Representation Of Gender And Sexuality In A Streetcar Named Desire

As the only play that has ever won all three major drama awards in America, Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire wins both the acknowledgements of the critics as well as the public. It is renowned for its vivid characterization, fierce conflicts and the ambiguity of the playwright's attitude to his characters. Yet in commenting on the play, most critics stay on the historical and cultural level of the play, and regard the confrontation of its main characters Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski as the reflection of the war between the South of America and the North. Some notice that there are gender conflicts embedded in their relationship and their individual gender traits have a strong effect on their behavior, belief and sexual experience, but in-depth studies are rare. Therefore, this thesis aims to explore the main characters' gender consciousness and its externalization using gender theory as the critic tool, combined with text analysis and the background information about the playwright to gain a deeper understanding of Williams's view on gender relationship.The thesis is divided into six parts.The introduction sets up the basic framework of gender study to prove the feasibility and necessity of the thesis.Chapter One discusses the male protagonist Stanley Kowalski's strong masculinity. On the one hand, he is attractive for that; yet on the other hand, his patriarchal male consciousness leads to his cruelty and violence to women like Blanche.Chapter Two is on another male character, Harold Mitchell who seems to lack masculinity. He is more compassionate to women but his lack of masculinity also leads to his cowardice to help Blanche. Thus by comparing the two men, we can find out Williams's ambiguous attitude to masculinity.Chapter Three makes a detailed analysis of Blanche DuBois, who is complicated and divided. She wants.to behave like a southern belle, which in the patriarchal South means physical weakness, spiritual dependence and sexual innocence. Yet the so-called femininity makes her desperate for men's care after her husband's death and leads to her promiscuity. The patriarchal view of women makes her a victim to her own belief that women can only seek the kindness of men.Chapter Four is about Stella, another woman who tries to live up to the patriarchal view of womanhood. To be a submissive wife to Stanley, she gives up her own identity and puts up with his abuse though she is regarded as a happy wife in a patriarchal society.The Conclusion summarizes the main points of the previous chapters andfurther points out Williams's ideal of gender relationship------androgyny. Hecalls for the integrity of human sensibility and turns against the binary opposition of genders. Finally it is pointed out that though his plays are full of violence and sex, Tennessee Williams is a serious writer calling for humanity and tolerance.