A Streetcar Named Desire

What I thought was interesting was the sex and gender stratification in this play. Stella, a female was considered the weaker sex and it was a gender norm for her to be submissive to her husband Stanley. I thought it was interesting that Stella had allowed herself to be pulled from her privileged background and be made common by Stan even though in many other relationships money is what determines power.
Blanche related herself more closely to this privileged economic
background but yet still had an affair with someone whom she herself
called common. So perhaps this further demonstrates women as the
weaker sex because they will take reassurance wherever and
whenever they can find it as is implied by this role of dependence.
This goes back to what Beauvoir said; that "man can think of himself
without woman, but woman cannot think of herself without man.”
This may be the reason for continued oppression.
I noticed Stanley and Stella's dysfunctional relationship and
although he treated her badly it could be argued that they loved one
another. Stella dismisses abusive events to her sister Blanche
and it seems that these outbursts are accepted occasional
occurrences. I cannot judge ones love of another so I will not
venture further into this but I did notice the typical stereotypes of
both men and women present throughout this play. Blanche was
portrayed as the unstable, emotional female that was very
dependent on men. She was more feminine than the other women,
as she liked to take long bathes and dress in fine clothes. Stanley,
besides being male, seemed to be the complete opposite as he was
compared constantly to an animal. He was independent, confident
and many times rude and condescending to the women. The women
feared and respected him, especially when he drank. Over all it
gives the sense that women are still regarded as inferior, almost
the property of a man as is demonstrated when Stanley yells at Eunice
that he wants "his girl" to come home with him! (66.)


Work Cited

Williams, Tennessee. "A Street Car Named Desire". New York:
New Directions Publishing Corporation. 2004.