3.2.1

Stella Kowalski

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Stella Kowalski

Stella acts as the link between the two polarities of the play: the one being her sister, Blanche; the other being her husband Stanley.

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Symbolism of the apartment

  • In a way, Stella is symbolised by the apartment: it is the small world she has created for her and her husband.
  • The world is not glamorous or luxurious but it is comfortable and committed – a bit like Stella herself.
  • Stella means ‘star’, and although she is perhaps a star wife, her sexuality and attraction have diminished. She may be worn down by domesticity and by her pregnancy.
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Trapped between worlds

  • Stella does her best to be impartial in the play - but all the time she is a victim to the competing energies of Blanche and Stanley who both want her as an ally.
  • Stella’s difficulty is that her origins are like Blanche’s: they are middle-class and cultured, but she has ended up compromising those values by loving Stanley and, in effect, moving into a working-class environment.
  • Stella is sympathetic to both of these worlds. But her sympathy means that she becomes a victim to Stanley’s male power.
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Loyalty to Stanley

  • All the while Blanche tries to separate off Stella from Stanley to create a sisterhood but Stella seems aware of this process and always returns to Stanley.
  • There are several moments in the play where Blanche belittles Stanley, hoping that her words will have an effect on her sister. However, Stella proves to be resilient to this process.
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Sensitive to others' needs

  • Stella realises that informing Blanche of her pregnancy is not a good thing as she realises that Blanche is fragile about such matters.
  • So Stella is sensitive to her sister’s needs but is also sensitive to Stanley.
  • After they argue, Stella soon makes up with Stanley.
  • When Blanche questions her about his violence, Stella seems to accept that such things happen in marriages and that Blanche is too "excitable".
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Reasons for arguments

  • Stella and Stanley appear to argue very little.
  • When they do argue, it is because of Blanche’s presence.
  • Stanley becomes angry because of what he finds out about Blanche’s background, how long she spends in the bathroom and her continually playing the radio. The latter causes an argument between Stella and Stanley in Scene Three of the play.

Stella Kowalski

Stella acts as the link between the two polarities of the play: the one being her sister, Blanche; the other being her husband Stanley.

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Blanche's influence

  • The audience does notice that Stella gradually becomes more influenced by Blanche’s observations.
    • For example, when Stella says, “drunk—drunk—animal thing, you!” she seems to be ventriloquising Blanche.
  • Her sister influences her language.
  • Perhaps Blanche hopes that Stella will realise she has married a "sub-human".
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Stanley's influence

  • Stanley repeatedly says to Stella that their life together was better before Blanche arrived.
  • Stanley tries to turn his wife against her sister: his difficulty is that blood is usually thicker than water.
  • Although Stanley seems convinced that their lives will be better together once Blanche has gone, Stella seems less convinced. Underneath, she seems to relish looking after her sister and re-engaging with her.
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Role in the tragedy

  • Stella is the only hope of bringing these two warring factions together.
  • She inevitably fails because of Stanley’s actions.
  • Her position at the end of the play has been much discussed.
    • Does she accept what Stanley had done and the crime he has committed?
    • Is she too afraid to become like her sister who is homeless and wandering?
    • Is she placing the family home and the care of her baby above and beyond the sin of her husband?
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Passive?

  • Stella is sometimes seen as passive for not taking sides.
  • In the end, though, she appears to realise that her sister does need help and care and is aware of her mental illness.
  • Puzzlingly, she does not seem interested (unlike Stanley) in the fate of her ancestral home at Belle Reve.

Jump to other topics

1Context & Overview

2Scene Summaries

3Character Profiles

4Key Ideas

5Writing Techniques

6Critical Debates

7Ideas About Tragedy

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