Race, Immigration, and Ethnicity in A Streetcar Named Desire

(I was given permission to write on a different topic.)

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is a play published in 1947. It tells the story of a couple, Stanley and Stella, living in New Orleans who receive an unexpected visit from Stella’s sister, Blanche. The characters clash as they interact within the walls of their small, humble apartment because of many different reasons, one of which is their contrasting views on race and immigration in the ever developing America. Williams portrays the two opposing sides of the war of class in America in the 40’s, a time in which the class war was coming to a quick end, if it was not over already. The dynamic between Blanche vs Stanley reflects the fight between New vs Old south which is in itself a reflection on the larger picture: new and old America.

Blanche’s character embraces the aging decadence and order of the Old South, both literally and metaphorically; her character clings to the glory days when she was young and beautiful as well the days where chivalry and properness were critical values. When Blanche arrives to New Orleans, Williams describes her out of place presentation, “Her appearance is incongruous to the setting. She is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and hat, looking as if she were arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party in the garden district.” (1.14)  The reader is also informed later on in the play that her fancy clothes and expensive jewelry is fake. This exhibits her concern for appearance, which her sister and brother in law do not share. Blanche constantly looks down on her current surroundings because she believes to be above them; this is prevalent in her view of immigration.

Blanche often uses race as a derogatory phrase, calling Stanley a “Polack”. (1.185) Immigration and race seem to be equally as important to both sides as it is heavily tied to social status. Blanche finds that her alleged ethnic background, French, is a more prideful background than Stanley’s. This is apparent in an earlier scene in the play as she is speaking with her sister about Stanley.

STELLA:

Stanley is Polish, you know.

BLANCHE:

Oh, yes. They're something like Irish, aren't they? STELLA:

Well--

BLANCHE:

Only ?

[They both laugh again in the same way.]

Blanche sees the new wave of immigrants as not only lower class, but a lower caliber of person, as “not so--highbrow”. This is, of course, hypocrisy as Blanche herself is poor; she lost the family fortune and is free loading at her sister's house. However, it is not beyond the realm of believability that an Old Southern woman is employing hypocrisy in the name of trying to fit a certain social expectation.

Stanley is the typical working man, well, typical in some ways. He lives in an growing urban city in the heart of Louisiana. His demeanor and lifestyle reflect the New America at the turn of the century as industrialization has realized itself and thousands of Americans occupied blue collar jobs. He is described by Williams as “[roughly dressed in blue denim work clothes]”. Stanley is practically Blanche’s worst nightmare; the total opposite of a Southern Gentlemen. Incidentally, both the New and Old South have problematic gender dynamics, especially in the mid 40’s, but Stanley's blunt demeanor seems to astonish Blanche as she clings to the old ways of chivalry. He lives in a cramped apartment, very different to Blanche’s manor, Belle Rive. Williams describes a realistic portrayal of the New America as a gritty, bustling, fast-paced world. There is no longer a place in this New South for aristocrats. This Brave New World belongs to the working class, the immigrants who come to work, who live in small apartments that accommodate a large amount of families, workers, and more.

Williams even adds some stage directions that reflect the changing South. In the opening scene, he writes,

“Two women, one white and one colored, are taking the air on the steps of the building. The white woman is Eunice, who occupies the upstairs flat; the colored woman a neighbor, for New Orleans is a cosmopolitan city where there is a relatively warm and easy intermingling of races in the old part of town.”

This sets the scene for the play, the apartment a mix of white people and people of color. Not only does this scene display the diversity within the apartment building, but the increasing diversity within the city of New Orleans itself. Both black and white are speaking, as equals, as friends, as neighbors. If there was any doubt at all, this scene stomps out all hesitation about the nature of the Old South, a dead way of life that no longer exists outside the minds of the truly blind and oblivious individuals.