Stanley Vs Blanche

In the play, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, Stanley and Blanche have a fight over who can win the affections of Stella. When Blanche arrives to stay with her sister Stella in New Orleans, she is shocked by her cheap apartment. The sisters come from generational wealth, as they grew up in a mansion that was once a plantation called Belle Reve. Blanche calls Stella’s husband Stanley a “Polack” (17), implying he is a member of the lower class and beneath their social status. She then tells Stella she lost their family estate after all their relatives died, and Stella mourns the loss of her childhood home. Blanche takes her reaction personally and defends herself by saying “I took the blows to my face and body.Where were you! In

Williams makes it clear that he sees himself as superior to women, and society only reinforces this as women like Blanche are forced to rely on men like Stanley. Even when Stanley hits Stella, she goes back to him almost immediately. As the play progresses, Stanley and Blanche continue to compete with each other for Stella’s affection. They both go behind each other’s back and try to convince her to get rid of the other person. Blanche tells Stella that, “he acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits! Eat like one, move like one, talk like one! There’s even something – sub-human” (83). Blanche sees Stanley as below her because of his blue collar status and poor attitude and manners. She tries to convince Stella to see things from her perspective and stop going back to him, but Stella is reluctant to agree with her. Later on, Stanley tells Stella that Blanche was living in the Flamingo hotel and the workers “was so impressed by Dame Blanche that they requested her to turn in her room key– for permanently!” (120). He tells Stella all the lies that Blanche told them to convince her to kick Blanche out of their