Analysis of Stanley Kowalski's Mental Health

Brain of an Animalistic Human

 The human brain is one of the most powerful things in the living world. The brain has created many tools, technology, and works of arts that have taken people live longer, go farther, and take people places they could never dream of, both in reality and in fantasy. However, the brain can suffer, just like the rest of the human body. According to the National Alliance on Mental Health, “Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. (46.6 million) experiences mental illness in a given year.”  Mental disorders can change a person from a normal member of society to one who has to fight their own battles in their mind. A Streetcar Named Desire had several characters who can be diagnosed for various mental disorders. The story’s protagonist, Blanche DuBois, has paranoia, depression, anxiety, and after the end of the play, post traumatic stress disorder. Her sister, Stella Kowalski also has anxiety. This is evident with how she denies reality so she can run from her problems. However, the character that is the most fascinating is Stella’s husband and the antagonist of A Streetcar Named Desire, Stanley Kowalski.  Stanley is hated by Blanche as well as most readers for his actions and how he treats the characters in the story. However, did Stanley make the choices he made in the novel or was it a disease in his mind? By analyzing Stanley’s actions with psychology websites and The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition, one could argue that Stanley’s actions were never his own but his intermittent explosive disorder and post traumatic stress disorder.

 According to Valley Behavioral Health System, “Intermittent explosive disorder (IED) is an impulse-control disorder characterized by sudden episodes of unwarranted anger. The disorder is typified by hostility, impulsivity, and recurrent aggressive outbursts. People with IED essentially “explode” into a rage despite a lack of apparent provocation or reason. The environment in which a person grows up can have a large impact on whether or not he or she develops symptoms of IED.” This disorder is very determinate on a variety of risk factors, which include genes, environment, and physical stimuli.

While reading through the novel, I would observe Stanley’s behavior, actions, and the stage directions that the actor who portrays Stanley would do. Looking for the signs and symptoms of IED while reading through is crucial to try to determine if Stanley can fall under this disorder. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Explosive eruptions occur suddenly, with little or no warning, and usually last less than 30 minutes. You may be irritable, impulsive, aggressive or chronically angry most of the time. Aggressive episodes may be preceded or accompanied by: rage, irritability, increased energy, racing thoughts, tingling, tremors, palpitations, and chest tightness. The explosive verbal and behavioral outbursts are out of proportion to the situation, with no thought to consequences, and can include: temper tantrums, tirades, heated arguments, shouting, slapping, shoving or pushing, physical fights, property damage, and threatening or assaulting people or animals. You may feel a sense of relief and tiredness after the episode. Later, you may feel remorse, regret or embarrassment.” These main symptoms, risk factors, and general description of intermittent explosive disorder will assist me in looking at Stanley throughout the story of A Streetcar Named Desire.

The other disorder to examine with Stanley is post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. According to the DSM-5 on the National Center for PTSD, “All of the criteria are required for the diagnosis of PTSD. The following text summarizes the diagnostic criteria: Criterion A (one required): The person was exposed to: death, threatened death, actual or threatened serious injury, or actual or threatened sexual violence, in the following way(s): direct exposure, witnessing the trauma, learning that a relative or close friend was exposed to a trauma, and/or indirect exposure to aversive details of the trauma, usually in the course of professional duties (e.g., first responders, medics).” While there are other criteria to be fully diagnosed, this is the main criteria the reader can see while reading through A Streetcar Named Desire.

Having being in the war, Stanley’s environment and situation could have heightened his disorder before the story begins. The rough environment of the war, losing loved ones, or killing others could have greatly heighted Stanley’s disorder before Blanche comes to town. This is also the turning point where Stanley’s PTSD could have been developed. Seeing the torments of war could have greatly affected Stanley, however, the reader never sees any additional side effects other than the anger. The only criteria that Stanley fits for PTSD is being exposed to death in a direct exposure, and that could be argued due to Stanley never saying what he saw. With this lack of information, one could not fully diagnose Stanley with post traumatic stress disorder.

At the start of A Streetcar Named Desire, Stanley is not showing traits of intermittent explosive disorder. While this scene is mostly just an introduction to the characters like Blanche and Stella, the reader is introduced to Stanley. This scene does not have Stanley do anything that alarming. The only hint of Stanley’s future behavior is with the stage directions, which describe him as animalistic. The reader would see more of his worse behavior in the next two scenes. In scene two, Stanley goes after Blanche over the loss of the estate, thinking he deserves the revenue if she sold it. Stanley also goes against Stella’s wishes for both being nice to Blanche and telling her that Stella is pregnant. These early actions show lack for others and beloved ones.

Scene three is when traits of IED start to highlight. When Blanche keeps playing the radio after Stanley tells her several times to shut it off, Stanley goes to the radio, and throws it out the window. Stella yells at Stanley, and he goes towards her with animalistic characteristics. Stanley chases after Stella as she runs offstage. The stage directions then describe loud noises coming from the two, implying that he beats her. This main fight in the A Streetcar Named Desire shows traits of Stanley having IED. Stanley had uncontrollable irritability, almost at the start of Blanche being at the poker night. Stanley shows several behavioral symptoms of IED with physical aggressiveness towards Stella and his poker friends and verbal aggressiveness towards Stella and Blanche. The most prevalent symptom of intermittent explosive disorder that Stanley portrays is physically attacking people and/or objects and damaging property. Chucking the radio out of the window and beating Stella and going hard against his poker friends after very little to aggravate shows clear signs of Stanley having intermittent explosive disorder. Due to the very fast pace of the scene, the reader does not see physical symptoms such as headaches and chest tightness. However, the behavioral actions clearly show Stanley fitting with the disorder.

While reading through the rest of the play, the intermittent explosive disorder symptoms stayed relatively the same with Stanley’s violence towards Stella and Blanche. However, while trying to find examples of post traumatic stress disorder, one could make more connections to Stanley having traits of being both a sociopath and a psychopath. The two terms are switched frequently, but are two distinct behaviors.  According to WebMD, “A key difference between a psychopath and a sociopath is whether he has a conscience, the little voice inside that lets us know when we’re doing something wrong, says L. Michael Tompkins, EdD. He’s a psychologist at the Sacramento County Mental Health Treatment Center. A psychopath doesn’t have a conscience. If he lies to you so he can steal your money, he won’t feel any moral qualms, though he may pretend to. He may observe others and then act the way they do so he’s not “found out,” Tompkins says.” This ties directly into scene ten and eleven of the story when Stanley rapes Blanche. Stanley feels no empathy and guilt from his actions to Blanche and it is assumed by the reader that he convinced Stella that he did not do it, showing manipulative behavior. Stanley also has characteristics of being a sociopath as well. According to WebMD, “Sociopaths are less able to play along. They make it plain that they’re not interested in anyone but themselves. They often blame others and have excuses for their behavior. Some experts see sociopaths as “hot-headed.” They act without thinking how others will be affected.” Stanley blames all of his problems in the A Streetcar Named Desire on Blanche, saying that if she was not around, everything would be fine and normal. However, the reader knows this is not true. Stella has described to Blanche in scene four how Stanley would smash objects out of “love”. Stanley blames others for his problems and then easily loses control and lashes out violently like an animal towards property and people. Stanley is a very sick and cruel character, however some of his actions could be excusable through the lens of mental disorders.

When first coming up with a research question, I originally thought there would be more signs of post traumatic stress disorder. With the time era matching right after World War II and Stanley being involved, I assumed that those traits would be prevalent upon a second reading of the play. However, as I continued to read, I discovered the traits of a sociopath and psychopath. Other characters such as Mitch and Eunice, characters I did not have interest in before, also showed signs of mental disorders. The human brain fascinates me, how one organ can make a person their exact opposite intrigues me. A Streetcar Named Desire shows characters in ways that can interests those in the field of psychology. Focusing on a piece of literature through the field of psychology brings about a deeper understanding for the characters and their actions. Even if the character one observes is more of an animal.

Works Cited

• https://www.nami.org/learn-more/mental-health-by-the-numbers
• https://www.valleybehavioral.com/disorders/ied/signs-symptoms-causes/
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/intermittent-explosive-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20373921
• https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/essentials/dsm5_ptsd.asp
• https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/sociopath-psychopath-difference