A Streetcar Named Desire: Play vs. Film

 The play, A Streetcar Named Desire, centers itself around the struggles of class within the characters, specifically Blanche and Stanley. This is reflected in the ending of the play, with Stanley desiring sexual attention from Stella when she grieves the loss of her sister. On a similar, yet different note, the ending of the film version also emphasizes the perspective and interpretation of the class struggle between the characters. Yet, Stella’s action provides a twist, providing more emphasis on the relational issues between Stanley and Stella.

In the play, Blanche is considered high class, noting that from her actions and mannerism when first introduced as a character. She is ladylike, which comes from the Southern traditional values that she attained back at home. Her identity as a character is based on this traditional value and view form the world, a hinderance to her survival at Stella’s apartment where the culture is entirely different, as she says to Stella “why, that you had to live in these conditions!”(Williams, 10). Her downfall came as Stanley unravels her mysteries about her past, leading to falling in class, debatably from the beginning when she left home. On the contrary, Stanley is from the lower class as we see his struggle with his status throughout the play. His actions stem from the insecure he feels from being of lower status, both of Stella and Blanche, leading to using class as a justification for his actions. The difference between the classes, of specifically Blanche and Stanley, lead to an obsession that ended in a tragedy and mental breakdown.

The class struggle is clearly depicted in the ending when Blanche is sent to the hospital. Blanche, as mentioned, lost her class, both physical and psychologically. Stanley’s reaction to the situation, desiring sex from Stella when she grieves the loss of her sister, becomes an emphasis and representation of the struggles the characters experience. Blanche identity was founded on the fantasy of higher class, and this shatters when she melts down, particularly when she identified with the torn lantern that Stanley gave to her. Stanley, in some ways, rises in not only power in the relationship in his dominance of Stella in the end, but class of well, with the struggle between lower and higher class is minimized with the absence of Blanche. This is way, the plays purpose is to illuminate the class difference and struggles of the characters in regard to its time.

In the film version, however, the ending changes. Instead of submitting to Stanley, Stella terminates the relationship between her and Stanley in response to his attempt to dominate her. Here, the rejection can be seen as an indication of class, since Stella’s status becomes visible and returned to her in the rejection of Stanley, leaving Stanley in the lower status he has always been in. With this rejection also comes a twist in the perspective of the play. The ending shifts the emphasis from class to the abusive nature of the relationship, focusing much more relational problems between characters rather than status. Stanley leaving in the end signified a solution to a problematic relationship that Stella has involved herself in for a long time. This rejection and the claiming of power becomes an act of freedom, which in turn highlights on how abusive the relationship between the two characters were. With his ties severed, his also loses his dominance in his relationships, to both Stella and Blanche, which is the indicator of abuse, and in some ways in regard to this play, the class struggles among the characters.

By changing the ending of the play, the play seeks to illuminate and emphasis different themes told by the characters. Stanley’s desires and Blanche’s downfall centers the story around class, as that is the main conflict with which the plot progressed. His dominance can be a reflection of dominance in class in relationships despite him being of lower status than those around him. Blanche, on the other hand, reflected the malleability of class as she struggles with learning that class is not a stagnate position. Stella’s rejection to Stanley’s sexual desire shifts the focus of the play to the relationships between the characters, rather than the sole class struggle that lies between. Her rejection highlights the abusiveness, and perhaps casual nature, of the relationship between her and Stanley, which leads to a different purpose of the play when taking into account “don’t you touch me, don’t you touch me ever again.” (Lover, Stella)

Works Cited:

Lover, World's Greatest. “A Streetcar Named Desire 1951 Vivien Leigh Ending Scene.” YouTube, YouTube, 17 Aug. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LhSrBruAU0.

Williams, Tennessee. “A Streetcar Named Desire.” PDF, 27 Feb. 2019, http://www.metropolitancollege.com/Streetcar.pdf