ipl-logo

Stereotypes In A Streetcar Named Desire

1245 Words5 Pages

Stereotypical gender roles have existed as long as human culture has, becoming a natural part of all of our lives. Within each gender lies a variety of stereotypes and expectations. Most notably for men they are often depicted as tough and the family provider. Whereas women are often shown to be soft and vulnerable. Throughout the play A Streetcar Named Desire the author; Tennessee Williams illustrates the main characters, Stanley, Stella, Mitch and Blanche with these stereotypes. The play takes place in the 1950s in New Orleans containing a diverse population. However, is race discriminated against, those who go against classifed gender roles are often discriminated and have trouble finding their way in society. Although gender equality has …show more content…

Not only has Tennesse Williams portrayed Stella and Blanche to be seen as delicate and dependent, our own society has created this image but this not only affects how individuals see themselves but affects relationships immensely. Tennessee Williams reinforces the stereotype in which women are often the victims of unfortunate fate within the usage of the character Blanche. Throughout the whole play, we have witnessed Blanche being on the bitter end of life's miseries as she has encountered the tough loss of Belle Reve, dealing with her ex-husband's suicide and the loss of her relationship with Mitch. Arguably, the expectations and beliefs of women were either to be a housewife or a mother, whereas Blanche shows neither, as a result of automatically feeling out of place possibly leading to her downfall. Blanche was constantly fantasizing about the traditional values of a southern gentlemen, proving her dependence on this sex. Quote and Explain, In contrast, Stella has both a husband and a child, she has something to work for, leading her to be accepted into society. Although Stella exemplifies these common traits, she falls under the same category as her sister, Blanche. While being depicted as less in comparison to the opposite sex. The intense description of the stage directions in scene three, depicts Stella as the prey and Stanley as the predator as he vigorously abused

Show More
Related
1076 Words | 5 Pages

Stella is demonstrated to live her life consumed with illusion until the final scene of the play where, as Blanche is taken away and loses her mental stability, Stella realises the problems that she may have caused by not defending Blanche from Stanley, as she is blinded by her own illusions of her relationship Stanley. Stella lives in denial of her abusive relationship with Stanley by creating excuses and illusions that everything is fine. This is evidenced when Stella says “You’re making too much fuss”, therefore it is obvious that Stella is used to the abuse she receives from Stanley and shows to Blanche that it is a regular thing that would happen to women in New Orleans, however she creates the illusion that it is okay or that it does not happen, as she dismisses giving any information on it. This could be a portrayal of her Southern Belle

Read More
978 Words | 4 Pages

Stella’s sister, Blanche, sees through the illusion and can see how toxic the marriage really is. Stanley and Blanche come from distinctly different backgrounds, Stanley is from the working class while Blanche comes from wealth. Williams uses these two contrasting points of views on marriage, to show the issues of possessiveness, class, and sexism. When it comes to Stanley’s marriage to Stella, one of the most notable characteristics is how possessive Stanley is. An example of this is when Stanley found out that Blanche and therefore Stella, lost their estate.

Read More
1919 Words | 8 Pages

This shows that women in “A Streetcar Named Desire” happen to be weak against the opposite sex, or controlled and overpowered by men. To illustrate, in the article by Roth Foley about women being victims in “A Streetcar Named Desire”, the writer mentions that Stanley’s visible aspect provides an intuition on how to control women, and lead them using their weaknesses destroying them. Blanche and Stella were both victims of male dominance, they were Stanley’s toys and he could take advantage with any of them without considering that Stella is

Read More
833 Words | 4 Pages

In conclusion, “A streetcar named Desire” by Tennessee Williams, uses characterization of the main characters to convey theme of the desire and how it can influence and change someone’s personality. Because of the situations and arguments the characters get in, Williams is able show how desperate the characters are to get what they want. Stanley was willing to put his wife and his baby’s lives at risk, only to prove that he was the man of the house. Blanche ruined her chance of getting married because her promiscuous past caught up with her. Tennessee Williams uses his upbringing to show the theme of male versus female in many of his plays and it especially shows in “A streetcar named Desire”.

Read More
1444 Words | 6 Pages

Stanley feels the threat to his marriage after the big fight he has with Stella after the poker game. Stanley feels as if he is losing control over Stella and believes Blanche is the one to blame for Stellas behaviour becoming different. An example of this was shown when Stella turned on the radio in the bedroom and was talking to Blanche while the man were playing poker in the next room. Stanley was demonstrating his domactis over Stella whe he asked her to “turn the radio off and hush up” Stella replied saying “this is my house ,i 'll talk as much as I want too”. Stanley has a set illusion of Throughout Blanche 's stay at his house, he feels that she has drunk his liquor, eaten his food, used his house and felt that she still had the nerve to disrepresent him in his own house.

Read More
783 Words | 4 Pages

She brings this sense of superiority to Stella who unintentionally tries to distinguish her background from Stanley as well. Stanley recognizes the fact that Blanche looks down on him forcing him to assert his masculinity over her. Stanley’s dominance over the household and Stella is being questioned upon Blanche’s

Read More
753 Words | 4 Pages

The play’s final scene has "falling action" as after some weeks of the rape, Stella secretly prepares for Blanche’s departure to a mental asylum and Blanche leaves with the doctor after a minor struggle and after he shows her his kindness and tenderness. Stella’s reaction to Blanche’s condition and her decision to carry on her marriage because she knows that the fact that her husband had raped her sister would destroy a marital relationship on which she depends, constitute the play’s resolution. The play ends with an image of Stella sitting on the porch with her baby in her arms and Stanley comforts her after her sister has just been taken off to the mental asylum (Bloom

Read More
1038 Words | 5 Pages

Tennessee Williams is acclaimed for his ability to create multi faced characters such as Blanche Dubois in the play, A Streetcar Named Desire. She comes to New Orleans after losing everything including her job, money, and her family’s plantation Belle Reve, to live with her sister Stella. During her time there she causes many conflicts with Stella’s husband Stanley and tries to get involved with the people there, all while judging them for their place in society, although she is imperfect too. Through her, Williams has created a complex character. She is lost, confused, conflicted, lashing out in sexual ways, and living in her own fantasies throughout the entirety of the play.

Read More
962 Words | 4 Pages

Blanche wanted Stella to think that she had higher standards than those that she was provided with. In meeting her sister’s husband, Blanche was immediately attracted to him because of his strong, manly structure. Once jealousy had struck her, Blanche started flirting with her sister’s husband but Stanley felt as if every word that came out of her mouth was a lie. While sharing her experience of Belle Reve with Stella, Blanche felt satisfaction as she could tell that her sister was feeling guilty for not being there. Suspicious of Blanche’s speech about the plantation, Stanley demanded to see the papers, stating that he was being “swindled” and that he “didn’t like being swindled”.

Read More
864 Words | 4 Pages

Through the revealing events that unfold as the story progresses, Stella becomes aware of her life in an honest light that only Blanche’s presence provides. By the end of the play, Stella realizes that her life is not as perfect as she had previously thought, thanks to questions that Blanche arose intentionally and unintentionally. With this, her view of her relationship with Stanley also transforms as Blanche inadvertently brings out a side of him that alienates him from Stella. Up until Blanche’s arrival, Stella seems to be content with her life. However, Blanche introduces questions that appear to grow in Stella’s mind as the play progresses and more violent events occur.

Read More
966 Words | 4 Pages

Gender differences take a big place in every story and can lead to some conflicts. According to Cliffsnotes,“Gender stereotypes are simplistic generalizations about the gender attributes “(Cliffsnotes 1). In other words, it exists some stereotypes that categorized people. In A streetcar named Desire written by Tennessee Williams, there is some conflictual situations based on gender differences between Mitch, Stanley, Stella and Blanche. Based on this idea, each character represents a specific type of gender stereotypes.

Read More
652 Words | 3 Pages

It also highlights Stella’s submissive nature, and how she conforms to the sexist societal expectations of a helpless and fragile woman. Although the surrounding male characters disregard Stanley’s abuse, the audience is repulsed by it and identifies it as morally wrong. This shows how Williams is criticising the acceptance of this abusive behaviour in society, using Stella’s dilemma as a victim to plea for a change. Stanley is even abusive when displaying his

Read More
698 Words | 3 Pages

The Fight for Dominance In today’s society, gender norms convince men that unless they are able to control women, they are weak. Considered the inferior gender, women must find new ways to prove their own strength, whether it be through manipulation or their sexuality. The battle between the two continues as men strive to remain dominant, often by immoral means, and women attempt to gain the upper hand. In the screenplay, “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams, the sexual tension and struggle for dominion between Blanche and Stanley is evident, and as the play continues, Blanche's promiscuity and Stanley's predatory nature foreshadow an inevitable confrontation.

Read More
1547 Words | 7 Pages

Tennessee Williams wrote “A Streetcar Named Desire” (Williams, 1947) It is based in New Orleans a new cosmopolitan city which is poor but has raffish charm. The past is representing old south in America 1900’s and present is representing new America post world war 2 in 1940’s. Past and present are intertwined throughout the play in the characters Stanley, Blanche, Stella and mitch. Gender roles show that males are the dominant and rule the house which Stanley is prime example as he brings home food and we learn of one time when he got cross and he smashed the light bulbs.

Read More
847 Words | 4 Pages

“A Streetcar Named Desire” is a very elegant film in which the Southern gothic culture is demonstrated profoundly. Tennessee Williams uses the characters in the play to bring about a sense of how corrupt society truly was in the 1940’s in the South. The 1940’s was marked by an immense amount of violence, alcoholism, and poverty. Women at the time were treated as objects rather than people. Throughout the play Tennessee Williams relates the aspects of Southern society to the characters in the play.

Read More

More about Stereotypes In A Streetcar Named Desire

Related Topics

Open Document