All three main characters have flaws, I'm surprised Blanche's rape is the only tragic incident this play ended with.
First of all, Blanche. She is completely dillusional. Her husband left her because he was homosexual. Now that's enough to mess anybody up for good, but she takes things to the extreme. It's obvious why she came to stay with Stella, her sister, and Stanley- but was it necessary to start critisizing everything Stella and Stanley did? Sure, Stanley was abusive and Stella never said anything...but life for them was different than it was in the south where she and Stella grew up. I think Blanche needed to keep her mouth shut, take a few more baths, and stop living on Fantasy Island.
Stella, well she's just as bad. She couldn't stand up for herself, and she imitated Blanche in her presence so she looked like she wasn't a total puppet. Point blank, she needed to leave him. Why she conceived a child with that man is beyond me. This play really proves how far the battle of the sexes has come since the 1920's. Pretty impressive, I think.
Stanley is just a complete jerk. The only thing he wants to do is drink, play poker, have sex, and yell at Stella. He acts all high and mighty but what he won't reveal is that he really does not want Stella to leave him. Unfortunately the only way of making her stay is pathetic appologies, 10 dollar bills, and sex. Wow, my kind of guy.
I love this play, even though all the characters have major flaws, I think it's so interesting how Williams pitted all three against each other. I never thought I'd read a play where a husband, a wife, and a sister are all the cause of downfall for each other. Sounds like my life! =)
Posted by StormyKnight at May 5, 2005 4:38 PM