‘A play in which relationships are often made complex by class differences.’
In the light of this statement, explore how Williams uses class differences to create complex
relationships in A Streetcar Named Desire. In your answer, you must consider relevant contextual
factors.
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is a play that explores the lives of sisters, Blanche and
Stella DuBois who are of the upper-class, Stella’s husband, Stanley Kowalski who is of the lower-class,
and their navigation through sexual, romantic, and familial relationships. Blanche is the embodiment of
the Old Southern, upper-class bourgeoisie plantation owners, while Stanley is the embodiment of the
modern New World of industrialization being an immigrant and of the lower, working class. This places
them as inevitable rivals in contemporary America, with industrialization being one of the main reasons
plantations began failing, ushering in the New Age of the working class, and causing the decay of the
upper-class order. As Stella leaves behind this failing social order, her relationship with both her sister
and her husband are also made complex by the different impacts of class differences. With desire and
sexuality being a major theme in the play, the romantic and sexual relationships in the play also explore
the importance that class differences plays in the character’s relations and is used by Williams to reflect
on the shifting social order of America.
Firstly, Blanche and Stanley’s relationship is rife with complexities due to their physical and verbal
conflict caused by the two opposing classes they personify. As Alvin Kernan stated, “The central conflict
in the play is between Blanche’s unrealistic view of the world and Stanley’s realistic one.” One of the
main reasons Blanche’s view of the world is “unrealistic” is because Williams portrays her as being
frozen in the time, romanticizing and nostalgic of the Southern gothic, because the world order that she
is from is one that is decaying. On the other hand, Stanley is grounded and harshly “realistic” because he
is, “the macho, forward-driving America of the future,” as described by Brooks Atkinson,
unapologetically bringing in the new age dominated by males. This is shown through the contrasting
language Williams uses to write their lines. When Blanche hears about Stanley’s poker game she informs
him, “I understand there’s to be a little card party to which we ladies are cordially not invited.” Her
vocabulary is refined and sophisticated, and her lines are carefully and politely structured – with only
the word “not” written subtly in italics to express her disgruntlement. Her language and polite but
subdued expression of emotion represents her genteel upbringing. Still, this is extremely “incongruous”
to the event she is describing, which is an evening poker game in her sister’s kitchen – she is out of her
element, but desperately attempting to grasp onto actions of the past. Stanley’s language, in contrast, is
raw and vulgar. When Stella takes too long in the bathroom he yells, “Haven’t fallen in, have you? [He
grins at Blanche. She tries unsuccessfully to smile back. There is a silence.]” Williams sparingly equips
Stanley’s vocabulary, with him mainly using plain and simple language, reflecting his lower-class
upbringing. The stage direction reveals that Blanche is not used to this crude and impolite humor, as she
“unsuccessfully” tries to smile back at his “grin”. Her brother-in-law also has no qualms with freely
expressing his emotions nor hiding behind superficial politeness. The awkward silence following this
interaction mildly reveals the difficulties and conflict their respective class backgrounds will cause in
their relationship. Still, Blanche continues with her efforts at imitating politer society, saying, “Please
don’t get up,” when she and Stella return home to find the men still playing poker. Stanley keenly bursts
this bubble, with the quick reply, “Nobody’s going to get up, so don’t be worried.” That Blanche
attempts to morph his lower, working-class environment into one that suits her aristocratic tastes
makes Stanley immediately defensive and hostile to her – he feels as if he ought to protect what is his
, from her “alien” presence – as Elia Kazan, the director of the first staging of the play interprets. He must
remind her that she is in world that bears his “emblem.” Williams further uses visual cues such as
costume, setting, and colors to further heighten the complexities of this conflicting relationship. Blanche
grew up in Belle Reve, “a great big place with white columns,” a large house on the plantation that the
DuBois family owned. Now, she is forced to reside in Stella and Stanley’s home in an area that “runs
between the L & N tracks…the section is poor.” This environment and the presence of train tracks in
such close proximity is telling of Stanley’s social class and his economic standing, two things Blanche
disapproves of. However, the locomotive is also symbolic of Stanley and his masculinity, and this
demonstrates that Blanche is now entirely in his grasp and his territory, a situation that she is extremely
uncomfortable with. Williams also describes Blanche as being “daintily dressed” in all white, while
Stanley is perpetually dirtied, undressing, or “greasy.” Blanche’s costume emphasizes superficiality and
perpetuating ideas of innocence and purity, characteristic of the Southern Belle identity. However,
Stanley’s costume shows his blue-collar background and reflects his grounded realism. Again, their
appearance places them at odds with each other. Furthermore, due to the two characters embodying
their respective classes so entirely, and class being a key theme in the play, Williams presents the idea
that they are nemeses. Stanley has consistently been aggressive with Blanche, and this aggression
accumulates to his ultimate act of violence against Blanche when he rapes her. “We’ve had this date
with each other from the beginning,” is what he tells her before he carries her “inert figure” into the
bedroom. This line involves ideas of fate – their class differences made this conflict in their relationship
predestined – and is a symbolism of the inevitable destruction of the upper-class bourgeoise order by
the lower, working-class. However, others such as Kazan have seen Blanche as the one who is
“dangerous” and “destructive” to the “security of [Stanley’s] world.” In her tirade to Stella, Blanche says
about Stanley, “There’s even something – sub-human – something not quite to the stage of humanity
yet!” The lexicon Blanche uses is reflective of that which was used to justify the slavery of people of
color in the South and is reflective of her racist views that the upper-class held on to. Here, she views
Stanley as “other” due to their class differences and his immigrant status. Her constant degradation of
him in this respect seeps into Stella’s acknowledgement of him as well, with Stanley finally repeating the
list of ignorant comments that were used against him, “Pig – Polack – disgusting – vulgar – greasy!” The
dashes used instead of commas to separate the list demonstrate the brutal emphasis with which Stanley
repeats these words, all slurs associated with immigrants, and the lower-class. By verbally degrading
Stanley, Blanche has emasculated him through her condescending upper-class views, something that is
unacceptable in his male-dominated world and causes his physical conflict with Blanche. Hence, class
differences are a vital cause of their incompatible relationship.
Similarly, class difference causes psychological and emotional conflict in Blanche’s relationship with
Stella. Though they are both from the same upper-class upbringing, Stella has transitioned into the
modern world and so, is an amalgamation of decaying upper-class values and newer, modern ideals.
Though their plantation home is in ruins, Blanche remained there, exclaiming that she, “stayed and
fought for it, bled for it, almost died for it!” This repetition and the pathos associated with her violent
words reflects how desperately Blanche held onto this Old World and class and she condemns Stella for
not doing the same. Their increasing class differences, after Stella’s marriage to a lower-class man, is
also shown through their language. In complaining about Stella’s abode, Blanche cries, “– Only Poe! Only
Mr. Edgar Allan Poe! – could do it justice! Out there I suppose is the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir.”
Here, she references Poe’s poem about visiting a lover’s grave, likening her sister’s home to a cemetery.
This is an extremely demeaning but romantic description, a testament to Blanche’s “tenderer feelings,”
In the light of this statement, explore how Williams uses class differences to create complex
relationships in A Streetcar Named Desire. In your answer, you must consider relevant contextual
factors.
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is a play that explores the lives of sisters, Blanche and
Stella DuBois who are of the upper-class, Stella’s husband, Stanley Kowalski who is of the lower-class,
and their navigation through sexual, romantic, and familial relationships. Blanche is the embodiment of
the Old Southern, upper-class bourgeoisie plantation owners, while Stanley is the embodiment of the
modern New World of industrialization being an immigrant and of the lower, working class. This places
them as inevitable rivals in contemporary America, with industrialization being one of the main reasons
plantations began failing, ushering in the New Age of the working class, and causing the decay of the
upper-class order. As Stella leaves behind this failing social order, her relationship with both her sister
and her husband are also made complex by the different impacts of class differences. With desire and
sexuality being a major theme in the play, the romantic and sexual relationships in the play also explore
the importance that class differences plays in the character’s relations and is used by Williams to reflect
on the shifting social order of America.
Firstly, Blanche and Stanley’s relationship is rife with complexities due to their physical and verbal
conflict caused by the two opposing classes they personify. As Alvin Kernan stated, “The central conflict
in the play is between Blanche’s unrealistic view of the world and Stanley’s realistic one.” One of the
main reasons Blanche’s view of the world is “unrealistic” is because Williams portrays her as being
frozen in the time, romanticizing and nostalgic of the Southern gothic, because the world order that she
is from is one that is decaying. On the other hand, Stanley is grounded and harshly “realistic” because he
is, “the macho, forward-driving America of the future,” as described by Brooks Atkinson,
unapologetically bringing in the new age dominated by males. This is shown through the contrasting
language Williams uses to write their lines. When Blanche hears about Stanley’s poker game she informs
him, “I understand there’s to be a little card party to which we ladies are cordially not invited.” Her
vocabulary is refined and sophisticated, and her lines are carefully and politely structured – with only
the word “not” written subtly in italics to express her disgruntlement. Her language and polite but
subdued expression of emotion represents her genteel upbringing. Still, this is extremely “incongruous”
to the event she is describing, which is an evening poker game in her sister’s kitchen – she is out of her
element, but desperately attempting to grasp onto actions of the past. Stanley’s language, in contrast, is
raw and vulgar. When Stella takes too long in the bathroom he yells, “Haven’t fallen in, have you? [He
grins at Blanche. She tries unsuccessfully to smile back. There is a silence.]” Williams sparingly equips
Stanley’s vocabulary, with him mainly using plain and simple language, reflecting his lower-class
upbringing. The stage direction reveals that Blanche is not used to this crude and impolite humor, as she
“unsuccessfully” tries to smile back at his “grin”. Her brother-in-law also has no qualms with freely
expressing his emotions nor hiding behind superficial politeness. The awkward silence following this
interaction mildly reveals the difficulties and conflict their respective class backgrounds will cause in
their relationship. Still, Blanche continues with her efforts at imitating politer society, saying, “Please
don’t get up,” when she and Stella return home to find the men still playing poker. Stanley keenly bursts
this bubble, with the quick reply, “Nobody’s going to get up, so don’t be worried.” That Blanche
attempts to morph his lower, working-class environment into one that suits her aristocratic tastes
makes Stanley immediately defensive and hostile to her – he feels as if he ought to protect what is his
, from her “alien” presence – as Elia Kazan, the director of the first staging of the play interprets. He must
remind her that she is in world that bears his “emblem.” Williams further uses visual cues such as
costume, setting, and colors to further heighten the complexities of this conflicting relationship. Blanche
grew up in Belle Reve, “a great big place with white columns,” a large house on the plantation that the
DuBois family owned. Now, she is forced to reside in Stella and Stanley’s home in an area that “runs
between the L & N tracks…the section is poor.” This environment and the presence of train tracks in
such close proximity is telling of Stanley’s social class and his economic standing, two things Blanche
disapproves of. However, the locomotive is also symbolic of Stanley and his masculinity, and this
demonstrates that Blanche is now entirely in his grasp and his territory, a situation that she is extremely
uncomfortable with. Williams also describes Blanche as being “daintily dressed” in all white, while
Stanley is perpetually dirtied, undressing, or “greasy.” Blanche’s costume emphasizes superficiality and
perpetuating ideas of innocence and purity, characteristic of the Southern Belle identity. However,
Stanley’s costume shows his blue-collar background and reflects his grounded realism. Again, their
appearance places them at odds with each other. Furthermore, due to the two characters embodying
their respective classes so entirely, and class being a key theme in the play, Williams presents the idea
that they are nemeses. Stanley has consistently been aggressive with Blanche, and this aggression
accumulates to his ultimate act of violence against Blanche when he rapes her. “We’ve had this date
with each other from the beginning,” is what he tells her before he carries her “inert figure” into the
bedroom. This line involves ideas of fate – their class differences made this conflict in their relationship
predestined – and is a symbolism of the inevitable destruction of the upper-class bourgeoise order by
the lower, working-class. However, others such as Kazan have seen Blanche as the one who is
“dangerous” and “destructive” to the “security of [Stanley’s] world.” In her tirade to Stella, Blanche says
about Stanley, “There’s even something – sub-human – something not quite to the stage of humanity
yet!” The lexicon Blanche uses is reflective of that which was used to justify the slavery of people of
color in the South and is reflective of her racist views that the upper-class held on to. Here, she views
Stanley as “other” due to their class differences and his immigrant status. Her constant degradation of
him in this respect seeps into Stella’s acknowledgement of him as well, with Stanley finally repeating the
list of ignorant comments that were used against him, “Pig – Polack – disgusting – vulgar – greasy!” The
dashes used instead of commas to separate the list demonstrate the brutal emphasis with which Stanley
repeats these words, all slurs associated with immigrants, and the lower-class. By verbally degrading
Stanley, Blanche has emasculated him through her condescending upper-class views, something that is
unacceptable in his male-dominated world and causes his physical conflict with Blanche. Hence, class
differences are a vital cause of their incompatible relationship.
Similarly, class difference causes psychological and emotional conflict in Blanche’s relationship with
Stella. Though they are both from the same upper-class upbringing, Stella has transitioned into the
modern world and so, is an amalgamation of decaying upper-class values and newer, modern ideals.
Though their plantation home is in ruins, Blanche remained there, exclaiming that she, “stayed and
fought for it, bled for it, almost died for it!” This repetition and the pathos associated with her violent
words reflects how desperately Blanche held onto this Old World and class and she condemns Stella for
not doing the same. Their increasing class differences, after Stella’s marriage to a lower-class man, is
also shown through their language. In complaining about Stella’s abode, Blanche cries, “– Only Poe! Only
Mr. Edgar Allan Poe! – could do it justice! Out there I suppose is the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir.”
Here, she references Poe’s poem about visiting a lover’s grave, likening her sister’s home to a cemetery.
This is an extremely demeaning but romantic description, a testament to Blanche’s “tenderer feelings,”
