Tenessee Williams’ renowned Broadway play A Streetcar Named Desire manages to reflect the turbulence of family drama in New Orleans’ French Quarter in the 1940s. The author explores the vulnerabilities of the story’s protagonists – Blanche DuBois, Stella Kowalski, and Stanley Kowalski. Williams may have projected his own insecurities and personal tragedies into the play, drawing inspiration from his family (Vernadakis). It is evident that the writer has been an exceptionally vulnerable human being due to his experiences of being homosexual while struggling with depression and addiction (Vernadakis). Williams translates his struggles with being an outcast onto his characters. Blanche’s inability to face reality, as well as Stanley and Stella’s complex relationship, reflect their vulnerabilities as human beings and help drive the narrative forward. Williams mentioned that sensitive human nature in a world that expects full conformity is a major theme in his writing. The author manages to demonstrate the power of vulnerability and raw emotions through the play’s characters, which keeps the story full of tension and interesting dynamics.
The character of Blanche DuBois represents the destructive path of a proper Southern Belle refusing to face reality. As a result, she struggles to safeguard her image while struggling with addiction to alcohol. Her tendency to over-stimulate her senses comes from the erratic fear of her past. Blanche is haunted by “the rapid, feverish polka tune, the ‘Versouviana’,” which brings back repressed memories (Williams 139). She then turns to alcohol, that provides her with a temporary escape. Mitch mentions that Blanche has been “lapping it up all summer like a wild cat” (Williams 143). The word ‘wild’ reflects her animalistic nature in her strive for immediate pleasure and emotional release. Williams reflects Blanche’s vulnerability through her refusal to conform to conventional societal norms, painting her as a social outcast.
The theme of vulnerability continues in the portrayal of Stanley and Stella, a seemingly happy young couple. Stella’s blind optimism is evident due to her inability to accept the abusive nature of her marriage. She describes Stanley based on the fact that he “always smashed things” (Williams 72). Stella struggles to realize the power struggle between her and her husband because she has always depended on him for money. Therefore, she has never questioned his treatment of her. While Stella’s vulnerable nature is evident in her inability to face reality, Stanley’s anxiety is less obvious. He is portrayed as unlikeable and harsh. However, he is vulnerable because he fears to lose Stella. This explains his attitude towards Blanche since he believes that she will take his wife away from him. This erratic fear leads to him trying to destroy Blanche and assert his dominance with Stella. Williams’ demonstration of the couple’s raw emotions and deep insecurities makes both Stella and Stanley seem real and compelling. In terms of the story’s progression, this serves as a tool to fill the narrative with conflict, making it more entertaining for the readers.
In conclusion, it is apparent that Williams succeeds in incorporating the theme of vulnerability into the play. He manages to make the protagonists seem much more realistic and relatable by contrasting the characters’ public image with their inner emotional anxieties. Stella’s vulnerability is evident in her fight for respect in a patriarchal society. Blanche’s fear of reality leads to addiction. Stanley’s relationship with Stella affects the way he treats Blanche. Williams’ demonstrates the complexity of human emotions through the portrayal of insecurities and vulnerabilities, which allows readers to examine their own anxieties and fears. The dramatic presentation of vulnerability serves a specific literary purpose since it ignites readers’ curiosity and fills the story with much-needed conflict and tension.
Works Cited
Vernadakis, Emmanuel. “Violent Fragility: The Mythical, the Iconic and Tennessee Williams’ Politics of Gender in ‘One Arm’” Journal of the Short Story in English, vol. 67, 2016, pp. 141-154, Web.
Williams, Tenessee. A Streetcar Named Desire. New Directions, 2004.