Streetcar named Desire

A detailed Summary of Streetcar named Desire

How relevant is the poker night (Scene three) to our understanding of Blanche, Stella and Stanley?

Scene three is a very relevant part of A Streetcar Named Desire and shows the differences in personalities of each character. This scene illustrates the dominance of Stanley, the forgiveness of Stella and the sense of need within Blanche's character.

The scene opens with a stage direction, and this instantly gives the reader a feel for what the scene might be based around. Williams uses the words, "they are men at the peak of their physical manhood" already suggesting that we will see some illustration of male dominance. We then enter the scene on the poker night, in the middle of a game, to create the image that the reader is intruding and watching in on their lives. Within the four men playing the game, Stanley seems to be very much the 'leader of the gang' and makes fun of the others. For example, after Mitch comments on needing to get back to his ill mother, Stanley says "we'll fix you a sugar-tit" to him, suggesting that he is acting like a baby. We also see here that Stanley is very blunt and to the point, for example when Blanche enters and is greeted by the men she tells them not to stand, as this is what she is used to

Stella is a forgiving and understanding lover to Stanley, but perhaps a little too forgiving as we see in this scene. Stella is very complimentary to Blanche at the start of the scene, although she does not seem to understand why Blanche wants to look so good in front of her husband and his friends. Stella wants the poker game t end, perhaps because she no longer wants her house being invaded and taken over by the game and Stanley's friends. She does not like it when Stanley slaps her leg, but puts up with it because she knows Stanley would not like to be made to look like a fool in front of his friends. Stella realises that Blanche is interested in Mitch but does not compliment him. She points out that "Stanley's the only one of his crowd that's likely to get anywhere". Stella is deeply in love with Stanley and although she can see all his good points, it seems as though she is failing to see all his bad points. She is blinded by her love for him. When Stanley gets angry, Stella seems to know that he is going to hit her, as she says, "You lay your hands on me and I'll -". This also indicates that this sort of violence has happened before. Stella leaves immediately with Blanche, but moments later she returns to Stanley's cries, going back to him once again as she has done many times in the past. Stella goes back to him because she still loves Stanley with all her heart and he is the father of her unborn baby. Stella needs Stanley; she relies on him for money and to provide for her. She will be dependant on him once she has the baby and if she leaves him, she won't be able to support herself. Williams uses the words, "her eyes go blind with tenderness", emphasising the fact that she is blinded by love. There is no dialogue when Stella returns, and it is possible that she honestly believes that this is the last time that Stanley will ever hit her. She feels that Stanley is better than no-one, and that she will be better off than Blanche if she has a husband, even if he does hit her. She is possibly scared that Stanley will just continue to chase her and never give up if she doesn't go back to him also.

In this scene Blanche's true side is revealed; the not so innocent side of her character that she keeps well hidden when she doesn't want it to be discovered.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Mitch Mitch, Named Desire, Blanche Mitch, Stella Stanley, Stella Blanche, Mitch Blanche, , Stanley Scene, friends stella, stella goes, poker game, stella blanche, williams words, quick temper, stage direction, stanley slaps, love stanley, blinded love,

Approximate Word count = 1533
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels