Conflict Between Blanche and Stanley in a Streetcar Named Desire

In the conflict between Blanche and Stanley was it inevitable that Stanley would be the victor?

In Tennessee Williams play “A Streetcar Named Desire” two of the main characters Stanley and Blanche persistently oppose each other, their differences eventually spiral into Stanley’s rape of Stella.

Stanley (Stella’s husband) represents a theme of realism in the play; he is shown as a primitive, masculine character that is irresistible to Stella and on some levels even to his “opponent” Stella’s sister Blanche.

Blanche who had been caring for a generation of dying relatives at Belle Reve has been forced to sell the family plantation. Blanche is a great deal less realistic than Stanley and lives in illusions which bring upon her downfall.

Conflict first arises when Blanche arrives at the Kowalski household and Stanley’s authority over his home is questioned. Stanley has always had authority and control of his home and also his wife Stella. When Blanche arrives he feels that he is being invaded and doesn’t agree with it. His “rat race” style of life doesn’t match with Blanches but has somehow converted Stella. One of the main themes about conflict is that Stanley and Blanche are in a battle to win Stella and neither of them will give her up.

A particularly evident section of conflict in the play is over Belle Reve and Stanley’s “Napoleonic code”. Blanche has told the Kowalski’s that she had lost Belle Reve but without proof suspicions arrive with Stanley “well, what in the hell was it then, give away? To charity?” Stella doesn’t take the fact that Blanche has no papers regarding Belle Reve as meaningful as Stanley does. Stanley from a relatively poor background compared to Stella and Blanches Belle Reve plantation and now would appreciate a slice of their assets and speaks about the Napoleonic code meaning that everything that his wife owns, or part owns is also his. After riffling through Blanches belongings for information Stanley subtlety confronts her with “it looks like you raided some stylish shops in Paris.”

The audience can sense that Williams has intended Stanley to question Blanche and for her to simply return his remarks with what seem like legitimate reasons “Why, those were a tribute from an admirer of mine.” The conflict can only be increased because Stanley has not yet been able to dismantle Blanche and find the truth.

The conflict between Stanley and Stella climaxes in scene ten. In this scene Stanley openly takes Blanche apart piece by piece he begins with unenthusiastic comments such as “Swine huh?” ”You did huh?” to Blanche’s long bouts of speech in which she tries to redeem herself. Stanley secondly disproves Blanches tales about the millionaire “there isn’t a goddam thing but imagination.” Stanley then proceeds to rape Blanche. Stanley’s final line before he grabs Blanche suggests that throughout their time together Stanley believed that he would overcome her “we’ve had this date with each other from the beginning.”

It is apparent by the end of the play that Blanche has lost everything. It began firstly with relatives, Belle Reve moving onto her sanity and being raped, and finally ending with her at a mental institute as proposed by her sister Stella.

This can be seen through the symbolism used with the two conflicting characters. Blanche is described as arriving in a streetcar a small agile method of transport compared to Stanley’s train-an unstoppable force that would take out anything in its way. This theme can also be transferred to the music used in the stage directions of the play. When “the blue piano” is used in the stage directions it is very much Stanley’s