He proceeds to lash out against their "brutality" and to emphasize the need to erect "monument[s] of art which will elevate and educate [subsequent generations]." (Damrosch, 1740) In so doing, Morris expresses a sentiment similar to that of Blanche when she complains about Stanley to her sister, Stella (iv, 81):
BLANCHE. Such things as art - as poetry and music - have come into the world...That we have got to make grow! And cling to, and hold as our flag! In this dark march toward whatever it is we're approaching....Don't - don't hang back with the brutes!
By depicting Stanley as brutish - as "sub-human" and "ape-like" (iv, 80) - Blanche's accusations take on a Darwinian connotation. Indeed, she speaks of him in social-evolutionary terms, maintaining that "thousands of years have passed him right by, and there he is - Stanley Kowalski - survivor of the stone age!" (iv, 80) Ironically, it is Stanley who ultimately prevails against Blanche. In what the critic Leonard Quirino likens to a Darwinian "survival of the fittest," (Bloom, 71) Stanley exposes and subsequently vanquishes his sister-in-law's aesthetic, cultivated impulses. "Not once did you pull the wool over this boy's eyes," (x, 147) he tells Blanche defiantly, just before raping her.
The rape scene constitutes a triumph of Stanley's brutality. It stands, moreover, as an extreme example of the "dog-eat-dog" instinct for survival that characterized the Victorian Age of Industry. This era, of course, was dominated by men like Stanley, who harbored "inborn selfishness" and "worldly pride." (Damrosch, 1607) Saving them from the depths of spiritual depravity was assumed to be the responsibility of Victorian women. According to the Victorian author and moralist Sarah Stickney Ellis, women were supposed to "accept their inferiority to men and devote themselves to the happiness and moral elevation of their brothers, husbands, and sons." (Damrosch, 1606) In "Streetcar," this advice is heeded by Stella, though not by Blanche. As her name implies, Stella is the "star" that raises Stanley from a level of extreme brutality to one of limited understanding and compassion. Indeed, according to the critic Joseph Riddel, Stella serves as the "spiritual complement" of Stanley, inspiring in him what little morality he is shown to possess. (Bloom, 30) This is evident from the fact that Stanley's only moments of tenderness and contriteness in the course of the play occur when he is with Stella. Though even she is not immune to his brutality - as is evident when he assaults her in scene three - Stella alone is capable of commanding Stanley's affection. This, combined with her willingness to let Stanley rule as "king around [their home]," (viii, 124) seem to account for her ultimate survival. Indeed, the fact that Stella prevails at the end of the play while her sister Blanche does not serves to re-enforce the gender-specific role of women - as the social inferiors and spiritual redeemers of men - that was fostered during the Victorian Age.
