How is sexuality presented in A Streetcar Named Desire
The theme of sexual desire permeates the play predominantly through its pairing with death; sex
and death are intricately and fatally linked. Desire is the driving force behind all of the characters’
actions and it is indulging in this desire that leads to the unwanted, tragic downfalls. Williams
presents sexuality as something the characters’ feel the urge to hide due to societal judgement and
it is opening up to the idea of sexuality that is used as the symbol of defeat against expectations.
Williams expresses the differences in sexuality through the dichotomy of the male stock characters,
Stanley vs Allan and Mitch. Stanley’s overt dominance seen through his masculinity is a sign of his
strength in society as he is ‘the King around here’ which, through the regal language and
connotations to having ultimate authority, suggests Stanley’s sexuality gives him power over the
other characters. The audience infer, through the masculine noun, that it is his alpha male nature
that has preordained his dominance unsettling them with the gender inequality in society. He is
described as wearing ‘strong, bold primary colours’ which suggests, through the expressionist
technique of colour symbolism, that Stanley also has visual power and strength as ‘primary colours’
are the base and foundation of everything else suggesting without him, there would be nothing.
Williams emphasises the dominance of Stanley through his sexuality to alert the audience of the
prominence of fate; it is his genetics and luck that have given him the power not his actions. This
directly juxtaposes the fate of Mitch and Allan who are, viewed by society, as weak and are
consequently ostracised. Due to the fact he was gay, Blanche told Allan he ‘disgusts [her]’ which,
through the scolding verb and harsh sound, demonstrates the judgement from society due to his
sexuality. Williams emphasises the isolation felt by Allan because he, himself, was gay and suffered
from terrible social exclusion due to it as it was seen as a mental illness that had to be fixed.
Furthermore, Mitch is labelled a ‘cry-baby’ by Stanley, the tragic antagonist, which delineates to the
audience the eminence of expectations as ‘cry-baby’ is in the semantic field of infancy implying
Mitch, due to the fact he shows emotions, does not qualify to be a man. Through the accentuated
judgement, Williams has allowed the audience to assimilate the tragedy of the play; the sexuality of
the characters ultimately determines their outcome. Stanley describes life as a ‘seven-card stud’
which, through the reference to both a ‘stud’ connoting to make animals being used for sexual
purposes and the symbolism of a ‘game’, the audience can assimilate the extent to which the class of
outsiders’ ostracism is seen as entertainment emphasising the tragedy of the play. Through the
extended metaphor of a card game, Williams has accentuated how the idea of luck and fate play a
significant role in the outcome of the characters and therefore allow the audience to assimilate that
the eventual downfall of all the stereotypically weak characters is inevitable due to their sexuality.
The self-destructive nature of sexual desire is explored both physically and allegorically through the
idea of mortality. There is an intricate and fatal link between sexuality and death that causes the
tragic heroine, Blanche’s, mental downfall. From the outset of the play, it is made clear to the
audience that Blanche cannot experience a happy ending as she takes the ‘streetcar named desire’
which ‘transfers to one called Cemeteries’ epitomizing the direct link between the both themes as
‘desire’ connotes to sexuality and ‘cemeteries’ is in the semantic field of death. By allowing the
reader to acknowledge this link so early on in the play, Williams has prognosticated Blanche’s
breakdown to remind them of the importance and strength of the force of fate. Blanche ends the
play wearing a ‘red satin robe’ which, through the visual imagery, depicts her outcome through the
duality of ‘red’ linking to love and sex aswell as linking to danger and peril. Outside the flat, the blind
Mexican Woman cries ‘flores para los muertos’ in order to mirror Blanche’s emotional death as the
peripeteia comes into action. Furthermore, the use of Spanish within this scheme underscores the
diversity of New Orleans, known as the ‘melting pot’ of culture. Williams demonstrates the slow
The theme of sexual desire permeates the play predominantly through its pairing with death; sex
and death are intricately and fatally linked. Desire is the driving force behind all of the characters’
actions and it is indulging in this desire that leads to the unwanted, tragic downfalls. Williams
presents sexuality as something the characters’ feel the urge to hide due to societal judgement and
it is opening up to the idea of sexuality that is used as the symbol of defeat against expectations.
Williams expresses the differences in sexuality through the dichotomy of the male stock characters,
Stanley vs Allan and Mitch. Stanley’s overt dominance seen through his masculinity is a sign of his
strength in society as he is ‘the King around here’ which, through the regal language and
connotations to having ultimate authority, suggests Stanley’s sexuality gives him power over the
other characters. The audience infer, through the masculine noun, that it is his alpha male nature
that has preordained his dominance unsettling them with the gender inequality in society. He is
described as wearing ‘strong, bold primary colours’ which suggests, through the expressionist
technique of colour symbolism, that Stanley also has visual power and strength as ‘primary colours’
are the base and foundation of everything else suggesting without him, there would be nothing.
Williams emphasises the dominance of Stanley through his sexuality to alert the audience of the
prominence of fate; it is his genetics and luck that have given him the power not his actions. This
directly juxtaposes the fate of Mitch and Allan who are, viewed by society, as weak and are
consequently ostracised. Due to the fact he was gay, Blanche told Allan he ‘disgusts [her]’ which,
through the scolding verb and harsh sound, demonstrates the judgement from society due to his
sexuality. Williams emphasises the isolation felt by Allan because he, himself, was gay and suffered
from terrible social exclusion due to it as it was seen as a mental illness that had to be fixed.
Furthermore, Mitch is labelled a ‘cry-baby’ by Stanley, the tragic antagonist, which delineates to the
audience the eminence of expectations as ‘cry-baby’ is in the semantic field of infancy implying
Mitch, due to the fact he shows emotions, does not qualify to be a man. Through the accentuated
judgement, Williams has allowed the audience to assimilate the tragedy of the play; the sexuality of
the characters ultimately determines their outcome. Stanley describes life as a ‘seven-card stud’
which, through the reference to both a ‘stud’ connoting to make animals being used for sexual
purposes and the symbolism of a ‘game’, the audience can assimilate the extent to which the class of
outsiders’ ostracism is seen as entertainment emphasising the tragedy of the play. Through the
extended metaphor of a card game, Williams has accentuated how the idea of luck and fate play a
significant role in the outcome of the characters and therefore allow the audience to assimilate that
the eventual downfall of all the stereotypically weak characters is inevitable due to their sexuality.
The self-destructive nature of sexual desire is explored both physically and allegorically through the
idea of mortality. There is an intricate and fatal link between sexuality and death that causes the
tragic heroine, Blanche’s, mental downfall. From the outset of the play, it is made clear to the
audience that Blanche cannot experience a happy ending as she takes the ‘streetcar named desire’
which ‘transfers to one called Cemeteries’ epitomizing the direct link between the both themes as
‘desire’ connotes to sexuality and ‘cemeteries’ is in the semantic field of death. By allowing the
reader to acknowledge this link so early on in the play, Williams has prognosticated Blanche’s
breakdown to remind them of the importance and strength of the force of fate. Blanche ends the
play wearing a ‘red satin robe’ which, through the visual imagery, depicts her outcome through the
duality of ‘red’ linking to love and sex aswell as linking to danger and peril. Outside the flat, the blind
Mexican Woman cries ‘flores para los muertos’ in order to mirror Blanche’s emotional death as the
peripeteia comes into action. Furthermore, the use of Spanish within this scheme underscores the
diversity of New Orleans, known as the ‘melting pot’ of culture. Williams demonstrates the slow
