Comparison of Macbeth and Stanley Kowalski Villain Success in their Villain Missions
Although villains are usually epitomes of evil and everything that comes along with it, successful villains in plays usually evoke the emotions of the audience; whether it is fear or sympathy in some way or another. Macbeth and Stanley Kowalski are villains in the plays Macbeth and a streetcar named desire respectively. While the latter succeeds in executing the visions he had for his future, the former was overly controlled by his ambitions leading to his demise.
At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is presented as a hero who courageously defends the king and his country on the battlefield. However, he does not sustain this title for long. The text portrays the central role that the three witches played in cultivating a chain of events that lead to Macbeth’s demise. They prophesy to him that he would become king; ‘all hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter. (Shakespeare I, iii). This message catalyzes his inner desire for power and unveils a chain of events as he reaches out to his desire for power. Although he was hesitant to kill king Duncan due to fear of guilt, his wife, Lady Macbeth urges him, ‘when you durst do it; then you were a man,’ (Shakespeare I, vii, 49). This pushes him, and after murdering his way to the throne, he is haunted by guilt and feelings of terror. (Shakespeare II, ii, 57-64). Macbeth’s uncontrolled ambition takes over him, and he takes on a killing spree to cover up for his previous wrongdoings. The unwarranted murder of lady Macduff and her children is an example of uncontrolled ambition. It is Macbeth’s overconfidence that brings him to a downfall. He believes that he is invincible, ‘fear not Macbeth; no man that’s born of woman shall ever have power upon thee’ (Shakespeare V, iii, 2-3). While his wife commits suicide, Macbeth is killed, which brings an end to his tyrannical and violent rule.
In the street named desire, Stanley Kowalski the villain is presented as an egalitarian and the perfect male prototype of his time. He did not entertain the idea of being looked down upon and became aggressive if so; ‘them kind of words have been on your (Stella’s) tongue. What do you two think you are? (Williams VIII. 14)’ His loyalty to his friends is uncorrupted, and he shows love to his spouse Stella, ‘(..)there are things that happen between a man and woman in the dark-that sort of make everything else seem-unimportant.’ (Williams IV. 103). However, he is cast as a person with an animalistic behaviour due to his love of work, gambling and sex; ‘he sizes women up at a glance, with sexual classifications.’ (Williams I. 205). These characters become especially visible when Stella’s sister Blanche visits their home. Blanche openly criticizes Stanly as evident in one instance when she candidly remarked, ‘he acts like an animal, has animal habits. Something is not quite to the stage of human yet,’ (Williams IV, 163-164) Throughout the play, Stanley and Blanche fight for Stella’s attention; Stanley fighting to have Stella while Blanche wanted Stella to leave Stanley alone. Stanley detecting these intentions subject Blanche to his wrath and damages her reputation, costing her a relationship. At the end of the play, Stanley succeeds in ruining Blanche’s life and landing her in extreme psychosis while he gets the ultimate prize; Stella and the bonus of a new baby.
In the above texts, both villains appeal to their inner desires to guide their course throughout their lives. Macbeth’s inability to control his ambition have him committing atrocities to speed up the timeline for him to achieve his dreams, but this results in a downfall. Stanley, on the other hand, uses male domination during the era to belittle the sister in law, and he prevails in achieving his vision of a loving wife, Stella and a son.
Works Cited
Johnson, Samuel. “from The Plays of William Shakespeare.” Macbeth. Routledge, 2015. 3-3.
Williams, Tennessee. A streetcar named desire. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015.