Stella Kowalski
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| Stella Kowalski | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | A Streetcar Named Desire |
| Created by | Tennessee Williams |
| Portrayed by | Kim Hunter |
| Information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Date of birth | 1922 |
| Spouse(s) | Stanley Kowalski |
| Relatives | Blanche DuBois (sister) |
Stella Kowalski (née DuBois) is one of the main characters in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire. The sister of central character Blanche DuBois, she was portrayed by Kim Hunter in the Broadway production as well as the 1951 film adaptation. Hunter won an Academy Award for her performance.
Stella is a Southern belle who left her home town of Laurel, Mississippi to find work after her family began to enter financial hardship. There she met her soon-to-be husband, Stanley Kowalski, who had just returned from WWII, complete with decorations. Her character is portrayed as independent of mind, young, and fair, everything that Blanche once was and no longer is.
Stella is a victim of domestic violence and often finds herself taking refuge at her neighbour Eunice’s home, only to return to Stanley when he cries for her to take him back. It is implied in the play, however, that Stella is attracted to Stanley's passionate, violent, and animal nature, and that is why she stays with him. Blanche, who has arrived for a "visit", is horrified by her sister's situation and tries to convince Stella to divorce Stanley, but Stella refuses, bound to Stanley by sexual attraction and her pregnancy with his child.
Stanley, who prides himself on luring Stella away from her privileged background, dislikes the influence Blanche has over his young wife. When Stanley discovers that Blanche has lost the family estate, Belle Reve, and been forced out of her home town, he gleefully tells Stella, who initially refuses to believe him.
The night Stella goes into labor, Stanley drunkenly happens upon Blanche and rapes her. This sends Blanche completely over the edge into a nervous breakdown, and Stanley forces Stella to send her off to a mental institution.
In the 1951 film adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire, Stella leaves Stanley after she finds out about the rape.
