Discussion Topic
Quotes illustrating Stanley's resentment and dislike for Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire
Summary:
Quotes illustrating Stanley's resentment and dislike for Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire include: "Since when do you give me orders?" which shows his irritation at her attempts to control him, and "I’ve been on to you from the start!" revealing his suspicion and distrust towards her from the beginning.
Which quotes from "A Streetcar Named Desire" show Stanley's dislike for Blanche?
Stanley first starts to express suspicion over Blanche's character when he learns that Belle Rive has been "sold" but that Blanche has not shown Stella any papers to prove this--not even the deed of sale. Stanley believes that Blanche is swindling them, and he tears through the apartment, ripping open Blanche's trunks and pulling out her personal belongings, stating:
And what have we here? The treasure chest of a pirate... Pearls! Ropes of them! What is this sister of yours, a deep-sea diver who brings up sunken treasure? Or is she the champion safe-cracker of all time! Bracelets of solid gold, too! Where are your pearls and gold bracelets! ...And diamonds! A crown for an empress!
Despite having spent very little time with her, Stanley believes Blanche to be a fraud and makes it clear with his condescending, sarcastic language and intrusive actions. The tension between the two only increases...
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as the night wears on; Blanche seems to try to bait Stanley by insulting his intelligence and manhood and trying to steal attention away from his card game... all actions which Stanley responds brusquely to. For example, after Blanche has turned on the radio and begun to waltz in order to distract one of the card players, Mitch, we get this insight into Stanley's fury from the stage directions:
Stanley stalks fiercely through the portieres into the bedroom. He crosses to the small white radio and snatches it off the table. With a shouted oath, he tosses the instrument out the window.
Stanley continues to mock Blanche behind her back, knowing that Blanche considers him "common." When he returns to the apartment to find that Blanche has locked herself up in the bathroom, he asks Stella if she has been busy running out to buy Blanche cokes and "serve 'em to Her Majesty in the tub?" Stanley then proceeds to tell Stella about all the lies that Blanche has been telling:
Lie Number One: All this squeamishness she puts on! You should just know the line she's been feeding to Mitch--He thought she had never been more than kissed by a fellow! But Sister Blanche is no lily! Ha-ha! Some lily she is! ...Our supply-man down at the plant has been going through Laurel for years and he knows all about her and everybody else in the town of Laurel knows all about her. She is as famous in Laurel as if she was the President of the United States, only she is not respected by any party! This supply-man stops at a hotel called the Flamingo... This is after the home-place had slipped through her lily white fingers! She moved to the Flamingo! A second class hotel which has the advantage of not interfering in the private social life of the personalities there! The Flamingo is used to all kinds of goings-on. But even the management of the Flamingo was impressed by Dame Blanche! In fact they were so impressed by Dame Blanche that they requested her to turn in her room-key--for permanently! ...For the last year or two she has been washed up like poison. That's why she's here this summer, visiting royalty, putting on all this act--because she's practically told by the mayor to get out of town!
Despite Stella's anxiety at hearing these stories, Stanley continues on to "Lie Number Two":
She's not going back to teach school... and I hate to tell you the reason that step was taken! A seventeen-year-old boy--she'd gotten mixed up with!
If we examine these two rants, we can see that Stanley is using hedged language to imply that Blanche has been acting as a prostitute. This clarifies our understanding of his biting, sarcastic use of the phrase "lily white" (a symbol of purity) or "Dame" (a term for a refined lady) when describing Blanche. He clearly believes that Blanche is a sullied woman who lacks purity and integrity and navigates life through the use of feminine charm and manipulation. Stanley uses this information to ruin the budding relationship between Blanche and Mitch, claiming that "he's not going to jump in a tank with a school of sharks."
When Stella comments that his fingers are greasy at Blanche's birthday dinner that night, Stanley throws another fit directed at the sisters, asking, "What do you two think you are? A pair of queens?" Stanley is clearly disturbed that his wife and sister-in-law see him in such an ordinary way, and he is particularly irritated by Blanche's refusal to accept her fall from financial grace. After Stella is sent to the hospital to have her baby, Stanley and Blanche are left alone at the apartment... a moment which allows Stanley to confront Blanche about her "lies and conceit and tricks" face-to-face without the intervention of Stella. Stanley verbally ravages Blanche:
And look at yourself! Take a look at yourself in that wornout Mardi Gras outfit, rented for fifty cents from some ragpicker! And with the crazy crown on! What queen do you think you are? ...I've been on to you from the start! Not once did you pull any wool over this boy's eyes! You come in here and sprinkle the place with powder and spray perfume and cover the light bulb with a paper lantern, and lo and behold the place has turned into Egypt and you are the Queen of the Nile! Sitting on your throne and swilling down my liquor!
What occurs next is a horrifying act of sexual violence; although it is not explicitly shown, the stage direction implies that Stanley rapes Blanche as his ultimate act of domination and forced manhood. Before hauling her off to the bed, he crassly exclaims, "We've had this date with each other from the beginning!" This is the final act of violation that the fragile Blanche can endure, and in the last scene of the play, she is hauled off to a hospital to deal with her mental breakdown.
So, as you can see, Stanley's language outlines extreme hatred of Blanche, as do the actions to back it up. Although we might argue that Blanche is a little "looney" and willfully antagonizes Stanley, it is also obvious that Stanley's oversensitive nature, deep insecurities, and abusive tendencies make him the ultimate antagonist of the play.
Identify a quote that shows Stanley's resentment of Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire.
In A Streetcar Named Desire, Stanley's resentment of Blanche is a significant part of his character.
Blanche views Stanley in a negative light. She says to Stella that he is "not the type to go for jasmine perfume," and communicates that Stanley is of a lower or almost "bestial" element. Blanche feels that Stanley is not worthy of being associated with the Du Bois name.
Over the course of the drama, Stanley understands what Blanche is trying to do. In response to her constant criticism of his ethnicity by calling him a "Polack," he speaks with scorn to Blanche: "I am not a Polack. People from Poland are Poles, not Polacks. But what I am is a one hundred percent American, born and raised in the greatest country on earth and proud as hell of it, so don’t ever call me a Polack." Stanley does not like the way that Blanche refers to him and the inferiority with which she views him. He realizes that Blanche is using his ethnic background as a way to discredit and insult him. This resentment is echoed when Stanley argues that he is an "American." When he rebukes her, Stanley's resentment towards Blanche is clearly displayed.