Monday's Moment - "Hey Stella!!!"

On December 3, 1947, A Streetcar Named Desire opened on Broadway. Marlon Brando played Stanley, Kim Hunter played Stella, Jessica Tandy played Blanche, and Karl Malden played Mitch. Vivien Leigh played the role of Blanche in the movie, and while the first quote which comes to mind is "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers," it is another Blanche quote which I believe sums up her character: "I don't want realism, I want magic."

And the movie is magic.

Stanley Kawolski is not a hero. (Neither is Mitch, for that matter.) He's crude, abusive, unrepentent in the face of his cruelty, and even though most women would never consider any kind of relationship with him, there's a raw sexuality exuding from him. As one girl I worked with once said about a man of Stanley's ilk, "I'd do him, but I wouldn't date him."

Which is why, at the end, we wonder why in the world Stella walks through the door, embraces Stanley with such passion, and let's him carry her off. But look closely at her face as she descends the stairs. He's desperate for her, crying, and for all her mousiness, in that moment, there's a tiger shining in her eyes. And the way her hands move over his back, like claws, tells us she may not be as meek and accepting of the abuse, even though she is accepting him. Or, she could just be caught in his sexual web. I like to think it's the former, and she has a little revenge planned for her husband.

No one will ever tame Stanley, and in my humble opinion, he should never be forgiven for the violent rape of Blanche and doesn't deserve the second chance from Stella.

But what if we could have the magic of Stanley without the reality? What if we could tame Stanley before he goes beyond redemption? This is why we sympathize with him even as we are sickened by his behavior.

Maybe someday, I'll have the guts to put those "what ifs" to the test and try to write a Stanley-type hero who does find redemption before he steps into the abyss of unforgivable. A man who can love unconditionally without the fatal flaws, but not flawless.

Jessie