Femininity In A Streetcar Named Desire

There has always been a struggle between women and men. In the play written by Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire, the author specifies the characteristics of both gender. Showing men as aggressive, while, showing women as delicate. However, Williams conceives that Blanche and Stella show two different types of femininity in the play, nevertheless, both of them are dependent on men, showing that females have a sexual desire. This sexual desire has also been seen in Stanley in scene 3 when Stanley called for Stella to come, “Stella! Stella, sweetheart! Stella! Stell-lahhhhh!” (Williams 67). Thus, In A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams juxtaposes Femininity and masculinity to reveal how women are dependent on men.
Both, Blanche
and Stella show different forms of femininity in the play. Blanche is seen as a women that preferred the magic and the night over the reality and the light. She believes that using her innocent femininity will attract men. Blanche believes that “a woman’s charm is fifty percent illusion”, Blanche’s self-image and her layer of innocent charm is seen in this quote, she is also seen ‘fishing for compliments’ from stanley but stanley doesn't oblige. Additionally, Blanche’s dependent on men is also visible when she proposes to call Shep Huntleigh for financial aid and an use him to escape from the violent Stanley. On the other hand, Stella’s femininity is seen to be close to reality, contradicting that of Blanche. Stella does not hide who she is nor her age. Stella’s pregnancy displays that Stella has performed her filial job as a married women. “STELLA - Why on our wedding night, soon as we came in here, he snatched off one of my slippers and rushed about the place smashing the light-bulbs with it.[…] - BLANCHE - And you – you let him? Didn’t run, didn’t scream? - STELLA - I was – sort of – thrilled by it.” (Williams 78) Stella finds Stanley’s violent aggression very attractive and she chooses to be with him. However, Blanche seems extremely surprised that stella didn’t scream since Blanche assumes that all females are delicate.
Stanley is viewed as a violent individual who “carries his bowling jacket and a red-stained package from a butcher’s”. (Williams 24) Stanley’s aggression towards Blanche is also seen in a non violent aspect, Stanley uses “the Napoleonic code – a man has to take an interest in his wife’s affairs – especially now that she’s going to have a baby.” (Williams, 41) Stanley deliberately mentioned the baby to hurt Blanche in a psychological way, he is also gaining back his dominance over Blanche since she embarrassingly proved him wrong about Belle Reve. Moving on, Stanley's clothes is also seen as ‘forceful’, using bold colors such as “solid blues, a purple, a red-and-white-check, a light green, and they are men at the peak of their physical manhood, as coarse and direct and powerful as the primary colors.” (Williams 46) These colorful clothing contradicts with Blanche’s white clothing. Showing how men are more uncouth and callous individuals, while the women in the household is improvident. Mitch, however, is seen as a masculine individual that lacks the violent dominance and acquires traits of comfort and refuge. Blanches views Mitch as male with the needed traits for sexual desire, but not as physically wild like Stanley.