Theme Of Stanley In A Streetcar Named Desire

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In a Streetcar Named Desire, Stanley is an overbearing, arrogant and cruel character throughout the play and is known for being abusive to women since he believes in the Napoleonic code. Tennessee Williams shows how the character Stanley abuses his power of Stella and Blanche by revealing that the violence progresses through the play as the women are more and more abused by the men. Blanche is an important character throughout the play as she is mentioned in all the scenes. As the readers, we know that Blanche's presence in the Kowalski’s household threatens Stanley’s authority which causes conflict and abuse during the play. threatens Stanley’s power and authority in the Kowalski household, this leads to Stanley abusing his …show more content…
Stella, as we know, is Stanley’s wife, and Stanley believes in the Napoleonic code which states that anything in the man's house belongs to the man including Stella’s money and belongings. During an argument between Stanley and Stella, Stanley Strongly says “That’s how I’ll clear the table! [He seizes her arm.] Don’t ever talk that way to me! "Pig – Polack – disgusting – vulgar – greasy!" – them kind of words have been on your tongue and your sister’s too much around here! What do you think you two are? A pair of queens? Remember what Huey Long said – "Every Man is a King!" And I am the King around here, so don’t forget it!” This shows how Verbal abuse takes part. This is a strong example of abuse because of the certain phrase “I am the king around here” and “every man is a king” When Stanley says this it shows that because he is the man in the house and the king, he can do anything he wants to with the women, this is not physical but it is verbal abuse. This started when Stanley was called "Pig – Polack – disgusting – vulgar – greasy!" this triggers Stanley and leads him to remind everyone he is the king and owns everyone here. Another example of Stanley’s abuse to Stella is when Stanley slaps Stella in front of Stanley’s friends during poker night, there is no specific quote it just occurs as the ladies return form their night out, as Stanley slaps Stella he is thrown into the shower by his friends because Stella was pregnant. They tell Blanche that they are “Used to it.” Which means there are constant abuse and violence that occurs. Furthermore, this supports the thesis of violence and abuse that men perform on women in all different parts of the

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