Another way Stella is shows as not being a character in her own right is through using her as a means to develop the personality of the other characters. For example, in her first appearance, Stanley tosses a package of bloody meat from the butchers at Stella. Eunice and the Negro Woman and laugh about this highlighting the fact that Tennessee Williams intended it as a sexual innuendo. Tossing the package of meat symbolically captures Stanley and Stella’s relationship – he hurls himself physically at her and although Stella “cries out in protest” she later “laughs” delightedly thus showing the fact that she still stays with him despite the fact that she dislikes it. This again relates to how women at the time did not confront or disapprove of their husbands because they would not have anywhere to live if they left their husbands home as women had lower status than men and didn’t earn money themselves. Through using sexual innuendos through Stella, Williams’ successfully manages to put Stanley in the spotlight as a primitive character. Stella becomes a character to represent “the world of New Orleans that is a barbarism” (Krutch).
Another aspect of the play when Stella is trying to reinforce Stanley’s primitive nature is when the violence starts. The morning after the night that Stanley hit Stella, she lies tranquilly in bed when Blanche, wild from a sleepless night, comes in. Stella explains to Blanche that Stanley gets in to violent moods sometimes, but she likes him the way that he is. Although she seemed to repudiate Stanley’s violence the night before, she is clearly aroused by his aggression. Stella is calm, peaceful, and glowing, as though still lit with some of the lurid kitchen lighting of the previous night which suggests a mystical aspect to Stanley and Stella’s violent attraction; she is calmly lying in bed as if she had just taken part in something holy. Though Blanche sees Stanley’s actions as unforgivable, Stella likes it. When Stella tells Blanche about how Stanley broke all the lightbulbs with a shoe on their honeymoon, Blanche is horrified but Stella reassures her that she is “sort of –thrilled by it”. The verb thrilled shows that they’re relationship is very much physical and that if the violence didn’t arouse her then she probably wouldn’t be in love with Stanley. After Stella explains all of this to Blanche, she still does not believe Stella and says “He acts like an animal, has an animal's habits! Eats like one, moves like one, talks like one! There's even something -sub-human -something not quite to the stage of humanity yet! Yes, something - ape-like about him … Stanley Kowalski - survivor of the Stone Age! Bearing the raw meat home from the kill in the jungle!” During which Stanley walks him and Stella cuts her off and runs to him and “embraces him with both arms.” The audience can clearly see him grinning through the curtains, making it obvious that he has won this round.
Due to the lack of description of Stella’s character, the most the readers learn from her is through the other characters’ comments. For example, Blanche says to Stella: “God love you for a liar! Daylight never exposed so total a ruin!” This comment about Stella reveals more about Blanche’s character than Stella’s own character. Blanche couldn’t accept the compliment Stella gave her, suggesting Blanche’s obsession with her appearance. Therefore it can be argued that Stella is simply being used for the development of other characters rather than being a character in her own right.
Another way Stella is used for the development of character is through her strong sexuality. Whereas Blanche is led to promiscuity after the death of her husband, Stella’s strong sexuality is channelled into passion for her husband. This is shown through the quote “there are things that happen between a man and a woman in the dark – that sort of make everything else seem – unimportant.” This creates a similarity between Blanche and Stella and thus adds to the character development of Blanche. Stella is almost like Blanche in their desire for love and sex. It is also symbolic of the fact that Stella chose to remain under the illusion that Blanche was lying despite knowing the truth and helps the audience understand the reason why Stanley won the prize that was Stella. By the end of the play the audience becomes convinced of her devotion to her husband. And we manage to accept that the reason she sacrificed her sister was because she cannot imagine life without Stanley.
Finally, Stella’s changing attitude Stanley once again reinforces the shift in atmosphere due to Blanche’s arrival. In the first scene, when Stanley tosses a piece of meat up to Stella and she is delighted, but as the play progresses she becomes disgusted at these things, for example, Stella starts to use nouns such as “pig” and adjective such as “greasy” to describe Stanley, whereas in the beginning she would treat him like the man of the house. This is a way to justify Stanley’s rape of Blanche because this change is what led Stanley to want to destroy her.
There is only one reason to argue for her as being a character in her own right and that is in the fact that she is the only one who supports Blanche. Even when Mitch turned against her, Blanche comes to her sister’s defence against her husband again and again. Starting in the beginning of the play when he accuses her of being a “Swindle” to the end of the play when he reveals everything about her. Stella remains firmly on her sister’s side, refusing to believe these stories even in the face of overwhelming evidence. “You didn’t know Blanche as a girl,” she argues. “Nobody, nobody, was tender and trusting as she was.” She is the most loyal and kind character in the play to Blanche, a quality that no other character holds. Therefore she could be a character in her own right.
In my opinion Stella is not a character in her own right and Williams uses her to develop other characters, show changes in the scene and justify other characters actions. Stella is the mediating point between Blanche and Stanley. The play can, in more than one way, be interpreted as the conflict between Stanley and Blanche as a territorial battle over who gets Stella’s love and affection.
by
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