Stanley Kowalski: A factory worker, aged 28 - 30. Stanley is more ambitious than any of his friends. He is childish; he only cares about what he wants and is very rude. He is so concerned with getting his own way -- and hurting Blanche -- that he has no compunction about hurting Mitch, his friend, by telling him the truth about Blanche. He is a very dominating: he overpowers his timid wife, Stella, constantly, to keep her from leaving him. He does the same to his friends when he wants to. Stanley is also incredibly protective of Stella: he doubts everything about Blanche from the beginning, and tries to make sure that he and Stella are not being tricked by a con artist. He is very proud, and is enraged when Blanche calls him "common," or a "Polack." He seems incapable of subtlety, and does everything whole-heartedly: he loves Stella thoroughly and hates Blanche vehemently. Stanley is honest to the point of brutality, and he does not care about offending others, -- he even brags to Mitch about raping Blanche. He despises Blanche becauses she is the opposite of his honesty; she thrives on illusion and pretense. His hatred of Blanche is so great that he rapes her, causing her final mental breakdown.
Stella Kowalski: Stella is the connecting figure to two
different worlds - the supposed
royalty world of Blanche DuBois and the more common world of Stanley
Kowalski. Stella is five years younger than Blanche, about 25, and has
been submissive to her for her entire life. Blanche and Stanley both attempt
to influence her, and they succeed, to a degree. Stella said "Mr. Kowalski
is too busy making a pig of himself to think of anything else!" This statement
shows a direct influence from Blanche on Stella, as Stella never would
have said that if she was alone. However, Stanley pulls his weight as well.
He reminds her of all the wonderful times and nights they had together
before Blanche came. He also succeeds in convincing her that his side of
the rape story is the true one, which is the true goal of the power of
influence within the book. Stella is the only place where a connection
between Blanche and Stanley could occur. She is a mix of the two worlds.
She still has many of the qualities instilled in her at Belle Reve, yet
she does not let that get in the way of her having some fun. As she is
so entangled between two completely opposite worlds, she is stuck and eventually,
is forced to side with one of the two.
She is not strong, and therefore the "winner" of the battle is the
one who gets her to side with them, Stanley.
Harold Mitchell (Mitch): A friend of Stanley's from the
plant. The two are about the same age. Mitch falls in love with Blanche,
and wants to marry her. He is very sensitive. There are two reasons for
this: the death of the girl he loved in his youth, and the terminal illness
of his mother, who has no more than a few months to live. This sensitivity
makes him feel very awkward sometimes. Mitch is, in Blanche's words, "capable
of great devotion:" he wants to stay home to make sure his mother is alright,
and is so concerned about her that it hampers his enjoyment of the card
game with his friends. He has a very close relationship with his mother,
exemplified by the fact that he tells her about Blanch and his great concern
for her. This makes his mother's impending death even harder for him to
take. Mitch is not very intelligent, and so he cannot see through Blanche's
feigned innocence or her lies. Mitch is a gentleman, especially compared
to his friends, Stanley in particular. He is also is very trusting. He
refuses to believe Stanley when he first says that Blanche has been lying
to him, and he is deeply hurt when he finds out that Stanley has been right.
This pain is compounded because he had never suspected her dishonesty before.
The fact that his mother wants to see him married before she dies makes
breaking up with Blanche even harder for him. In the final scene, he breaks
down after seeing Blanche, and realizes that he has lost her because he
did not appreciate her great sensitivity.
A few hours later, Stanley is hosting a poker game with his friends. Steve and Pablo, the "typical men", proceed to tell jokes and laugh heartily along with Stanley. Meanwhile, Mitch, the "sensitive one", can't keep from worrying about his sick mother. These laments went unrequited by his friends, as they continue the game. Not long after, Stella and Blanche come back, to find the game still in progress. Stanley treats Blanche with a callous air, and the women walk back into the bedroom. Upon going to the bathroom, Blanche meets Mitch. He awkwardly says hello, and leaves. He has, however, talked long enough to rouse Blanche's interest, as she states "He seems.... superior to the others." He meets up with her soon after, and gets to know her better. They share love stories, and Mitch shows her his silver cigarette case, given to him by a dying love. The poker game continues. Stanley, drunk, complains of the noise the women are making. His anger mounts as Blanche taunts him, and soon erupts into full violence as he hits Stella very hard. Subsequently, his anger subsides. Blanche, screaming for both Stella and her unborn baby, is too shocked to stay in the house, and accompanys stella up to Eunice's. By this time, Stanley calmed down, and instantly regrets his decisions. He makes pleas, both over the phone and by shouting out the window, for Stella to come back to him, but to no avail. Finally, in what becomes a classic literary moment, he screams, with heaven splitting violence, "STE-LAHHH!!!", but she still refuses to come down. This moves Stanley to full tears....Meanwhile, outside, Mitch consoles Blanche, and gets to know her better.
The next morning, Blanche is shocked to find that Stella has gone back to Stanley. Stella speaks very matter of factly, stating that this kind of thing isn't uncommon, and that Stanley was drunk. Blanche cannot accept this, however, and begins concocting a plan to get them both out of this situation. Blanche realizes she can call upon an old college friend, Shep Huntleigh, that she had recently run into, for help. Stella complains that this is too sudden, but Blanche persists in her plans. Not only does she persist, but she proceeds to knock Stanley's entire heritage, calling him a primitive animal with no redeemable qualities whatsoever, all of which Stanley overhears. Feigning ignorance, he walks back into the house. Stella in defiance of her sister, embraces Stanley, much to Blanche's horror. Stanley gives Blanche a knowing smile.
It has started raining, and Blanche is writing her letter to Shep Huntleigh. Stella is getting ready to go out with Stan. She offers to take Blanche along with her, but Blanche refuses, on quite obvious grounds. After her last few meetings with Stanley, she doesn't want to be anywhere near him. While she's alone, a young paper boy comes to collect. Blanche has no money, but she begins flirting with him. This flirtation, unreturned yet persistant, is a insight into Blanche's past, which will be revealed later. After kissing the boy squarely on the lips, she sends him away, just in time to meet Mitch, bringing her some flowers.
After a somewhat unsuccessful attempt at a date, Mitch and Blanche retire to the Kowalski's apartment, where Mitch reveals how much he regrets their incompatibility. They make some attempt at a romantic end to the evenning, having a drink by candle light. They talk casually about such things as life, weight, and clothing styles. After dissuading Mitch from kissing her, she asks him about what Stanley has said about her. He refuses to say, and inevitably the conversation turns to personal feelings. Mitch is forced to talk about his dying mother, a very difficult topic for him. He admits how mother worries about his being lonely when she dies, and him not settling down. Blanche admits she knows about what loneliness is like, and finally reveals something of her past. Her only husband, back when she was very young, seemed to have a problem he was trying to fix by marrying her. She had no idea what it was.... until she caught him in bed with another man. Upon realizing he was gay, she tried to ignore it for her sake more than his. But, her emotions got the better of her one night, and she told him how much he digusted her. He proceeded to shoot himself in the head. Blanche breaks down in Mitch's arms.
While Blanche "soaks in a hot tub," Stanley reveals the information
he has found about her to Stella. He has found out the following from a
supply man : After Blanche lost Belle Reve she moved to the Hotel Flamingo
and became Dame Blanche. She became extremely promiscuous and the hotel
eventually threw her out. A nearby army camp referred to her place as "Out
of Bounds." She was regarded as being crazy. Blance did not resign from
teaching. She lost her job after it was discovered that she was having
relations with a seventeen-year-old boy. She was pratically thrown out
of Laurel. Stella reveals some information about Blanche that was less
recent. Blanche had married very young to a poet who, it was later discovered,
was homosexual. Stanley tells Stella that he told Mitch what he had learned
about Blanche, and that Mitch is no longer going to marry her. Stanley
also makes it clear to her that Blanche will not stay later than Tuesday.
Blanche emerges from her bath and instantly knows that something has happened
with her sister. Later, Blanche, Stella and Stanley have an awkward dinner.
Blanche calls Mitch to find out why he didn't show up. Stanley gives Blanche
the ticket back to Laurel. Stanley starts to leave for bowling but Stella
stops him and they begin to argue. Stanley explains that the reason he
is so upset with Blanche is because before she arrived, he and Stella never
had any problems. At the end of the scene, Stella weakens and asks Stanley
to take her to the hospital as she thinks she may be going into labor.
Mitch visits Blanche. Mitch takes the paper lantern off the lamp so that
he can look at Blanche in the plain light. He tells her that she's older
than he thought but that he doesn't mind that. The part he's upset about
is that she lied to him all summer. Blanche admits to her promiscuous past
and explains that after the death of her husband it was the only way she
could find comfort. She was glad to find Mitch because he seemed more gentle
than the rest of the world. A Mexican Woman passes nearby peddling "Flores
para los muertes" (Flowers for the
dead). Blanche begins to describe what life was like while Belle Reve
was slipping away. She explains how they lived with blame and death and
loss. She describes how, to escape from it, she would have intimacies with
drunken soldiers. Mitch tries to embrace her and Blanche asks if he will
marry her. He says that she isn't clean enough to bring into a house with
his mother. She tells him to leave. When he doesn't, she starts yelling
"Fire!" and Mitch leaves.
Later, when Stanley arrives home, Blanche is playing dress-up with and old costume dress and a rhinestone tiara. She is talking to imaginary suitors. Stanley tells her that Stella will have her baby in the morning. Blanche tells him that she has received a wire from an old millionaire friend inviting her on a Carribean Cruise. She also tells him what happened with Mitch, but she adds in a story about Mitch coming back with roses to beg her forgiveness. Stanley sees through both lies. He goes into the bathroom to put on the silk pajamas that he wore on his wedding night. Blanche tries to call the millionaire she claimed sent the wire, but she changes her mind. She then tries to call Western Union to send a telegraph asking for help. Stanley reenters in the pajamas and corners Blanche in the bedroom. She breaks a liquor bottle and threatens him with it, but he overpowers her and takes her to the bed. He rapes her.
Months later, Stella has come to a difficult decision. She realized
that she could not believe Blanche's story about the rape and go on living
with Stanley. Since she, by this time, had her baby to think about, she
commited her sister to a mental institutuion. Mitch is distraught over
what has happened to Blanche. Blanche has slipped entirely into delusion.
She believes that she is going away with her millionaire. When the Doctor
and Matron arrive to take Blanche there is a brief struggle but she eventually
goes along willingly, explaining that she has "always depended on the kindness
of strangers." As she leaves, Stella, overidden with guilt, collapses into
sobs and Stanley goes to comfort her. The play ends.
Stanley and Blanche are opposities, trying to coexist in a small area
and failing miserably. Her refusal to deal with Stanley and his rough nature
causes her to revert further and further into her world of pretend, as
he becomes more and more rough, culminating in the rape of Blanche by Stanley.
She has mocked him in his home, and he cannot deal with her and her lies.
He violates her in the most personal way, and she cannot deal with any
semblance of reality anymore. If this rape had happened in 1999, it would
have been all over the news, it would have been one the greatest crimes
and/or scandals in local news. In the small neighborhood of Stanley's flat,
it would have been news within the local area. However, if the rape was
not believe and did not make the news, the commitment of Blanche to the
mental institution would not have been made a big deal, for if it was,
the family would never be looked at in the same light again. After the
rape, Blanche losses her mind. Her world becomes a world of almost complete
fantasy. Blanche feels that she is the picture of femininity. She tries
to be prim and proper, but fails the minute she says anything degrading
about Stanley to Stella. Along those lines, Blanche's world of fantasy
has been created by the lies that she cannot seem to stop telling. When
she lies, she tended to contradict herself, revealing the falsities. When
Stanley caught hold of this, he called a few people, found out the truth
and destroyed her world. Had Blanche simply been truthful, and accepted
her past, she may not have found herself in the sticky situation that she
found herself in.
- Money. Blanche finds keeping the appearance of luxury very important. Stanley wants to make sure Blanche isn't cheating him out of money.
- Moving On. Stella tries to move on after leaving Belle Reve. Blanche tries to find new love after her first husband kills himself. Stanley tries to apologize for his rough action and forget them.
- Death. Blanche's husband kills himself. Many of the DuBois have already died. Mitch's only love had died, and his mother is about to die.
- Making the best of what you've got. Blanche must forget her past and find new happiness. Stella has accepted her less luxurious surrounding upon marrying Stanley. Many people in her apartment building must deal with physical abuse, Stella included.
- Superiority. Blanche constantly looks down on Stanley, and the general surroundings. Stanley hates Blanche for it.
- Desperation. Blanche only comes to Elysian Fields because she has to. Mitch is rushing things with Blanche because his mother is about to die.
- Pretense. Blanche fools everyone into thinking she's better than she is. Stanley pretends he hasn't heard anything Blanche said about him. Blanche tried to pretend her husband wasn't gay.
Works Cited
Thayer, Marion P. Cliffnotes, The Glass Menagerie and A StreetCar Named Desire. Lincoln, Nebraska: Cliffs Notes Incorporated, 1997 Printing.