stanley key quotes

“of medium height… strongly, compactly built”

scene 1

themes of mascunlity and dominance + sexual desire

William’s sparse description of stanley draws attention to his impact on others with his clear masculinity and sexual magnetism being the core foundation blocks of his character- much like blanche in how his sexuality is a critical plot and character point but this is Williams exposing the double standards.

“gaudy seed-bearer”+ “a richly feathered male bird among hens”

scene 1

themes of masculinity and physcality + sexual desire

he’s a confident man who thrives on sexuality and being the most alpha male around with the bowling shirt (a male purist) and wedding night PJs (proof of his manhood and sexual comprencey) reinforcing this.

he’s a primal man driven by sex; defined by his domaine over women

“You hens cut out that conversation in there”

scene 3

themes of masculinity and physicality, feminity.

his chauvinistic attitude to women gathered from how he address the sisters during the poker game “hens” (implying that they gossip lots and is a generally mysgonocitc term) with the unspoken exception that they’ll sit in silence. exposes how he needs dominance and total control to feel like a man. 

“Naw! We gotta have odds”

scene 1

establishes his desire for domiance in his first piece of dialogue as he is immedtabtley seeing himself as a person who naturally demands respect. 

“I’m the team captain, ain’t I? All right, then, we’re not gonna bowl at Riley’s”

scene 8

at blanche’s birthday supper he instics on bowling where he wants to, exposing how his need for dominance also expands to amongst other men. whole vibe is that it’s his way or the highway.

“You know what luck is? Luck is believing you’re lucky… to hold front position in this rat-race you’ve got to believe you are lucky”

scene 11

spoken to Pablo, but the self-confidence this excludes reveals how self assured he is, suggesting that his potent masculinity contributes to this.

“What I am is a one hundred per cent American, born and raised in the greatest country on earth and proud as hell of it, so don’t ever call me a polack”

scene 8

his extreme patriotism defines his character as he’s the archetype of a post WW2 American man.

“I’d have that on my conscience the rest of my life if I knew all that stuff and let my best friend get caught”

scene 7

“caught” suggests that blanche is a seductress who seeks to entrap men, reinforcing his mysgoniny. 

the clear justification which he gives to Steve about revealing blanche’s past shows societal attidues of the time as judging women for their sexual past.

“In the state of Louisiana we have the Napoleonic code according to which what belongs to the wife belongs to the husband and vice versa”

scene 2

reveals that he’s emblantic of the American dream as motivated by economic profit and the potential for more; that he’s possessive of stella’s proptery.

“I never met a woman that didn’t know if she was good-looking or not without being told, and some of them give themselves credit for more than they’ve got.”

scene 2

themes of interior and exterior appearance, masc and physicality + sexual desire

symbols of bathing

stanley sees though her flirting (how she derives her power over men) brought on by the recent bath making her feel clean and young again. yet he asserts his sexual power by refusing to play her game grounding himseld in the physcial reality(stark contrast to blanche). dig at blanche though the declaration that some women give themselves more credit than deserved.

stanley alerting his dominance both reduces her power but also generates her fears about aging (the achilles heel) meaning her ability to be powerful diminishes- making her more frantic to maintain power via flirtation and distraction shifting the power dynamic so hes at the centre, not blanche.

“STELL-LAHHHHH!”

scene 3

techniques of imagery

themes of feminity and depdencey, masc and physciality+ sexual desire

symbolism of alcohol and drunkenness

Stella has fled to Eunice’s after being hit by stanley, making him mournful as only way to assert mastery is physically and its the same for his way of apologising.

stage directons say “with heaven-spilling violence" with the shout contrasting blanche’s repetition as she emphasises the fantasy and beauty while stanley yells in a mating cry; she finds herself drawn to him magnetically with no verbal apology. Instead, he caresses her tenderly, showing his feelings physically rather than telling them.

“There are things that happen between a man and a woman in the dark–that sort of make everything else seem–unimportant.”

scene 4

devices of irony and dramatic irony

themes of feminity and dependence, masc and physicality + sexual desire

symbols of shadow

stella says this after stanley hits her, with blanche insisting that as she’s pregnant its too dangerous. Stanley’s power does sometimes come out in a violent way, but other times, his passion emerges through tenderness and through sexual energy.

“Tiger–tiger! Drop the bottle-top! Drop it! We’ve had this date with each other from the beginning!”

Scene 10

themes of masc and physciality+ feminity and depdence

symbol of alcohol and drunkness

he attacks blanche saying that their canal lust brought them together, with “tiger” emphasising the animal desire of power in both people. His pesaurding her to drop the bottle means a)he wants her to surrender to lust, b)and live in the present as alcohol’s safety blanket isn’t there.

also shows how deeply interconnected his sexuality is with masculinity. 

“Go upstairs and sit with Eunice”

scene 3

shows how Stanley pritosies his pleasure over stella’s+ blanche’s comfort as ignoring fact that the noise will make them unable to sleep.

shows his domiance over his house (breadwinner)+ wife. imperative of “go”

“Stanley… spears his fork into the remaining chop which he eats with his fingers”

scene 8

stagecraft

Williams inclusion of deeply priminal and anmilaistc imagarey before the rape connects his sexuality and animality.

“I’d have that on the rest of my conscience for the rest of my life if I knew all that stuff and let my best friend be caught”

scene 3

stanley’s hyproctisy and false victimisation of Mitch being ‘caught’- suggesting that blanche is a seductress who seeks to entrap men in her web- exposes the extent of the repercussions for women if men discover their sexual past has deviated from accepted norms of female sexuality.

“Remember what Huey Long said- every man is a king! And I am the King around here!”

scene 8

his forceful attempts to regain control are illustrative of his superficial and fragile masculinity

Huey long was the former governor of Louisiana (1928-1932); perceived to be a tyrant who abused his powerful position via aggression and intimidation 

“It’s gonna be sweet when we can make noise in the night the way we used to and get the coloured lights going”

+

“Red-letter night”

Scene 8

eupmesticalluy referring to sex via lurid colours- something he’s often associated with as thats how the poker scene starts. Connection between coloured lights, sex and stanley links him to sex.

+

scene 10

what stanley calls the night of the rape

“fingers finding the opening of her blouse”

scene 11

right after blanche has been taken away meaning that she’s now vulnerable to his manipulation and abuse; this is his way of either comforting her or taking advantage of the situation.

either way serves as commentary on his lack of respect for stella’s personal existence by objectifying her though the male gaze resulting in objectification.

“Roughly dressed” in “blue denim work clothes” and “heaves” 

scene 1

immediately establishes how he likes to be in control because of his alpha male tendency's ; that hes a audaciously unapologeticly sexual man. 

“they had her on the hook good” + “squirm out”

scene 8

stanley talking about how blanche tried to get out of a situation where she was found to have been sleeping with a student but unable to. The animalistic imagery debases her actions and places her in vulnerable and shameful position.

“Hold this bone-headed cry-baby!”

scene 11

his verbal violence and lack of thinking about what he says demonstrates the power he has- no consequences for fucking up- and how insensitive he is because responing to Mitch’s heartbreak at blanche’s situation.

“nobody’s going to get up, so don’t be worried”

scene 3

dismantling blanche’s confidence and assurance in her habits to make her easier to a)take down and b)manipulate

“my baby doll has left me”

scene 3

right after he sobers up in the shower and realises that Stella has left for euninces

possessive over stella (the “my” with the posseive pronoun), and clearly views her as something thats his with the “baby doll”

“I hope they haul you in and turn the fire hose on you, same as last time”

scene 3

“last time” is past tense- so clearly hit her before; this is a well oiled machine of a pattern.