The Gender Struggle in A Streetcar Named Desire
Discusses the representation of different gender stereotypes within A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
The mid-twentieth century was a time of great social upheaval. The two world wars had invested marginalised groups with sudden power, and for a short time the balance of power between the genders had shifted. However by the 1950s men had once again taken the upper hand. It was into this setting that Tennessee Williams brought his dynamic drama, A Streetcar Named Desire into the world. This violent and brutal play discusses the struggle between men and women within downtown American society. Tennessee Williams foregrounds this gender struggle, using different techniques to represent that truth of societies attitudes towards masculinity and femininity.
The stereotypical male within society is represented through the protagonist of Stanley. One particular feature related to his position is his absolute control. This almost animalistic notion of a dominant male is hinted at as soon as the play begins, when Stanley is referred to as ??bestial?? His overall presidency and power are made clear from beginning in the stage directions.
[?She cries out in protest?Her husband and his companion have
already started back around the corner.]
Stanley does not take notice of his wife?s concern, but instead continues on his original course, asserting his own destiny, without any thought to the effect it may have on those around him. This taking blood at any cost to those around him is foreshadowed in scene one, with the packet of met which he forces upon his wife. It is through actions such as these that Stanley asserts power, symbolic of the male dominance throughout patriarchal society. He also gains a sense of self-importance from this position. It is said that he accepts his wife?s affections with ??lordly composure?? This is again hinted to in Stanley?s dialogue. His statement that: -
Be comfortable is my motto
is almost contradictory, considering that the character does all he can to put the other characters out of their way, throughout the play. It is through dialogue such as this that audiences are alerted to the fact that Stanley intrinsically fails to consider the implications his own needs and wants have on other people. Instead he is the one in control, the only person invested with power and subsequent command, therefore the only one taken into consideration. A final show of authority is his over powering presence within the poker games. Here he makes powerful statements, passing judgements on the symbolic game, and asserting dominance.
Nothing belongs on a poker table but cards, chips, and whisky.
It is he who sets such rules, allowing no other comment or opinion. Therefore, it is through using techniques such as dialogue, stage directions, foreshadow, and character, that Tennessee Williams foregrounds society?s attitudes to masculinity within the text.
Just as a character is provided to represent the stereotypical male, one is also provided as a representation of femininity. Stella fulfils society?s preconceptions of femininity perfectly, though from today?s perspective they may be considered as misconceptions. Her character is absolutely passive and has a largely domestic role. From her first appearance in the play, she is found in doors, and remains in this setting for a good deal of the play. She is also disempowered through the language of other characters. She is rarely called by her name, and is instead referred to as ??honey??, ??baby??, or ??sweetie?? This lack of individual identity is one of the hallmarks of feminine power play within contemporary society. Women were degraded to mere tags, and never allowed their own personage. Stella is often marginalised physically through various incarnations of male violence. In scene eight, Stanley responds to Stella?s request to clear the table in the following way.
[He hurls a plate to the floor.]
That?s how I?ll clear the table! [He seizes her arm.]
Don?t ever talk that way to me.
This uncalled for violence is not a mere consequence of the physical inequality between the genders, but is an example of male abuse of power and position, in order to further their own dominance. Yet Stella is not affronted by such actions, and instead remains true to the stereotyped submissive female. Stanley?s interference in his wife?s affairs, with regard to the Napoleonic Code, is again accepted, and it is very rare to find Stella making a decision for herself. Indeed the only time she does is when she sends Blanche to the mental institute at the play?s conclusion, and even then she fails to do so without the support of other characters, such as Eunice. Throughout the play it is the women who must simply accept the violence and the injustice in order for life to continue. As Eunice says at the play?s conclusion: -
Life has got to go on. No matter what
happens, you?ve got to keep going on.
It is through dramatic techniques such as setting, dialogue, stage directions and character, that the role of women as sidelined sufferers is foregrounded in the text.
Of course, this drama would not be complete if it did not represent the struggles and eventual fate of those who challenge society?s gender stereotypes. It is through the character of Mitch that challenges to masculine preconceptions are posed. Mitch contains many of the delicacies associated with the feminine. This is represented symbolically in his silver cigarette case, with the inscription: -
?And if God choose,
I shall love thee better ? after death!?
This delicate ornament reveals Mitch?s delicate personality, which is in contradiction with the robust masculine heart. His ability to care and comfort is also embodied within the character of his mother. Though audiences are never introduced to her, it is clear that Mitch loves her very dearly, and has her well being closer to his heart, than other male characters have that of their own comparable associates. Indeed, in Mitch?s first few words he reveals that first and foremost: -
I oughta go home?I gotta sick mother. She don?t go to sleep
until I come in at night.
Unlike other male characters, he considers the feelings of the females, as well as the effect his actions have on them. In scene six he asks Blanche if he can ??- uh - kiss you ? goodnight?? whereas Stanley merely goes to his wife regardless of her feelings at the time. This added sensitivity is the quality, which challenges the masculine stereotype.
However this is not well received by his contemporary brethren who choose to be loyal to the accepted stereotypes, towards which society is predisposed. It is through this conflict between opposing representations of masculinity that the understanding of the male need for conformity is portrayed. As one may construct from the text, male communities are hinged on the fact that all group members hold basically the same ideas, and can therefore support one dominant male. This is illustrated by the group of poker players, who all hold the same basic views towards femininity, and therefore are able to support Stanley in his marginalisation of the opposite sex. These minor characters, Pablo and Steve, are often employed to create a catalogue of opinions and in so doing enforce Stanley?s power. Their continuation of the poker game throughout several scenes, symbolising the win all or lose all nature of life, help?s to establish Stanley as the winner. He runs the poker game, which they all follow, therefore he is the dominant male. These minor characters are also used to disempower Mitch, when he associates himself with femininity. This is often accomplished through the use of gaps and silences, as they simply ignore his outbursts of conscience altogether. It is also worthy to note, that when Mitch is found to associate himself with masculinity, most strikingly at the end of scene nine when he attempts to assault Blanche, he had been out with the boys and Stanley before hand. Stanley says: -
Mitch didn?t come back with roses cause I know where he is
leading to an audience understanding that Stanley would have played a role in Mitch?s actual actions of violence. The groups that are loyal to the male stereotype force Mitch into conforming to the violence and female abuse that flows from it. Therefore, it is through the use of devices such as dialogue, catalogue, symbolism, gaps and silences, and character, that Tennessee Williams foregrounds the position of those who challenge the male stereotype within society, and how the community responds to them.
A final facet of gender as represented within A Streetcar Named Desire, is the position of female challenge to the stereotypes. This is presented through the central protagonist of Blanche Dubois. Though Blanche does display many feminine qualities, such as caring and understanding, they are twisted to comply with her other more masculine features. One such attribute is her reliance on alcohol. She is found drinking from the first moment she sets foot inside her sister?s house, and yet she says: -
Now don?t get worried, your sister hasn?t turned into a
drunkard, she?s just all shaken up and hot and tired and dirty!
Apart from the irony in this line, it also carries with it the presupposition that alcoholism in a woman is a thing to be ashamed of, and for which excuses need to be made. This underlying meaning is not found within male characters who are presented as drunk. In fact it is often portrayed as an expected occurrence, for their gender, though not so for women. It is through Blanche?s own straining of the stereotype, with regards to her drinking, that this gender understanding is represented.
Another way in which Blanche challenges the assumed feminine attitude, is through her education. Early in the play it is confided in audiences that Blanche is an English teacher by profession (another break from the convention, considering that women were not expected to hold jobs or to be self-sufficient, but were instead supposed to live in a state of utter dependence on men). Due to this higher education, it is understandable that she can assert power and dominance over others by using adequately sophisticated language. This is therefore the part of her character that is most thoroughly attacked in the process of her disempowerment at the hands of Stanley. In scene ten, when Blanche is marginalised outright, one of the first things that Stanley does in order to assume power, is put an end to her long speeches and leave her language at a depleted ??Oh!??. This illustrates the understanding that within society contemporary to the play?s release, women who did challenge the stereotype would be forced into conformity, by a deliberate attack on the area of their personality through which they had gained this inordinate power. The relationship between Blanche and Stanley, ending with Blanche?s utter demise as a result of rape, is the forum through which Tennessee Williams represents this truth.
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams brings to light many of the truths as to society?s attitudes towards men and women. A range of dramatic techniques, such as dialogue, stage directions, gaps and silences, setting, catalogue, foreshadow, symbolism, irony, and character, are employed in order to shape understandings of gender stereotypes. The playwright explores both male and female stereotypes as well as society?s reaction to those who challenge these preconceptions, or indeed misconceptions as the case may be. By representing these truths to the masses which view this striking play, Tennessee Williams poses a question to society, as to whether or not these representations are accurate. May audiences only hope to respond to this question in the next century.
