A Streetcar Named Desire/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Alternate Character Interpretation: A lot of fans of the 1951 film like to play up the notion of Blanche being a variation of Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind; this is mainly because Vivian Leigh played both roles, as well as the urban legend that Leigh got the part SPECIFICALLY because the film's director wanted to play around with the idea of " What if Scarlett O'Hara Lost Her Mind" as his take on Blanche.
    • Actually, directors of the original play are rather divided on who's right, and it shows in the performances.
    • You could argue that Stanley is almost as insecure as Blanche, deep down inside. He seems sure that Blanche could potentially tear Stella away from him, and when he realizes what he did in a fit of rage, he breaks down in tears and calls her back, quoting from the stage directions, "with heaven-splitting violence". His tough persona is merely a facade to hide his deep insecurities and fears.
      • Except that he raped her and cruelly destroyed her relationship with Mitch, breaking her, and then giving her a one way ticket back to Laurel where she had been socially ostracized. That level of Kick the Dog cruelty doesn't tend to come from a place of deep insecurity. It tends to come from the firm belief that what you are doing is right and that the person on the receiving end is to blame.
    • Although the bigger Alternate Character Interpretation has to be who the hero is: Stanley or Blanche.
  • Draco in Leather Pants: The role of Stanley, a truculent, wife-beating rapist, is what propelled Marlon Brando into sex symbol status.
  • Freud Was Right: Oh, so much.
  • Fridge Horror: Considering that this play was written in the 1940s, it's a very real possibility that Blanche would have been lobotomized after the story's end...
    • And considering how Tennessee's sister suffered the fate of being taken to a mental institution and was lobotomized, this could be true.
    • Given the presence of this plot device in some of Williams' other plays (most notably Suddenly, Last Summer), Blanche's eventual lobotomization is a practical certainty.
  • Magnum Opus: This is most commonly cited as Tennessee Williams' greatest play.
  • Memetic Mutation: Hey SSTTTEEELLLAAA!!!!
  • Moral Event Horizon: Stanley's MEH is generally considered to be raping Blanche, but you could also argue that he crosses it when he tells Mitch about Blanche's exploits (thereby ruining their relationship), or when he presents Blanche with his 'birthday present'... a bus ticket back to Laurel.
    • Cue the beginning of Blanche's auditory hallucinations.
    • Although one could argue that his sabotage of Mitch and Blanche's relationship was a good thing, given that Blanche had been deceiving and playing Mitch.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: More so in the film, it is shown After Stanley sobers up and realizes he hit the mother of his expecting child that he is saddened with guilt.
  • Nightmare Fuel: The depiction of Blanche's descent into insanity.
    • Some extra Fridge Horror here: during the Poker night, Stanley loses self-control and ends up hitting Stella. Considering how quickly she forgives him and how calm she is about it, it seems that it's a common occurrence, and studies show that parents who are domestic abusers will have kids that will grow up to be domestic abusers.
    • The scene leading up to Blanche's rape at the hands of Stanley and the actual implied rape.
  • The Woobie: Blanche, also a Jerkass Woobie.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Near the end Stanley delivers an epic one to Blanche that would have made us cheer for him. That is if he didn't rape her afterwards.
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