The idealistic view of pure true love that Blanche harbours is in stark contrast to Stella’s animalistic urges of desire and this underlying theme of love in conflict with desire is present throughout the play. ‘Haven’t you ever ridden that streetcar?’ Stella is freely admitting to being driven purely by desire and such a confession brings to light her dependency on these sexual urges and Stanley in a very unhealthy way. This is portrayed through her amusement and dismissal of Stanley’s violent tendencies on her wedding night when he broke all the light bulbs with her shoe; the breaking of the light bulb mirrors the death of Stella’s perspective and her metaphorical darkness in regards to seeing Stanley for what he truly is and she is blinded
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Blanche belittles Stella’s perception of an ideal relationship by referencing to the streetcar (a symbol for desire) as a ‘rattle trap’, which has connotations of uselessness and it, renders Blanche’s ideology that love is necessary for life as she refers to it as a ‘search light’ that turned on the world. Therefore, Williams presents love as pure through the word ‘light’ which relates to the concept of Heaven and goodness as everything is exposed and there is no trickery or deception and all darkness has been expelled. Which is in juxtaposition with his portrayal of desire as impure, sinful and temporary elatedness, it is symbolized as having properties like a drug as in Scene 4 he describes post-coital Stella in a state of ‘narcotized tranquility’ which could be a metaphor for her continual commitment to Stanley even though he abuses her as she is addicted to him and her desire for him has trapped her as her pleasure overrides her rationality. This conflicts the theme of love, which is shown through the ‘search light’ as clear and authentic as Stella’s narcotized state represents confusion and blurred lines between fantasy and …show more content…
Patience, beauty, and love occupy the female side (shown through Blanche’s need to marry Mitch and all her elaborate clothing and makeup) while impatience, aggression, and violent, sexual desire defines the masculine aspects (personified by Stanley’ and his acts of violence like breaking all the light bulbs). By placing Blanche, whose madness and sexual promiscuity transgress the traditional feminine side, in direct conflict with Stanley, a personification of alpha maleness, Williams not only declares the natural animosity between the unruly female and patriarchy, but also declares a victor. When Stanley rapes Blanche, he at once consummates their volatile relationship and punishes Blanche for violating traditional gender roles and he declares they ‘had a date with each other from the beginning’ which reflects the conflict between the two genders with Stanley ultimately winning. This is very relevant as during the time period of late 1940’s that Williams wrote the play, women were very undermined and viewed as inferior to men and this could be conveying that women who step outside of the traditional stereotype of a woman would be doomed like Blanche as the man, the superior of the two, would always win. This connects to a quote by Plato, an Athenian philosopher, who stated that ‘justice is in the interest of the stronger.’ Therefore Stanley, who would have been deemed physically, mentally
Blanche belittles Stella’s perception of an ideal relationship by referencing to the streetcar (a symbol for desire) as a ‘rattle trap’, which has connotations of uselessness and it, renders Blanche’s ideology that love is necessary for life as she refers to it as a ‘search light’ that turned on the world. Therefore, Williams presents love as pure through the word ‘light’ which relates to the concept of Heaven and goodness as everything is exposed and there is no trickery or deception and all darkness has been expelled. Which is in juxtaposition with his portrayal of desire as impure, sinful and temporary elatedness, it is symbolized as having properties like a drug as in Scene 4 he describes post-coital Stella in a state of ‘narcotized tranquility’ which could be a metaphor for her continual commitment to Stanley even though he abuses her as she is addicted to him and her desire for him has trapped her as her pleasure overrides her rationality. This conflicts the theme of love, which is shown through the ‘search light’ as clear and authentic as Stella’s narcotized state represents confusion and blurred lines between fantasy and …show more content…
Patience, beauty, and love occupy the female side (shown through Blanche’s need to marry Mitch and all her elaborate clothing and makeup) while impatience, aggression, and violent, sexual desire defines the masculine aspects (personified by Stanley’ and his acts of violence like breaking all the light bulbs). By placing Blanche, whose madness and sexual promiscuity transgress the traditional feminine side, in direct conflict with Stanley, a personification of alpha maleness, Williams not only declares the natural animosity between the unruly female and patriarchy, but also declares a victor. When Stanley rapes Blanche, he at once consummates their volatile relationship and punishes Blanche for violating traditional gender roles and he declares they ‘had a date with each other from the beginning’ which reflects the conflict between the two genders with Stanley ultimately winning. This is very relevant as during the time period of late 1940’s that Williams wrote the play, women were very undermined and viewed as inferior to men and this could be conveying that women who step outside of the traditional stereotype of a woman would be doomed like Blanche as the man, the superior of the two, would always win. This connects to a quote by Plato, an Athenian philosopher, who stated that ‘justice is in the interest of the stronger.’ Therefore Stanley, who would have been deemed physically, mentally