Essay --

In mid-20th hundred western society, preconceptions of male behavior remained inert. Stanley from A Streetcar Named Desire exemplifies loaded stereotypes of an alpha male within Ameri base society and Gallimard from M crush juxtaposes with a deep, but thus far unfulfilled, desire for complete bureau over a woman. Society expected men to be soap figures of authority within the home, and more generally patriarchal dominants.Stanley, the antagonist in Streetcar, is immediately introduced as aggressive and dominant. It is quickly apparent that he is a man of habit and structure and expects undisputed authority and respect in his household, specifically from his wife. In scene one, Stanley heaves the package of meat at Stella (Williams 4), scarcely acknowledging his wife after coming home from work and Stella laughs breathlessly. Stella finds Stanleys ignorant behavior amusing, which infers that Stanley regularly acts without much regard for his wife. From the first scene, the hear ing can already discern that Stanley feels superior to Stella and takes her for granted. In scene two, Stanley accepts an yearning kiss from Stella with lordly composure (Williams 29). The suggestion that Stanley is lord-like is significant for two reasons. First, in feudal times lords had sworn vassals that owed full allegiance and obedience to their lords. If Stanley is the lord, accordingly Williams implies that Stella is the faithful vassal doing her duty. Second, aristocratic succession dictates that only men can hold the title of Lord and subsequently the power that comes along with it. Since Stanley is the man, the coincidence implies that Stanley has all the power in the relationship and that Stella will never get to any power over S... ..., first hinted at with the way he treats his wife, is fully evident after he rapes his sister-in-law. Stanley shows no remorse for the lascivious actions he takes to restore himself to power in his house and eradicate the lowering p resence of Blanche. Gallimard is reserved, insecure, and submissive by nature. His deepest desire is to play the role of the prototypic alpha-male and dominate a woman completely. Although dominance is against his nature, he refuses to accept that his embodied fantasy of Butterfly was only a veil of perception that was ironically used to dominate him. Both characters go to sickeningly extreme lengths to luck into and preserve the dominant role in their household. But as they were men in the mid-20th century, they were responsible for upholding the patriarchal concepts in society that only real men that played the role of a dominant.