A Streetcar Named Desire Men and Masculinity Quotes Page 2
Citations follow this format: (Scene.Line). Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue.
| Quote #4 STANLEY |
Stanley says this deliberately in order to hurt Blanche. He’s just been a bit humiliated since Blanche proved her story about Belle Reve with the financial papers, so this is his way of asserting his dominance once more.
| Quote #5 Stanley, Steve, Mitch, and Pablo wear colored shirts, 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. There are vivid slices of watermelon on the table, whiskey bottles and glasses. (Scene Three, Stage Directions) |
Williams uses physical props – or, in this case, clothing – to make his point about Stanley’s masculinity. These vivid, virile colors contrast with Blanche’s white, moth-like clothing. (And, of course, her name itself, which means "white.")
| Quote #6 MITCH |
Mitch deviates from the classic masculinity which Stanley so fiercely embodies. Blanche finds this attractive in Mitch, which means her ideal man is a Southern gentleman, not a man like Stanley.
