A Streetcar Named Desire Gender Roles Essay

Throughout the play A Streetcar Named Desire, author Tennessee Williams relies heavily on gender roles and societal expectations during that time period. Tennessee Williams uses this technique not only in this play, but also across most of his other works. The societal expectations and stereotypes of each gender play a big role in the characterization of the characters in Williams’ works. The objective of this essay is to further examine the stereotypical gender roles in A Streetcar Named Desire and how they build the characterization of Blanche, Stella, and Stanley. Gender roles and stereotypes have existed since the beginning of time and more likely than not will continue to exist in the future.

There are many stereotypes directed towards

Despite the aggressive and abusive nature of Stanley, Stella maintains a positive outlook with the hopes of raising a happy family once her child arrives. This stay at home wife mentality helps the reader understand Stella more as a character and gain a better knowledge of her

This statement could offer insight as to why Stanley not only beats Stella, but also rapes Blanche at the end of the play. These actions confirm Stanley’s alpha male status. Stanley does not only take out his actions physically on Blanche and Stella, as he also postures himself in an aggressive manner and often becomes verbally aggressive. An example of this posturing appears when Williams gives the stage direction of, “Stanley stalks fiercely through the portieres into the bedroom. He crosses to the small white radio and snatches it off the table. With a shouted oath, he tosses the instrument out of the window” (Williams 62). This is just one example of Stanley posturing himself in a position of authority in order to assert his dominance over Stella, or in this case both Stella and Blanche. Blanche DuBois is the traditional southern belle in most senses. A southern belle is typically a woman who relies on their relationship partner to provide for them while she stays at home. Blanche, who now no longer possesses a source of income, must become reliant on Stanley. Blanche also maintains belle-like traits when it comes to behavior and manners. Blanche is a firm believer in chivalry and this is very apparent in her interactions with Mitch. When she wants the lamp to be colored she says, “ ‘I can’t stand a naked light bulb, any more than I can a rude remark or a vulgar action’” This is a