A Streetcar Named Desire A* Essay: Masculinity

‘‭We‬‭shouldn’t‬‭be‬‭shocked‬‭by‬‭Stanley’s‬‭attitude‬‭to‬‭women‬‭and‬‭his‬‭violent‬‭behaviour;‬‭he‬‭is‬‭just‬‭a‬
‭product‬‭of‬‭his‬‭time.’‬

I‭ n‬‭the‬‭light‬‭of‬‭this‬‭statement,‬‭explore‬‭how‬‭Williams‬‭presents‬‭masculinity‬‭in‬‭A‬‭Streetcar‬‭Named‬
‭Desire.‬

‭In‬‭your‬‭answer‬‭you‬‭must‬‭consider‬‭relevant‬‭contextual‬‭factors‬



I‭n‬‭‘A‬‭Streetcar‬‭Named‬‭Desire’‬‭Tenessee‬‭Williams‬‭forces‬‭the‬‭reader‬‭into‬‭an‬‭uncomfortable‬
‭dilemma‬‭of‬‭our‬‭interpretation‬‭of‬‭masculinity.‬‭We‬‭see‬‭the‬‭perversion‬‭of‬‭superior‬‭masculine‬
‭strength‬‭and‬‭power,‬‭particularly‬‭in‬‭terms‬‭of‬‭its‬‭exertion‬‭against‬‭women‬‭in‬‭the‬‭form‬‭of‬‭violent‬
‭abuse,‬‭but‬‭are‬‭confronted‬‭by‬‭the‬‭acute‬‭awareness‬‭that‬‭in‬‭1940s‬‭New‬‭Orleans,‬‭a‬‭time‬‭of‬‭seismic‬
‭social‬‭change,‬‭men‬‭may‬‭have‬‭utilised‬‭their‬‭masculinity‬‭as‬‭a‬‭form‬‭of‬‭protection‬‭against‬‭other‬
‭forms‬‭of‬‭discrimination‬‭or‬‭ostracization.‬‭We‬‭see‬‭this‬‭particularly‬‭through‬‭the‬‭character‬‭of‬
‭Stanley:‬‭the‬‭complex‬‭patriarch‬‭of‬‭the‬‭play‬‭who‬‭is‬‭both‬‭highly‬‭secure‬‭in‬‭his‬‭masculine‬‭bravado,‬
‭but‬‭deeply‬‭insecure‬‭in‬‭his‬‭supposed‬‭cultural‬‭inferiority‬‭as‬‭a‬‭Polish‬‭immigrant‬‭to‬‭the‬‭traditionally‬
‭White‬‭Old‬‭South.‬‭He‬‭is‬‭undeniably‬‭a‬‭product‬‭of‬‭the‬‭unique‬‭social‬‭circumstances‬‭of‬‭the‬‭time;‬‭but‬
‭I‬‭would‬‭argue‬‭Williams‬‭shows‬‭us‬‭that‬‭Stanley‬‭exceeds‬‭the‬‭boundaries‬‭of‬‭what‬‭we‬‭would‬
‭reasonably‬‭expect,‬‭into‬‭a‬‭malevolent‬‭display‬‭of‬‭male‬‭violence.‬

‭ n‬‭the‬‭one‬‭hand,‬‭masculinity‬‭can‬‭be‬‭seen‬‭as‬‭a‬‭form‬‭of‬‭protection.‬‭Throughout‬‭the‬‭play,‬‭Stanley‬
O
‭latches‬‭on‬‭to‬‭his‬‭status‬‭of‬‭male‬‭to‬‭assert‬‭his‬‭rights,‬‭particularly‬‭when‬‭confronted‬‭by‬‭the‬
‭character‬‭of‬‭Blanche‬‭who,‬‭though‬‭inferior‬‭in‬‭gender,‬‭embodies‬‭the‬‭archetypal‬‭Southern‬‭Belle‬‭of‬
‭the‬‭traditional,‬‭upper‬‭class‬‭white‬‭lifestyle‬‭of‬‭the‬‭South‬‭-‬‭an‬‭ideal‬‭Stanley‬‭could‬‭never‬‭achieve.‬‭We‬
‭see‬‭this‬‭first‬‭through‬‭Stanley’s‬‭almost‬‭monomaniac‬‭obsession‬‭with‬‭the‬‭“Napoleonic‬‭code”,‬‭when‬
‭he‬‭is‬‭suspicious‬‭of‬‭how‬‭Blanche‬‭lost‬‭the‬‭family‬‭home‬‭Belle‬‭Reve.‬‭Here,‬‭Stanley‬‭is‬‭relying‬‭on‬‭the‬
‭superior‬‭status‬‭the‬‭law‬‭affords‬‭him‬‭as‬‭a‬‭man,‬‭an‬‭entitlement‬‭to‬‭his‬‭wife’s‬‭property,‬‭as‬‭“what‬
‭belongs‬‭to‬‭the‬‭wife‬‭belongs‬‭to‬‭the‬‭husband”,‬‭demonstrating‬‭how‬‭masculinity‬‭can‬‭be‬‭utilised‬‭as‬
‭a‬‭shield‬‭against‬‭harm.‬‭Particularly‬‭at‬‭this‬‭early‬‭point‬‭in‬‭the‬‭play,‬‭even‬‭a‬‭modern‬‭reader‬‭in‬‭the‬
‭relatively‬‭equal‬‭society‬‭of‬‭today,‬‭would‬‭struggle‬‭to‬‭see‬‭this‬‭as‬‭an‬‭illegitimate‬‭use‬‭of‬‭his‬
‭masculinity;‬‭he‬‭is‬‭simply‬‭enforcing‬‭the‬‭law,‬‭and‬‭Blanche‬‭seems‬‭to‬‭be‬‭careless‬‭in‬‭terms‬‭of‬‭this‬
‭monumental‬‭property‬‭loss.‬‭Furthermore,‬‭as‬‭the‬‭play‬‭progresses,‬‭we‬‭can‬‭see‬‭Stanley‬‭utilising‬‭his‬
‭masculinity‬‭as‬‭an‬‭attempt‬‭to‬‭overcome‬‭the‬‭inferior‬‭status‬‭that‬‭his‬‭cultural‬‭background‬‭has‬
‭placed‬‭upon‬‭him.‬‭The‬‭dramatic‬‭irony‬‭of‬‭Stanley‬‭overhearing‬‭Blanche’s‬‭monologue‬‭against‬‭her‬
‭sister’s‬‭husband,‬‭where‬‭she‬‭dehumanises‬‭him,‬‭as‬‭“something‬‭not‬‭quite‬‭to‬‭the‬‭stage‬‭of‬‭humanity‬
‭yet”‬‭is‬‭important,‬‭as‬‭arguably‬‭William’s‬‭positioning‬‭of‬‭Stanley‬‭is‬‭deliberate,‬‭so‬‭the‬‭reader‬‭can‬
‭understand‬‭that‬‭the‬‭increasingly‬‭cruel‬‭and‬‭violent‬‭actions‬‭that‬‭follow,‬‭stem‬‭from‬‭Stanley’s‬‭anger‬
‭and‬‭potentially‬‭insecurity‬‭of‬‭the‬‭perception‬‭of‬‭his‬‭race.‬‭His‬‭use‬‭of‬‭masculinity‬‭to‬‭overcome‬‭class‬
‭barriers‬‭is‬‭epitomised‬‭in‬‭Scene‬‭8,‬‭when‬‭after‬‭Stella‬‭criticises‬‭his‬‭eating‬‭habits,‬‭he‬‭becomes‬
‭enraged,‬‭and‬‭“hurls‬‭a‬‭plate‬‭to‬‭the‬‭floor”‬‭because‬‭“that’s‬‭how‬‭I’ll‬‭clear‬‭the‬‭table”‬‭and‬‭proclaims‬‭his‬
‭wife‬‭to‬‭“Don’t‬‭ever‬‭talk‬‭that‬‭way‬‭to‬‭me!”.‬‭It‬‭is‬‭interesting‬‭that‬‭William’s‬‭demonstrates‬‭Stanley’s‬