stanley Flashcards
‘he heaves the package at her. she cries out in protest but manages to catch it: then she laughs breathlessly’
stanley is the breadwinner of the family
reflects his animalistic nature which stella has adapted to - his masculinity excites her
display gender roles expected of them at the time
stanley does not care much about the needs of stella; he cares only for himself and his image with his friends and so he treats stella as if she is an asset that he has gained in order to make his friends idolize him or be impressed.
‘yes. a different species’
machismo male
extremely degrading from stella especially considering she’s talking about her own husband, the person she loves.
could be foreshadowing how blanche finds stanley animalistic
love blinds stella to the social differences between herself and her husband - doesn’t see the compatibility issues that blanche does.
‘he sizes women up at a glance, with sexual classifications, crude images flashing into his mind’
anarchic sexual energy
symbolises the new south
this will reflect the way in which he reacts to blanche
‘how about my supper, huh?’
gender roles
expects everything to be done for him
doesn’t want to go because it is an upper class restaurant and he is proud of his working class origin
old south
‘now let’s skip back a little bit to where you said he country place was disposed of’
materialistic
insensitive - typical, stereotypical man
‘in the state of louisiana, we have the napoleonic code’
justify his feelings of entitlement toward stella’s inheritance.
in doing so, he shows that he is ignorant of legal technicalities, because belle reve, located in laurel, mississippi, wouldn’t fall under new orleans jurisdiction.
stanley’s repeated references to the napoleonic code highlight the fact that his conflict with blanche is also a gender showdown.
stanley’s greed reveals his misogyny, or woman-hating tendencies. as a man, stanley feels that what stella has belongs to him.
hates blanche as a woman and as a person with a more prestigious family name, and therefore suspects that blanche’s business dealings have been dishonest.
‘genuine fox fur-pieces, a half a mile long! where are your fox-pieces, stella? bushy snow-white ones, no less! where are your white fox-pieces?
enraged by the fact that blanche, a woman, is living better off then himself.
repetition of the same question incites his anger not just towards blanche but to stella - tries to make her feel bad about herself not having “white fox-pieces”
narrative enigma to audience of stanley’s true intentions, is he with her for her inheritance or love?
‘since when do you give me orders?’
wants control
conforming to stereotypes
clash between men and women
‘stanley gives a loud whack of his hand on her thigh’
asserting dominance
machismo male
showing off - possessive and just shows how much power he holds over her to his friends
considered normal - williams trying to show the disgusting reality of the new south
blanche
‘i haven’t noticed a stamp of genius even on stanley’s forehead’
male dominance will get him ahead rather than academia
uneducated working class
‘he stops short at the sight of blanche in the chair. she returns his look without flinching’
uses his aggression and intimidating ways to get what he wants, although this does not work on blanche, which is similar to her charms that we have seen do not work on him
assertion of dominance that neither will back down from; unafraid of stanley; strong sense of this by the phrases of movement - emphasised for audience
gender clash
‘my baby doll’s left me’
can’t cope without sex
needs someone to asset dominance over
machismo male
first time showing emotional side
‘stell-llahhhhhh’
mating call
animalistic
epitomises the psychological hold he has on her
machismo
blanche:
‘he acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits! eats like one, moves like one, talks like one! there’s even something - sub-human-something not quite to the stage of humanity yet! yes, something -ape-like about him, like one of those pictures I’ve seen in–anthropological studies!
people like stanley will rule
apes will inherit the earth
his complete disregard for the social morals that she, as a southern belle, has been taught since birth to cherish.
he represents the very thing she’s come to fear above all else- the kind of raw, untamed, uncivilized desire that inspired her promiscuity in laurel, and that brought her to a place close to hell in new orleans as punishment
going back in evolutionary terms - atavism
‘he jerks open the bureau drawer, slams it shut and throws shoes in a corner. at each noise blanche winces slightly’
lost battle over stella
scared - gender roles becoming more evident
