A Streetcar Named Desire Themes

(Click the themes infographic to download.) The sheer animal force of antagonist Stanley Kowalski is partly responsible for the fame of A Streetcar Named Desire. In this play, masculinity means a...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) The central marriage in A Streetcar Named Desire operates on a tumultuous combination of hero-worship, aggression, sexual attraction, and a difficult c...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) A Streetcar Named Desire deals with class differences in New Orleans during the 1940s. One point of view is that of a fading Southern belle, with outda...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Sex is essentially a destructive force in A Streetcar Named Desire, though this destruction takes a variety of forms, including literal death, physical...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Alcohol is used as a means of escape in A Streetcar Named Desire. Main character Blanche DuBois uses booze to distract herself from reality and to retre...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) For main character and fading Southern belle Blanche DuBois, appearances are important. They’re also generally fake. Consumed with the need to appear...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) A Streetcar Named Desire features a gradual descent into madness, brought about by loss, depression, financial ruin, and the cruelty of others. At firs...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Death features prominently in A Streetcar Named Desire, and is very much connected to lust. Sex seems to be responsible for much of the death—literal...