How does Williams present desire in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’?
Williams presents desire as the driving force behind the characters’ actions in ‘A Streetcar
Named Desire’, but also the destructive force behind the metaphorical deaths of the female
protagonists. The play perhaps serves as a social commentary on female entrapment, in which
female desire is presented as wrongly shamed while the violence that is intrinsically linked with
male desire is accepted. It is under this patriarchal world that desire is presented as the catalyst
to Blanche’s eventual mental decline, as well as the blindfold that keeps Stella in her abusive
relationship with Stanley, leading to her own metaphorical death. The stark contrasts in how
desire is treated and presented according to gender may serve as a warning of the dangers of
desire when it is not expressed in a way that conforms to societal expectations, as seen in the
characters of Blanche and Allan, and Williams ultimately presents it as a gateway to death.
The presentation of desire by Williams in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ differs according to
gender, as male characters are encouraged to express their sexuality while female characters are
condemned and shamed for it, exposing the misogynistic attitudes of the 1940s. For Stanley,
Elysian Fields is almost like a sanctuary where he can freely express and satiate his sexual desire
through traditionally masculine activities such as drinking and playing poker. This is
emphasised through the bright and ‘gaudy’ colours he wears which asserts his role as the alpha
male - ‘a richly feathered male bird among hens’ - as well as the colour semiotics Williams uses in
his stage directions to describe the poker night: ‘lurid nocturnal brilliance’ that embodies the
‘peak of physical manhood’ in its ‘primary colours’.
On the other hand, Blanche is dressed in a dainty and feminine palette, wearing ‘white
clothes’ that make her appearance ‘incongruous’ to the new America setting of New Orleans.
She feels the need to perform hyperfemininity to hide her sexuality and appear virginal,
innocent and therefore desirable to men, because this is what much of her self-worth depends
on. She says in act two that she likes ‘an artist who can paint in strong, bold, primary colours’,
revealing that she perceives Stanley as the ultimate symbol of masculinity and therefore the
ultimate person to earn validation from. However, Blanche wishes to freely express her
sexuality, much like Stanley can, and this is most evident in scene five when she interacts with
the young man when her ‘id’ emerges from her innocent facade. In this scene, the audience
witnesses her predatory and exploitative side as she forces a kiss upon the young man, before
saying ‘I’ve got to be good and keep my hands off children’. Blanche has experienced this before
- it was what got her fired from her teaching job, and what eventually resulted in her arrival at
Elysian Fields. Her sexual, ‘Dionysian’ side is also noticeable in the ‘dark red satin wrapper’ she
wears, with the colour red holding strong connotations of desire and lust.
Blanche’s punishment for defying gender norms by attempting to express her sexuality
is being ostracised from society, as this was looked down upon at the time. Williams may be
Williams presents desire as the driving force behind the characters’ actions in ‘A Streetcar
Named Desire’, but also the destructive force behind the metaphorical deaths of the female
protagonists. The play perhaps serves as a social commentary on female entrapment, in which
female desire is presented as wrongly shamed while the violence that is intrinsically linked with
male desire is accepted. It is under this patriarchal world that desire is presented as the catalyst
to Blanche’s eventual mental decline, as well as the blindfold that keeps Stella in her abusive
relationship with Stanley, leading to her own metaphorical death. The stark contrasts in how
desire is treated and presented according to gender may serve as a warning of the dangers of
desire when it is not expressed in a way that conforms to societal expectations, as seen in the
characters of Blanche and Allan, and Williams ultimately presents it as a gateway to death.
The presentation of desire by Williams in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ differs according to
gender, as male characters are encouraged to express their sexuality while female characters are
condemned and shamed for it, exposing the misogynistic attitudes of the 1940s. For Stanley,
Elysian Fields is almost like a sanctuary where he can freely express and satiate his sexual desire
through traditionally masculine activities such as drinking and playing poker. This is
emphasised through the bright and ‘gaudy’ colours he wears which asserts his role as the alpha
male - ‘a richly feathered male bird among hens’ - as well as the colour semiotics Williams uses in
his stage directions to describe the poker night: ‘lurid nocturnal brilliance’ that embodies the
‘peak of physical manhood’ in its ‘primary colours’.
On the other hand, Blanche is dressed in a dainty and feminine palette, wearing ‘white
clothes’ that make her appearance ‘incongruous’ to the new America setting of New Orleans.
She feels the need to perform hyperfemininity to hide her sexuality and appear virginal,
innocent and therefore desirable to men, because this is what much of her self-worth depends
on. She says in act two that she likes ‘an artist who can paint in strong, bold, primary colours’,
revealing that she perceives Stanley as the ultimate symbol of masculinity and therefore the
ultimate person to earn validation from. However, Blanche wishes to freely express her
sexuality, much like Stanley can, and this is most evident in scene five when she interacts with
the young man when her ‘id’ emerges from her innocent facade. In this scene, the audience
witnesses her predatory and exploitative side as she forces a kiss upon the young man, before
saying ‘I’ve got to be good and keep my hands off children’. Blanche has experienced this before
- it was what got her fired from her teaching job, and what eventually resulted in her arrival at
Elysian Fields. Her sexual, ‘Dionysian’ side is also noticeable in the ‘dark red satin wrapper’ she
wears, with the colour red holding strong connotations of desire and lust.
Blanche’s punishment for defying gender norms by attempting to express her sexuality
is being ostracised from society, as this was looked down upon at the time. Williams may be
