Regarding philosophical statements, gender relationship seems to be a key idea that can be seen throughout the text of "A Street Car Named Desire." These philosophical statements can be categorized as Gender Roles, Poker, Life and Death, and Animal Metaphors.
Gender Roles
1. "Have you ever heard of the Napoleonic code?"
2. "You men with your big clumsy fingers."
3. "I've never met a woman that didn't know if she was good-looking or not without being told, and some of them give themselves credit for more than they've got."
4. "Some men are took in by this Hollywood glamor stuff and some men are not."
5. "You can't beat a woman and then call'er back!"
6. "When men are drinking and playing poker anything can happen."
7. "A man like that is someone to go out with – once – twice – three times when the devil is in you."
8. "And men don't want anything they get too easy. But on the other hand men lose interest quickly. Especially when the girl is over – thirty. They think a girl over thirty ought to go – the vulgar term is – €˜put out.'"
9. "The one (law of nature) that says the lady must entertain the gentleman €” or no dice!"
10. "A man with a heavy build has got to be careful of what he puts on him so he don't look too clumsy."
11. "Hughey Long €˜Every Man is a King'"
12. "A cultivated woman, a woman of intelligence and breeding, can enrich a man's life €” immeasureably!"
13. "I always did say that men are callous things with no feelings, but this does beat anything. Making pigs of yourselves."
The most prevalent category of philosophical statements in "A Street Car Named Desire" is the general statements about the role of men and women. These statements all refer to specific ways that men and women are expected to act. As for men, the reference to them as kings implies that they are the primary actors in the society who determine how things should be. On the other hand, women are seen as the secondary actors in the society, and their roles are to "entertain the gentleman" (9) and "enrich a man's life." (12) However, unlike the men's role, there seems to be a contradiction in the women's role. On one hand, it is stated that the important thing about women is their "intelligence and breeding" as can be seen in quote 12, while on the other hand, it is stated that the important thing about women is their sexual appeal, as evident in the reference to being "good-looking" in quote 3 and the reference in quote 8 about how women are "put out" when they reach thirty. There is a gap between how the society tells women to act, and the reality of women. This is because the men are the primary actors, and the rules of society were created by men. This leads to the idea that "There are specific roles for both men and women, but the role of women contradicts with the reality because it is a male-dominated society."
Poker
1. "When men are drinking and playing poker anything can happen."
2. "Nothing belongs on a poker table but cards, chips and whiskey."
3. "Poker should not be played in a house with women."
Poker is a symbolic activity that Tennessee Williams uses in "A Street Car Named Desire." In the play, poker is not only a gamble, but also a stage for the males to compete with each other and try to prove their superiority. It is a symbol for politics. Quote 1 suggests how poker is a stage for significant actions, while quote 2 and 3 describe the exclusiveness of the game. The fact that women are excluded from this game reinforces the idea that "In the society, men are the primary actors and women are the secondary actors."
Life and Death
1. "And funerals are pretty compared to deaths. Funerals are quiet, but deaths – not always."
2. "Death is expensive, Ms. Stella."
3. "There is so much – so much confusion in the world."
4. "People have got to tolerate each other's habits, I guess."
5. "No matter what happens, you've got to keep on going."
6. "To hold front position in this rat-race you've got to believe you are lucky."
7. "But, honey, you know as well as I do that a single girl, a girl alone in the world, has got to keep a firm hold on her emotions or she'll be lost!"
Another major category of philosophical statements in "A Street Car Named Desire" is Life and Death. There are several quotes that refer to the nature of life and death in the text. Of these quotes, the recurring theme seems to be about how humans should deal with life. Quote 4, 5, and7 all refer to how one should deal with life, and the conclusion is that one has to accept whatever happens and cope with it. This submissiveness of female characters can be seen throughout the play, and in relation to the conclusion of the above categories, one can say that it is because of the fact that males are the dominant actors who determine how things should be in the society. Females do not have the power to change this structure, and any sufferings that they receive, they simply have to endure them and cope with them.
Animal Metaphor
1. "That shut her up like a clam."
2. (Old farmer, hen and rooster joke.)
3. "Is he a wolf?"
4. "You hens cut out that conversation in there."
5. (Like a dancing bear)
6. "He was as good as a lamb"
7. "Yes, something — ape-like about him, like one of those pictures I've seen in – anthropological studies! Thousands and thousands of years have passed him right by, and there he is – Stanley Kowalski – survivor of the stone age! Bearing the raw meant home from the kill in the jungle."
8. "Night falls and other apes gather! There in front of the cave, all grunting like him, and swilling and gnawing and hulking! His poker night! – you call it – this party of apes! Somebody growls€”some creature snatches at something – the fight is on!"
9. "Same canary-bird, huh!"
10. "Parot"
11. "He says you been lapping it up all summer like a wild-cat."
12. "I stayed at a hotel called The Tarantula Arms!"
13. "But he's not going to jump in a tank with a school of sharks."
In terms of metaphor, one will immediately notice how many metaphors to animals there are in the text of "A Street Car Named Desire." The comparison of animals with humans implies that humans are also fundamentally primitive. Another important idea that is evident in these metaphors is the two different kinds of metaphors for women. On one hand, women are compared with canary birds and clams, while on the other hand, they are compared to Tarantulas and sharks, those predator animals. When one focuses on the reason why there are two different kinds of metaphors for women, it becomes clear that image of women shift from weak animals to predators when they do not follow the social order of male dominance. For example, Blanche pursues happiness through her own power, instead of depending on one man. She does not play the role as a woman that the male-dominated society expects her to play, and this is when she is described as those predator animals. This is because she has become a threat to the male-dominated society by trying to be independent. The concluding idea is that "Humans are primitive animals. Men are accepted to express their primitive nature, though women who do the same are seen as dangerous."