A parallel to Williams’s life is the relationship between Stella and Blanche, this links to Williams and his sister Rose, this relationship between Williams and his sister was broken when Williams moved away from home, this proved a big problem as they went from spending all their time together to none at all, this had the greatest effect on Rose as she became mentally unstable, so much so that she had to be committed to a mental hospital. This parallels to Blanche and Stella, Stella moves away to get on with her life and Blanche stays at home, she also becomes mentally unstable but this does not become apparent until the end of the play, and like Rose is committed to a mental hospital. I believe that the despair that Stella suffers is the same that Williams must have suffered when he learnt about his sister’s mental state and that she had been committed.
In ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ the character Stanley has characteristics similar to those of Williams’s father. He had disapproved of Williams’ sexuality and femininity and was openly ashamed. Williams resented his father for this for the rest of his life. This is why Williams portrays Stanley as the stereotypical ‘mans man’, a macho dominating figure. Williams’ resentment for his father is apparent in the play in two forms, the first is the relationship between Blanche and her ex-husband who she finds in bed with another man, this is Williams’ way of getting back at his father by putting such a controversial idea in the play, an idea that his father could not find acceptable. The second is the way that Stanley has the same ideals as Williams’s father and to live as the typical 1940’s man, and by making Stanley the bad guy ridicules his father and his stereotypical view of what a man should be.
The point of Stanley’s character is to show the audience of the typical masculine arrogant men, living in America at the time. Even though they did not bear the brunt of the onslaught and joined the war part way through they still seen it as America winning the day for the rest of the world. This provided them with a reason for this arrogance and this was not one hundred percent their fault because they were convinced of this by their propaganda. Stanley knows that in society he is viewed as inferior to Blanche, this gives us an insight into why he is so hostile towards Blanche because he cannot comprehend why someone who has hardly known a days work should rule over someone who has fought for his country and has to work hard everyday performing manual labour just to keep above water. Also Stanley’s Polish heritage would greater his hatred for people like Blanche because not so long ago she probably would have had foreign people working for her and she would not have treated them as equals.
Stella is used by Williams to balance the play out because she is a neutral character; she has to deal with the brunt of all the problems because she is stuck between her husband and her sister. Stella is used to show the optimism that many American housewives adopted. As much as Stella always tries to keep everyone happy she also looks at everything realistically and makes decisions that are likely to keep her safe. For example when she has to choose between Stanley and Blanche, she chooses Stanley because she knows she could never scrape a living with Blanche who was living in a dream world and had no thoughts of getting a job or working for her living, she knew that with Stanley, he was at least able to earn money and keep her with a roof over her head.
In the 1940’s America saw a dramatic rise in the number of immigrants looking for work. As all of these groups of people mixed a metropolitan society was created with new cultures, new religions, new fashions, new music cultures and traditions. People like Stanley represented the new America and the new society that was being formed, on the other hand there’s Blanche who is still trying to cling onto the old way of life and is very against all of the immigrants and disapproves of this new mixed society.
The war also served to create a new attitude within some people because they realised how easily life comes and goes and therefore took the ideal to live life to the full as it may not be their one day. Stella and Stanley’s relationship reflects this very unconcerned attitude, this is highlighted the most in the final scene when Blanche has been taken away and Stella is aggrieved, Stanley, instead of comforting her, puts his hand up her blouse. Mitch on the other hand, like Blanche, conforms more to the old fashion and conservative ideals. Williams is trying to highlight the social divide that was evident in America at that time.
The rape scene represents the battle between the old conservative ways in Blanche and the new careless ways of Stanley, new beats old in the end. Stanley represents the whole of new America showing its dominance and victory over the old America.
