Eng 1102 - a Street Car Named Desire

Taylor Williamson

Allison Morway

ENGL 1102

March 14, 2016

        The two main characters, Stanley and Blanche, in “A Streetcar Named Desire” seem to despise each other. Stella, Stanley’s wife, adores her husband in every way possible. Blanche lives in her old world and leads herself to believe that she is superior over everyone around her because she comes from a wealthy family. Stella and her husband’s apartment isn’t as nice as the plantation so Blanche states that their home is “where I’m not wanted and where im ashamed to be…” (Williams 1846) Stanley is controlling over his home and his wife, which is why he doesn’t approve of Blanche staying there. With Blanche being weak and Stanley being strong, they automatically oppose each other. After telling her sister, Stella, that they lost their plantation home, Belle Reve, Stanley senses that something is up with her. While looking through her purse, he finds expensive jewelry and furs and accuses her of selling the home to have the money to herself. The conflict starts when he confronts her and she proves herself to be right by showing him all the papers dealing with the house. Blanche states, “…Here all of them are, all papers! I hereby endow you with them! Take them, peruse them—commit them to memory, even! I think it’s wonderfully fitting that Belle Reve should finally be this bunch of old papers in your big, capable hands!...” (Williams 1833)  He immediately told his wife to get her realize who her sister really was. Later on, Blanche finds out her sister is pregnant, which means there will be no room for her in the apartment anymore. With that in mind, her way of solving the problem is finding a man to stay with long enough for him to marry her and have his money. With Blanche having a bad reputation for misconduct as a teacher, she isn’t able to find a job so she is desperate to get her hands on any money she can. Stella insists, “I know how it helps your moral just having a little pocket-money on you.” (Williams 1846)  The final conflict between Stanley and Blanche was them two being left alone at home while Stella was in the hospital. He decides to take up for himself and his wife by telling Blanche off while he has the chance. While she keeps forcing herself out of reality, Stanley gets frustrated. He realizes that’s her way of dealing with fear so he attacks her and rapes her. Blanche gets sent away to a mental hospital afterwards and tried to convince Stella of what he done to her. Of course Stella didn’t believe her because she thinks her sister is just crazy and in denial. Blanche cannot be trusted because she portrays herself as someone she is not. Stanley demands, “There isn’t a goddam thing but imagination!...And lies and conceit and tricks! (Williams 1875) Stella adores her husband so she never really accepts the fact that he really is a bad man.