the South as a resource for his art. His “A Streetcar Named Desire” is strongly autobiographical. Much of the pathos in Williams’ plays is mined from his own life. His work is a true reflection of his inner life. He tried to present the spiritual and emotional world of his characters, even incorporating his frustrations and loneliness into their lives. Many of Williams’ most memorable characters are women, which contain recognizable elements of the author, his mother Edwina, her sister Rose and himself. Williams’ masculine characters, such as Stanley Kowalski, are often portrayed as vulgar and irresponsible, possibly drawing inspiration from Williams’ father and other troubled male figures in his life. Williams was raised with the emotional encouragement of his mother and maternal grandparents. This phase of his life bestowed him with nostalgic recollections and significantly influenced his delicate, introverted, and feeble disposition. As a native writer, he was educated in the traditional culture of the Old South when he was young and was deeply influenced by Puritan ethical thinking. His experiences in the South gave him a deep understanding of the South and Southern culture. Williams lived during a period of transition from a plantation to an industrialized economy. The decline and industrialization of the South was inevitable. Williams was nostalgic for the good old South’s past and deeply regretted its decline. There is no doubt that Williams belongs to the Southern tradition in essence, for he is always steeped in the romantic past―the Old South His works are always set in the South, in the mansions of the pre-Civil War era; his characters are always Southern romantics, and as a social outsider constantly wandering in search of warmth and love, he relies on the kindness of strangers, and the subjects of his works are individuals trapped by circumstances The plight, loss and pain of individuals trapped by their circumstances [2] .
2. Blanche Dubois
2.1. Character Analysis
Blanche is the complicated protagonist of the play. She is a faded Southern belle without a dime left to her name, after generations of mismanagement led to the loss of the family fortune. Blanche spent the end of her youth watching the older generation of her family die out before losing the DuBois seat at Belle Reve. This experience, along with the suicide of her young homosexual husband, deadened Blanche’s emotions and her sense of reality. Desire and death became intricately linked in her life as she led a loose and increasingly careless life, and indeed, after losing her position as a schoolteacher she is forced to depend on the kindness of her one living relation, her sister Stella. Blanche tries to continue being the Southern belle of her youth, but she is too old and has seen too much, and soon her grip on reality begins to slip. She has difficulty understanding the passion in her sister’s marriage and is coolly calculating in her relationship with Mitch - yet barely manages to suppress a latent nymphomania [3] .
A final facet of gender as represented within A Streetcar Named Desire, is the position of female challenge to the stereotypes. This is presented through the central protagonist of Blanche Dubois. Though Blanche does display many feminine qualities, such as caring and understanding, they are twisted to comply with her other more masculine features. One such attribute is her reliance on alcohol. She is found drinking from the first moment she sets foot inside her sister’s house, and yet she says:
Now don’t get worried, your sister hasn’t turned into adrunkard, she’s just all shaken up and hot and tired and dirty!
Apart from the irony in this line, it also carries with it the presupposition that alcoholism in a woman is a thing to be ashamed of, and for which excuses need to be made. This underlying meaning is not found within male characters who are presented as drunk. In fact it is often portrayed as an expected occurrence, for their gender, though not so for women. It is through Blanche’s own straining of the stereotype, with regards to her drinking, that this gender understanding is represented [4] .
Another way in which Blanche challenges the assumed feminine attitude, is through her education. Early in the play it is confided in audiences that Blanche is an English teacher by profession (another break from the convention, considering that women were not expected to hold jobs or to be self-sufficient, but were instead supposed to live in a state of utter dependence on men). Due to this higher education, it is understandable that she can assert power and dominance over others by using adequately sophisticated language. This is therefore the part of her character that is most thoroughly attacked in the process of her disempowerment at the hands of Stanley. In scene ten, when Blanche is marginalised outright, one of the first things that Stanley does in order to assume power, is put an end to her long speeches and leave her language at a depleted. This illustrates the understanding that within society contemporary to the play’s release, women who did challenge the stereotype would be forced into conformity, by a deliberate attack on the area of their personality through which they had gained this inordinate power [5] . The relationship between Blanche and Stanley, ending with Blanche’s utter demise as a result of rape, is the forum through which Tennessee Williams represents this truth.
Tennessee Williams brings to light many of the truths as to society’s attitudes towards men and women. A range of dramatic techniques, such as dialogue, stage directions, gaps and silences, setting, catalogue, foreshadow, symbolism, irony, and character, are employed in order to shape understandings of gender stereotypes. The playwright explores both male and female stereotypes as well as society’s reaction to those who challenge these preconceptions, or indeed misconceptions as the case may be. By representing these truths to the masses which view this striking play, Tennessee Williams poses a question to society, as to whether or not these representations are accurate. May audiences only hope to respond to this question in the next century.
2.2. The Struggle with Stanley
The power struggle between Stanley and Blanche conveys dominant ideas about gender such as the primitive nature, aggression, and brutality of men and the vulnerability and physicality of women. The establishment of traditional gender stereotypes is almost instantly provided when Stanley is highlighted as the ‘provider’. His physical masculinity and power is conveyed through a package of raw meat he ‘heaves’ carelessly at Stella and his abusive nature is shown at once through the use of blood imagery involving the ‘red stained package’.
This immediately associates Stanley with brutality, foreshadowing his violence and cruelty in the play. Although Stanley is empowered by his gender, he feels threatened when approached by Blanche, who is of higher class than him. Due to Blanche’s social standing, Stanley is unsure of controlling her. As the play progresses the struggle for power between the two becomes increasingly obvious. At first, Blanche appears victorious in the struggle.
The physical proof of the tragedies in her past stop Stanley from arguing. Here all of them are, all papers! I herby endow you with them!” His failure to exert power threatens his pride and he is inspired to reject Blanche. Segregation between men and women is clearly defined during the poker night in scene three. “Poker shouldn’t be played in a house with women.” This reflects the social norms and the dominant belief that women should be disassociated from masculine activities. Stella and Blanche are excluded from this form of masculine boding, and their early return causes chaos in the house.
In addition to segregation, dominance is seen once again when Stanley is unable to prevent Mitch’s desertion of the game. His violent outbursts are desperate attempts to exert his dominance. “Stanley gives a loud whack of his hand on her thigh.” it becomes apparent that his threatening words are not enough, and he begins using violence as a physical means of controlling Stella and frightening Blanche. Although Stanley’s power works mainly to downgrade Blanche, his violent and aggressive nature also disempowers Stella. She is abused during poker night, a moment of masculine bonding.
Following the poker night she is made powerful when she retreats to Eunice’s Flat. However, she returns to disempowerment when she leaves Eunice’s flat and Stanley ‘bears her into the dark flat’. Stella’s decision to stay with Stanley is not based on choice, but rather on the fact that she must. This enforces the dominant belief that women are unable to support themselves, emotionally and financially. Similar to Stanley, Blanche also faces a power struggle. Her ultimate downfall is a result of Stanley’s cruelty and lack of understanding for human fragility [6] .
Comments about Stanley’s ‘animal habits’ and ‘sub-human’ nature act as the agent of Blanche’s downfall. Stanley cannot deal with her mocking him in his own home and is fed up with her lies. During the final scenes his behavior conveys the male dominant ideas of cruelty and brutality. Blanche’s refusal to deal with Stanley’s rough nature causes her to retreat further into her fantasy world where she becomes increasingly vulnerable. Stanley violates Blanche in the most personal way and initiates the ultimate act of cruelty and abuse of power.
His final act of brutality acts as the climax of power struggle between Stanley and Blanche as well as all males and females. This leaves the male empowered and the female lowered and completely destroyed. Blanch Dubois’ empowerment comes purely from her class. Her southern tradition and wealth made her a woman of importance and propriety [7] . Although her wealth was lost with the death of Belle Reve, she desperately attempts to hold on to remains of her previous life and creates a fantasy world.
Her ‘incongruous appearance’ and ‘southern tradition causes Stanley to reject her, as he cannot relate to her in anyway. The lack of impact on Stanley reflects the context of time, when tradition was being overpowered by industrialization. As Blanche begins to understand that her class has no impact on Stanley she assumes the role of a temptress. “I was flirting with your husband Stella!” In order to gain some form of authority, Blanche uses her sexuality and physicality in effort to control Stanley.
Blanche uses her sexuality frequently to overpower others. She ‘depended on the kindness of strangers’ regularly in Laurel and her use of physicality landed her in trouble on various occasions. Following her encounter with the paperboy she states, “I’ve got to be good and keep my hands off children”. This foreshadows her frequent use of physicality as means of empowerment. Although Blanche is notorious for her use of physicality, she has no authority over Stanley and is constantly reminded of this through emotional and physical abuse.
As a representation of all females, Blanche is completely disempowered after Stanley rapes her. She creates a fantasy world to escape the harsh realties of Elysian Fields Her marginalization and downfall reflects vulnerability and reliance of females on males for stability. The dominant ideas and beliefs about gender, such as the reliance of women on men and the primitive nature and brutality of the masculine are conveyed by Tennessee Williams’ in A Streetcar Named Desire through the empowerment and marginalization of Stanley, Blanche, Mitch and Stella.
Stanley’s role empowers him in almost all situations. Blanches’ tradition and social status empowered her past but her physicality empowers her present. Williams’ characters accurately portray the gender stereotypes in the time they were created, and function today to convey the dominant ideas about gender and how they work to empower and disregard people in our society today.
3. Stanley Kowalski
3.1. Character Analysis
The stereotypical male within society is represented through the protagonist of Stanley. One particular feature related to his position is his absolute control. This almost animalistic notion of a dominant male is hinted at as soon as the play begins, when Stanley is referred to as ‘bestial’ His overall presidency and power are made clear from beginning in the stage directions.
Stanley does not take notice of his wife’s concern, but instead continues on his original course, asserting his own destiny, without any thought to the effect it may have on those around him. This taking blood at any cost to those around him is foreshadowed in scene one, with the packet of met which he forces upon his wife. It is through actions such as these that Stanley asserts power, symbolic of the male dominance throughout patriarchal society. He also gains a sense of self-importance from this position. It is said that he accepts his wife’s affections with ‘lordly composure’. This is again hinted to in Stanley’s dialogue. His statement that: Be comfortable is my motto.
It’s almost contradictory, considering that the character does all he can to put the other characters out of their way, throughout the play. It is through dialogue such as this that audiences are alerted to the fact that Stanley intrinsically fails to consider the implications his own needs and wants have on other people. Instead he is the one in control, the only person invested with power and subsequent command, therefore the only one taken into consideration. A final show of authority is his over powering presence within the poker games. Here he makes powerful statements, passing judgements on the symbolic game, and asserting dominance.
Nothing belongs on a poker table but cards, chips, and whisky.
It is he who sets such rules, allowing no other comment or opinion. Therefore, it is through using techniques such as dialogue, stage directions, foreshadow, and character, that Tennessee Williams foregrounds society’s attitudes to masculinity within the text.
During Blanche’s residence in his residence, he perceives that she has consumed his alcoholic beverages, consumed his provisions, utilized his dwelling, however persistently diminished his worth and resisted his authority. She has consistently denied him his rightful authority as the “king” of his own household. Consequently, he is compelled to passively see the destruction of his wife and household, as well as endure being demeaned, unless he chooses to retaliate. The assailant’s assault is deliberate and methodical. He initiates the process of gathering information regarding Blanche’s previous life. In order to ascertain the superior individual, he must disclose her previous life to his wife. Once he has gathered his knowledge, he firmly believes that despite being ordinary, his life and past are significantly better than Blanche’s. With his renewed sense of dominance, he initiates his actions. He believes that by demonstrating Blanche’s true degeneracy, he has now earned the right to personally punish her for all the indirect insults he has endured from her. Consequently, he purchases a bus ticket for her return to Laurel and discloses her previous experiences to Mitch.
Hence, when we analyze the rape scenario, it is crucial to acknowledge that Blanche has subjected Stanley to a considerable amount of suffering. She has consistently lacked empathy towards him. She has mocked him. Previously, she had engaged in flirtatious behavior with him, but she has never been in a romantic relationship with him. Therefore, when Stanley discovers that she has engaged in promiscuous sexual encounters with numerous individuals, he fails to comprehend why she would have an objection to one other encounter. Consequently, he commits sexual assault against her as a means of seeking retribution, partially due to his belief that one additional act of violation will not have any significant impact, and ultimately, to assert his possession over her in the sole manner he comprehends entirely.
Stanley, in essence, is an unyielding and unsophisticated individual who lacks comprehension of the subtleties and sophistication of existence. He is governed by innate instincts unaffected by the progress of civilization. Therefore, when faced with a threat, he must retaliate in order to safeguard his own endangered existence. If someone gets destroyed, that is the price that must be paid. It is the survival of the fittest, and Stanley is the strongest [8] .
3.2. Blanche’s Impression of Stanley
When Blanche and Stanley first meet, Blanche tries to seduce Stanley like she seduces other strangers. She tries to use her femininity to make him like her and see her the way she wants to be seen. However, Stanley saw through her schemes and frustrated her. She knows from the start that he is far from being a gentleman, or even a normal man, but she wants him to like her so badly. She depended on his patience, on how long he would tolerate her in the house. After living with him for several months, she was sure that her first impressions of him were true.
Blanche perceives Stanley as a relic of the Stone Age, particularly to someone who is overly sensitive. He exhibits animalistic and savage behavior and is resolute in his mission to annihilate anything that does not belong to him. He resembles a primitive from the Stone Age, returning with the meat obtained after a successful hunt. He exhibits animalistic behavior and his acts reflect this. He consumes food in a manner resembling that of an animal and expresses his satisfaction or dissatisfaction through grunting sounds. When provoked, he retaliates by hurling objects, such as the radio. Alternatively, he engages in dish-breaking or physically assaults his spouse. He is a man who excels in physical prowess and activity.
The symbols associated with Stanley reinforce his savage and instinctual approach to life. In the opening shot, he is observed transporting the uncooked meat to his residence. His attire is ostentatious and flamboyant. His language is coarse and vulgar. He enjoys engaging in bowling and poker as recreational activities. During poker games, he exhibits a disagreeable and domineering demeanor after experiencing losses. When he is experiencing success, he feels joyous, like to that of a young child.
He is the flamboyant procreator who derives enjoyment from his manhood. The inherent pleasure derived from being an animal is evident in him, and he derives the most enjoyment from the possessions that belong to him―his spouse, his residence, his alcoholic beverages, “his vehicle, his radio, everything that is his, that carries the symbol of his flamboyant role as a progenitor.”
4. Stella Kowalski
Just as a character is provided to represent the stereotypical male, one is also provided as a representation of femininity. Stella fulfils society’s preconceptions of femininity perfectly, though from today’s perspective they may be considered as misconceptions. Her character is absolutely passive and has a largely domestic role. From her first appearance in the play, she is found in doors, and remains in this setting for a good deal of the play. She is also disempowered through the language of other characters. She is rarely called by her name, and is instead referred to as ‘honey’, ‘baby’, or ‘sweet’. This lack of individual identity is one of the hallmarks of feminine power play within contemporary society. Women were degraded to mere tags, and never allowed their own personage. Stella is often marginalised physically through various incarnations of male violence. In scene eight, Stanley responds to Stella’s request to clear the table in the following way.
He hurls a plate to the floor.
That’s how I’ll clear the table! (He seizes her arm.)
Don’t ever talk that way to me.
This uncalled for violence is not a mere consequence of the physical inequality between the genders, but is an example of male abuse of power and position, in order to further their own dominance. Yet Stella is not affronted by such actions, and instead remains true to the stereotyped submissive female. Stanley’s interference in his wife’s affairs, with regard to the Napoleonic Code, is again accepted, and it is very rare to find Stella making a decision for herself. Indeed the only time she does is when she sends Blanche to the mental institute at the play’s conclusion, and even then she fails to do so without the support of other characters, such as Eunice. Throughout the play it is the women who must simply accept the violence and the injustice in order for life to continue. As Eunice says at the play’s conclusion: Life has got to go on. No matter what happens, you’ve got to keep going on [9] .
It is through dramatic techniques such as setting, dialogue, stage directions and character, that the role of women as sidelined sufferers is foregrounded in the text.
5. Harold Mitchell (Mitch)
Of course, this drama would not be complete if it did not represent the struggles and eventual fate of those who challenge society’s gender stereotypes. It is through the character of Mitch that challenges to masculine preconceptions are posed. Mitch contains many of the delicacies associated with the feminine. This is represented symbolically in his silver cigarette case, with the inscription: And if God choose, I shall love thee better? after death!?
This delicate ornament reveals Mitch’s delicate personality, which is in contradiction with the robust masculine heart. His ability to care and comfort is also embodied within the character of his mother. Though audiences are never introduced to her, it is clear that Mitch loves her very dearly, and has her well being closer to his heart, than other male characters have that of their own comparable associates. Indeed, in Mitch’s first few words he reveals that first and foremost: I ought a go home? I gotta sick mother. She doesn’t go to sleep until I come in at night.
Unlike other male characters, he considers the feelings of the females, as well as the effect his actions have on them. In scene six he asks Blanche if he can kiss her, whereas Stanley merely goes to his wife regardless of her feelings at the time. This added sensitivity is the quality, which challenges the masculine stereotype.
However this is not well received by his contemporary brethren who choose to be loyal to the accepted stereotypes, towards which society is predisposed. It is through this conflict between opposing representations of masculinity that the understanding of the male need for conformity is portrayed. As one may construct from the text, male communities are hinged on the fact that all group members hold basically the same ideas, and can therefore support one dominant male. This is illustrated by the group of poker players, who all hold the same basic views towards femininity, and therefore are able to support Stanley in his marginalisation of the opposite sex. These minor characters, Pablo and Steve, are often employed to create a catalogue of opinions and in so doing enforce Stanley’s power. Their continuation of the poker game throughout several scenes, symbolising the win all or lose all nature of life, help’s to establish Stanley as the winner. He runs the poker game, which they all follow, therefore he is the dominant male. These minor characters are also used to disempower Mitch, when he associates himself with femininity. This is often accomplished through the use of gaps and silences, as they simply ignore his outbursts of conscience altogether. It is also worthy to note, that when Mitch is found to associate himself with masculinity, most strikingly at the end of scene nine when he attempts to assault Blanche, he had been out with the boys and Stanley before hand. Stanley says: Mitch didn’t come back with roses cause I know where he is.
Leading to an audience understanding that Stanley would have played a role in Mitch’s actual actions of violence. The groups that are loyal to the male stereotype force Mitch into conforming to the violence and female abuse that flows from it. Therefore, it is through the use of devices such as dialogue, catalogue, symbolism, gaps and silences, and character, that Tennessee Williams foregrounds the position of those who challenge the male stereotype within society, and how the community responds to them.
6. Conclusion
Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire perfectly reveals many truths about society’s attitudes toward men and women over the centuries. A range of dramatic techniques such as dialogue, stage direction, gaps and silences, context, catalog, foreshadowing, symbolism, irony, and character are employed in order to shape an understanding of gender stereotypes and delve into the lives of many very different characters. By exposing Stanley’s charm and cruelty, Williams explores the nature of masculinity in a patriarchal system. Is it a hope for women or an oppressive force imposed upon them. Although Stanley represents a realism and strength that is essential to survival in modern society, the patriarchal view of masculinity prevents him from developing these characteristics, such as "beauty of mind, richness of spirit, and tenderness of heart. In a sense, his masculinity is very similar to primitiveness and savagery. However, as a playwright who values ambiguity, Williams creates another male character, Mickey, who lacks masculinity, to show that masculinity is equally important to human beings. Without it, Mickey becomes a sexually confused suitor and, more fatally for women, a mentally fragile savior. In the heroine, Ann Rancic, Williams shows compassion for women who are tragically dependent on the kindness of strangers. Her internalized belief in a physically weak, spiritually dependent, sexually repressed, male-dominated female character leaves her not with luck but with despair in her quest for love and care. Thus, her tragedy lies in the hostility to patriarchy from the outside world on the one hand, and in her internalized weakness of her own beliefs about patriarchy on the other. Therefore, I believe that her promiscuity is more about spiritual dependence on men than just material needs. The last character, Stella, is a woman who, although she is a satisfactory wife by patriarchal standards, is, in fact, doomed to a lack of self. She is a stereotypical female character, and Williams shows us the tragedy of a woman who fully identifies with male expectations of her as a submissive wife. Like Blanche, Stella is mentally dependent on men, hence in only being closely linked to the cruel Stanley. By committing Blanche to an asylum, she actually further conforms to the patriarchal view of gender. The playwright explores stereotypes of masculinity and femininity and society’s reaction to those who challenge these stereotypes, or misconceptions as the case may be. By presenting these truths to the masses watching this compelling play, Tennessee Williams poses the question to society as to whether these representations are accurate. May the audience only hope to answer that question in the next century.