The Absence of Father in A Streetcar Named Desire

Tennessee Williams， as one famous poet-playwrights known to the world， has created four classical plays that have one thing in common that the characterization of father whose absence or presence is particularly related to the dramatists psychological world and the American culture of his time. These plays at the same time express the authors attitudes to patriarchal society and the sympathy to the females and even males for in fact they are also the victims of society. Of all these plays， A Streetcar Named Desire is an evident case in point.

This paper is trying to analyze fathers absence and its effect based on the following two characters， Mitch and Stanley.

The image of “father” in literary works often makes us think of the patriarchy who has the absolute power. Father， is signifier， who is not only playing the roles of life-giver， supporter， but also the leader. Due to his breadwinner identity father has established his patriarchy at home when the child begins to realize the imposing figures function at home， occupying the position of authority， privilege， priority， power and protection. To some extent， He is an important symbolic representative of authorities in society.

The first character is Mitch， who is a very important person to the structure of the whole play impresses audience the most， but he is a soft mamas boy and he has a dying mother but is absent of father. It seems that he is always talking about his mother about her worry， her behest and her illness. When he was young， he is the child of his mother without expectation by the Society. However， when he grows up， his incomplete gender identity becomes clearer under the influence of his mother. For instance， he has a lacking for masculinity. Living in a patriarchal society， man is required to behave like a man and therefore masculinity is very essential. What is more， Mitch himself also is in doubt about his identity and has no idea what he should do. From that readers can sense that Mitch has in fact developed into a mothers female character， which also account for the reason for his failure on his love with Blanche without a happy ending. He knows how to keep a good relationship with his mother， but is incapable of getting along well with his love. To some extent， being absence of love and unable to love， Mitch is also the victim of the patriarchal system.

His incomplete character also exerts a long-lasting influence on his work and his emotional life. For instance， Poker has been regarded as the typical mens games. Different from his fellows， Mitch seems absent--minded and always have other things to do， which often result in fellows dissatisfaction. （Williams，/Streetcar 46）.

In addition， he is also unable to undertake his responsibility to find a successful job and obtain a certain position in society. And therefore， Mitchs job is rare mentioned.

The last is that his masculine-less character leads to his failure in his courtship with Blanche. The whole process of courtship with Blanche begins with his mother and ends with his mother， Such as Blanches age that his mother cares. At first sight of Blanche， they fall in love with each other. However， when he is told the past of Blanche by Stanley， he lost his own view. Therefore， his uncertainty and interrogation make Blanche feel disappointed. In short， Mitch himself is the victim but also he is the person who caused the tragedy of Blanche

In the play， Stanleys father is also physically absent. Besides， his family background is rarely mentioned but we still can infer that he suffers the most. Different from Mitch， Stanley appears to be more violent and more dominant but more masculine. He inherits the features of his “absent” father that a men should have in the patriarchal society. Firstly： Being a protector and provider at home， Stanley is Stellas husband but also “father”. He is always the king. Nevertheless， Blanches arrival break this kind of balance and the conflict between them becomes a nature. His rape to Blanche is regarded as a revenge to protect his family and territory. Secondly， among all his friends， Stanley is the central person who likes to control everyone. For example， in the poker night scene， In conclusion， Stanley is a symbol of “father” image in the patriarchal society. He is the performer of his “absent father” but also he is also the victim.

Through the analysis of three characters， we may come to conclude that in fact they are all the victims of the patriarchal society. “Males are not sure the beneficiary of a patriarchal society”， which also reflects the authors writing purpose， a satire to the patriarchal society. There is no real winner for the humankind and what we need is more tolerance， more understanding and more love between each other.

Reference：

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[2]劉旭武.論《欲望號街車中的性別統治》[J].南京師范大學文學院學報.2007.

[3]閆晶.病態中的男性一田納西·威廉姆斯三部主要作品中的男性形象評析[D].鄭州大學.2010.

作者簡介：陳彥，漢族，河南省漯河市人，天津外國語大學在讀碩士，主要研究方向是英美文學。