Tennessee Williams wrote his play A Streetcar Named Desire in a time where women were heavily oppressed by the patriarchal society in which they lived. While men were seen as the superior gender, women were constantly undermined and expected to stay at home to raise their family rather than go out and pursue their own jobs or independent lifestyles. Throughout the play, the reader can observe the downfall of a character like Blanche DuBois who was nothing like the idealistic conservative female that society expected her to be. Living in the household of the aggressive Stanley Kowalski, who was used to controlling everything around him, her feelings of inferiority were only intensified. By Williams representing both genders like this, it helped
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Stanley shows these very traits consistently throughout the novel. For example, in the scene where Stella stands up for herself and calls Stanley out for not cleaning the table, Stanley shouts back, “That’s how I’ll clear the table! [He seizes her arm.] Don’t ever talk that way to me! Pig — Polack — disgusting — vulgar — greasy!” (Williams 118). This helps highlight Stanley's aggression and dominance that he holds over Stella in that he thinks he can get away with calling her names and yelling at her without her talking back. Also, it shows how easily provoked Stanley gets when Stella contradicts him in any way, and the reader can assume it is because she is a woman defending herself against him that he feels so threatened. Another significant male character was Mitch. Although he wasn’t necessarily as assertive as Stanley, he did show a similar disregard and insensitivity for women. For example, after Stanley hit pregnant Stella for interrupting their poker game, Mitch simply stated, “Poker should not be played in a house with women” (Williams 63). After Stanley did something so horrid - hitting his pregnant wife - Mitch simply just plays it off with a short remark rather than confronting Stanley and assuring Stella’s
Stanley shows these very traits consistently throughout the novel. For example, in the scene where Stella stands up for herself and calls Stanley out for not cleaning the table, Stanley shouts back, “That’s how I’ll clear the table! [He seizes her arm.] Don’t ever talk that way to me! Pig — Polack — disgusting — vulgar — greasy!” (Williams 118). This helps highlight Stanley's aggression and dominance that he holds over Stella in that he thinks he can get away with calling her names and yelling at her without her talking back. Also, it shows how easily provoked Stanley gets when Stella contradicts him in any way, and the reader can assume it is because she is a woman defending herself against him that he feels so threatened. Another significant male character was Mitch. Although he wasn’t necessarily as assertive as Stanley, he did show a similar disregard and insensitivity for women. For example, after Stanley hit pregnant Stella for interrupting their poker game, Mitch simply stated, “Poker should not be played in a house with women” (Williams 63). After Stanley did something so horrid - hitting his pregnant wife - Mitch simply just plays it off with a short remark rather than confronting Stanley and assuring Stella’s