Explore the presentation of desire in A Streetcar Named Desire
Possible arguments:
Blanche: sexual desire; sexual liaisons with men; link between desire and shame;
imagery of shadows and Blanche’s fear of bright light and being seen; irony implicit
in her name; desire for the past – nostalgia. Ambiguity in Blanche: does she, at some
level, desire Stanley?
Stella: physical attraction to Stanley; openness about her sexuality (contrast with
Blanche); Stella’s reaction to the rape; desire and need for Stanley greater than her
need to face the truth about him
Stanley: animal sexuality and its expression in physical and sexual violence;
brutalisation and debasement of civilised values; misogyny
•Mitch’s sexism and use of Blanche, treating her like a prostitute when he learns the
truth about her past; his disillusionment with her but his feelings of pathos towards
her at the end
INTO:
Desire is the force that drives all of the characters in Tennessee William’s ‘A
Streetcar Named Desire’. We see it in Blanche as she turns to sex and desire after
the suicide of her husband and is what ultimately drives her to New Orleans. It is
also the foundation of Stella and Stanley’s marriage and what keeps them together
despite Stanley’s violent tendencies. It is notable that desire is presented as
something dangerous and leads to violence or danger. As a homosexual man, the
play is Williams way of exploring is sexuality in a society that condemns it.
Para 1:
Possible arguments:
Blanche: sexual desire; sexual liaisons with men; link between desire and shame;
imagery of shadows and Blanche’s fear of bright light and being seen; irony implicit
in her name; desire for the past – nostalgia. Ambiguity in Blanche: does she, at some
level, desire Stanley?
Stella: physical attraction to Stanley; openness about her sexuality (contrast with
Blanche); Stella’s reaction to the rape; desire and need for Stanley greater than her
need to face the truth about him
Stanley: animal sexuality and its expression in physical and sexual violence;
brutalisation and debasement of civilised values; misogyny
•Mitch’s sexism and use of Blanche, treating her like a prostitute when he learns the
truth about her past; his disillusionment with her but his feelings of pathos towards
her at the end
INTO:
Desire is the force that drives all of the characters in Tennessee William’s ‘A
Streetcar Named Desire’. We see it in Blanche as she turns to sex and desire after
the suicide of her husband and is what ultimately drives her to New Orleans. It is
also the foundation of Stella and Stanley’s marriage and what keeps them together
despite Stanley’s violent tendencies. It is notable that desire is presented as
something dangerous and leads to violence or danger. As a homosexual man, the
play is Williams way of exploring is sexuality in a society that condemns it.
Para 1:
