Feminism In A Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire is a story told from a women’s perspective. The story develops as the protagonist, Blanche DuBois. Tennessee Williams lets readers to follow a women’s experience under a patriarchal society and how women lives their lives in the 20th century: powerless, submissive, dependent and chaste. In the story, Stella has created an image of women should be submissive and compliant. “[She backs out of sight. He advances and disappears. There is the sound of a blow. Stella cries out. Blanche screams and runs into the kitchen. The men rush forward and there is grappling and cursing. Something is overturned with a crash.]” (Williams, 1947, p. 59)

The above excerpt clearly indicates that Stanley had beaten Stella. Beating is symbolic in power and dominance in strength over women. After the beating, Stella and Blanche hurried upstairs to their neighbor to take refuge. Stanley then begged

In the first place, when men are drinking and playing poker anything can happen. It’s always a powder keg. He didn’t know what he was doing... He was as good as a lamb when I came back and he’s really very, very ashamed of himself.” (Williams, 1947, p. 66). Rather than facing that fact, Stella chose to allow his husband to hit her from time to time. Which is a form of submission to

“I could not believe her story and go on living with Stanley” (Williams, 1947, p. 145). While Blanche accused Stanley on raping her, Stella chose to defend Stanley and send Blanche to the mental institution because she knew that she couldn’t accept the truth of her husband is a rapist. But more importantly, it is because Stella wanted to protect her marriage since admitting her husband is a rapist means that her marriage is going to be over and her son is going to be growing without a father. And there is no one that she can depend on