26th March, 2001
A Streetcar Named Desire
With which of the characters do you have the most sympathy with? Illustrate with specific reference to the text.
It could be argued that Stella is the victim in this story as she suffers the most. Because she is stranded between Stanley, her husband and Blanche, her sister, she has to choose between the two and decide whom she trusts. She says, ‘I couldn’t believe her story and go on living with Stanley.’ Stella is hurt emotionally and physically by Stanley, as in Scene Three when Stanley hits Stella, but she comes back to him shortly after and forgives him. This is because it’s not just herself she has to think about, but also her newborn baby. Her baby is her foremost priority.
Stella loves Stanley and she tries to make him happy. But she feels threatened by Blanche, because she thinks she will take Stanley away from her. In Scene One Blanche asks Eunice, ‘I’m looking for my sister, Stella DuBois. I mean-Mrs. Stanley Kowalski.’ This shows that Blanche doesn’t accept that Stella is now married. Stanley is the type of man that Blanche likes. She thinks that he is a real man, something that her former partner wasn’t, she likes strong men. Her ex-boyfriend was homosexual and she might think that it was her fault, because she wasn’t good enough. She flirts with Stanley more than he flirts with her. One example is when she asks him how she looks, ‘Oh, in my youth I excited some admiration. But look at me now! (She smiles at him radiantly.) Would you think it possible that I was once considered to be-attractive?’ then Stanley’s blunt reply to this is, ‘Your looks are okay.’ Stanley is more in control and doesn’t get taken in by her sexuality. She says in Scene Two, ‘I like an artist who paints in strong, bold colours, primary colours. That was why, when you walked in here last night, I said to myself-“My sister has married a man!” this quote reflects how Blanche views Stanley. In the stage directions Stanley is wearing Denim. This shows that he is a hard working man that is rough and muscular. Blanche is jealous that Stella is married and blames her for loosing Belle Reve saying in Scene One, ‘I let the place go? Where were you? In bed with your-Polack!’ The exclamation mark shows Blanche is very upset and angry, she also wants Stella to feel guilty. She also states, ‘But you are the one that abandoned Belle Reve, not I! I stayed and fought for it, bled for it, almost died for it!’ Blanche doesn’t have anything and is jealous that Stella has started a new life with a new family. Blanche is older than Stella and has dominance over her. Blanche shows dominance over Stella as she has more to say and Stella is quite nervous especially in Scene One, when they meet. In the stage directions is says, ‘She laughs but her glance at BLANCHE is a little anxious.’ Blanche often interrupts Stella when she’s trying to say something, for example,
