Stanley In A Streetcar Named Desire

The typical early 20th century male has very specific characteristics – burly, protective, and aggressive. Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, then, embodies all of these qualities, posing as almost the ideal man. He has a firm hold on his wife, his job, and his future. However, this is the appearance – does he really have control, or is it simply a façade to hide that fact that Stanley, out of all the characters in the play, is the most alone, distressed, and reliant on others for survival. In Scene I, when Tennessee Williams portrays Stanley as the powerful partner in his marriage, Stanley is viewed to be tough, and possessing the normal manlike characteristics of any stereotypical male of the time period. For example, in Scene

Smalltalk in Scene III, among Pablo, Steve, Mitch, and Stanley himself reveals the low of popularity of Stanley and his distinct lack of companionship. In an attempt to make himself seem tougher, or better than his friends, he becomes arrogant and hostile, exploding and taking his anger out on first the radio, then Stella. Either by historical tendencies, or by desire, Stanley attempts to take a position of power by asserting himself on others, and thus requires social acceptance in order to reach his desired position of power. Stanley, throughout the play, so aggressive in his need to become powerful, becomes violent in nature. Stanley’s rampage in Scene III (when he hits Stella), and then later on in the play reveals him to be so power-hungry that he will resort to barbaric, physical tactics to get what he wants. His lack of remorse for raping Blanche is astonishing; he does not share the fact that he raped her with anyone, so he assumes to be the only one with this knowledge. He is so confident in his power that he does not even consider that Blanche would tell Stella about his heinous act. In the last Scene, the audience is aware that Stella has heard about what Stanley has done – in fact, every character in the play is aware. However, Stanley is the only one who believes that no one else knows, setting him apart and therefore confirming that Stanley is the one in