Themes in Scene 4

Streetcar named Desire

 Theme: Marriage
1. Page 47, Line 1
Blanche: Will he be back?
Stella: He’s gone to get to get the care greased. Why?
Blanche: Why! I’ve been half crazy, Stella! When I found
out you’d be insane enough to come back in here after
what happened – I started to rush in after you!
 Blanche is furious knowing that Stella returned
to Stanley even though was drunk the night
before.
2. Page 48, Line 23
Stella: (Slowly and emphatically) I’m not in anything I
want to get out of.
Blanche: (incredulously) What – Stella?
Stella: I said I am not in anything that I have a desire to
get out of. Look at the mess in this room! And those
empty bottles! They went through two cases last
night! He promised this morning that he was going to
quit having these poker parties, but you know how
long such a promise is going to keep. Oh, well, it’s his
pleasure, like mine in the movies and bridge. People
have got to tolerate each other’s habits, I guess.
 Stella stresses that she has no intention to run away
from Stanley, despite of what character her husband
has.
3. Page 55, Line 21
Stella has embraced him with both arms, fiercely,
and full in the view of Blanche. He laughs and
clasps her head to him. Over her head he grins
through the curtains at Blanche. As the lights
fade away, with a lingering brightness on their
embrace, the music of the “blue piano” and
trumpet and drums are heard.
After one whole scene 4 of Blanche persuading
her sister to leave Stanley, Stella ends up
embracing her husband in front of her.
 Theme: Marriage - Analysis
• The central marriage in A Streetcar Named
Desire operates on a tumultuous combination
of hero-worship, aggression, sexual attraction,
and a difficult class difference between
husband and wife.
• Despite the challenges, there is no doubt for a
moment the intensity of love these two feel
for each other.
 Theme: Dependence on men
1. Page 48, line 16

Blanche: In my opinion? You’re married to a

madman!
Stella: No!
 Stella defends her husband from Blanche’s
accusations, even though she knows the
truth in it.
2. Page 49, Line 23
Stella: I guess that money is always nice to get
hold of.
Blanche: Listen to me. I have an idea of some
kind. (Shakily she twists a cigarette into her
holder.) Do you remember Shep Huntleigh. I
went out with him at college and wore his pin
for a while. Well –
Blanche persuades her sister to leave her
husband and follow her to Shep Huntleigh for
he is rich.
Theme: Dependence on men - Analysis
• Both Blanche and Stella see male companions as
their only means to achieve happiness, and they
depend on men for both their sustenance and
their self-image.
• Blanche recognizes that Stella could be happier
without her physically abusive husband, Stanley.
• Yet, the alternative Blanche proposes, contacting
Shep Huntleigh for financial support still involves
complete dependence on men. (ironic)
 Theme: Drugs and Alcohol
1. Page 47, line 18
Stella: Yes, you are, Blanche. I know how it must
seemed to you and I’m awfully sorry it had to
happen, but it wasn’t anything as serious as you
seem to take it. In the first place, when men are
drinking and playing poker anything can
happen. It’s always a powder-keg. He didn’t
know what he was doing… He was as good as a
lamb when I cam back and he’s really very, very
ashamed of himself.
 Theme: Drugs and Alcohol - Analysis
• For the male gender, alcohol is very much tied
to physical aggression and plays a part in the
play’s worst violence.
 Theme: Sex
1. Page 53, Line 1
Stella: But there are things that happen between
a man and a woman in the dark – that sort of
make everything else seem – unimportant.
(Pause.)
 Theme: Sex - Analysis
• Sex is essentially a destructive force in A
Streetcar Named Desire, though this
destruction takes a variety of forms, including
literal death, physical violence, mental
degradation, the sullying of a good reputation,
and even financial ruin. It’s very much tied to
physical aggression, both in the sexual
relations between husband and wife.
 Theme: Men and Masculanity
1. Page 54, Line 10
Stella: (coldly) Go on and say it all, Blanche.
Blanche: He acts line an animal, has an animal’s
habits!........ Don’t – don’t hang back with the
brutes!
 Blanche gives a long speech on Stanley’s
abusive character.
 Theme: Men and Masculinity -
Analysis
• The sheer animal force of antagonist Stanley
Kowalski is partly responsible for the fame of
A Streetcar Named Desire.
• In this play, masculinity means aggression,
control, physical dominance, and even
violence. Accompanying these traits are a
general lack of refinement, manners, and
sensitivity.