This essay attempts to answer the question of whether it is better for Stella to leave Stanley, or to stay with him.
I believe that it is better for Stella to remain with Stanly. Stanly may be a violent, animalsitic, and vulgar brute, but Stella was well aware of these traits when she chose to marry him. She insisted on her choice because Stanly also offered her somethign she really longed for.
Stanly's animal-like sexaulity is viewed as a negative trait in the play, but that is what attracted Stella to him. She craved for an opposite to the uptight and sexaully dull men from her aristocratic southern past. She even admits to Blanche that it was the strong sexual appeal that drew her and Stanley together, and was the foundation of thier marriage. That is why Stella fell and remained in love with her husband, despite Stanly's brutal behavior toward her, as well as the disgusting rape of her sister.
Portrait of Marlon Brando, "Streetcar Named Desire...
Stella Price
Stella!!!For Stella, Stanly's qualities are worth his faults.
Another factor that determines the better descision for Stella, is the position of the woman in the play's time and setting, and Stella's particualar situation. Stella was brought up under the idea that a woman is to stay with and depend on a man, (whether it's a huband, a bother, a father etc.)
On the other hand, the way Stella was brought up suggests that a woman should stay with and depend on a man (husband, brother, father etc.). The new model of the women who works, makes a career and supports herself throughout her life had only begun to emerge in the South during the start of the 20th century. Neither Stella nor her sister Blanche can imagine themselves as independent women. They...