Student Question
In A Streetcar Named Desire, why does Stanley tell Blanche the story about his cousin in Scene 10?
Quick answer:
Stanley tells Blanche the story about his cousin in Scene 10 to emphasize his animalistic nature, which Blanche has previously criticized. This story foreshadows Stanley's impending sexual violence against Blanche. As he narrates the tale, Stanley shakes a beer bottle, and its explosive opening symbolizes his looming outburst of aggression, culminating in the rape. The story underscores his disdain for Blanche and sets the stage for his brutal actions.
When Stanley is having a confrontation with Blanche while Stella is at the hospital delivering her baby, the story of his cousin functions as evidence of Stanley's animal, bestial nature. Stanley has overheard Blanche telling Stella that she thinks of Stanley as coarse and animal-like.
The story also foreshadow's Stanley's rape of Blanche. While telling her the story, Stanley shakes a bottle of beer. When he opens it, the beer shoots out of the bottle in a sexually suggestive gesture. Stanley's disgust with Blanche is about to explode into sexual violence. Like the shaken beer, Stanley will "blow his top."
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