I don't know how many people in the South of that era could trace their ancestry to Poland, but remember that this play was written in the 40s and was first presented on stage in 1947. There was significant prejudice in Europe at the time that may have carried over somewhat in the US.
Although there have been people of Polish descent in the US since the 17th century, Stanley would have likely been descended from the first major wave of Polish immigration to the US, which was from 1870 to 1914. He is described by the author as being about 29-30 years old, which would mean he was born around 1917. His immediate forbears therefore would have been peasants who fled during an era of poverty and starvation. His own parents could even have been illiterate. There was and still is a significant Polish community in Chicago, which may be where he is originally from.
I find it interesting that Stanley never mentions his family of origin. We don't know if they are still alive or whether he communicates with them. Stella never mentions having met them. Knowing the author's propensity for writing about dysfunctional families, I am going to guess that Stanley's family was just as dysfunctional as Stella's, but in a different way.
He could have witnessed domestic violence in his parents' home. He may have enlisted in the army to escape it. He could have taken advantage of the GI Bill to finish high school (at a time with a high drop-out rate) so he had some chance to better his life. However, he still has anger-management issues in an era that didn't talk much about this stuff. Stella may have been attracted to the man in the uniform and probably finds his hypermasculine manner exciting after the bland young men she knew in her youth, but most likely never bargained for someone who hits her when he's drunk. We don't know how often that happens.
As to your question about whether we'd feel differently about all this if he were black, I can answer that. There is no difference.
Three years ago there was a revival of the play on Broadway with a mostly black cast. Blair Underwood portrayed Stanley, Wood Harris was Mitch. Nicole Ari Parker was Blanche and Daphne Rubin-Vega was Stella. The two actresses' complexions were lighter than the two actors'. Stanley's last name was never mentioned and all dialogue referring to his ethnicity was deleted.
I went to see this out of curiosity. The differences were about class distinction rather than ethnicity. Nicole Ari Parker was paler, lighter-boned, and graceful while Blair Underwood played up Stanley's brutishness. At times he seemed to make fun of Blanche's characterization of Stanley as ape-ish but there certainly was nothing funny or ambiguous about the rape scene.
What this production brought home is that this story is a human drama that has little to do with race and everything to do with mental illness, relationship dysfunction, and how anyone is affected by the family of origin.
The Fabio Principle: Puffy shirts look best on men who look even better without them.
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Forlorn_Rage
8 years ago
I went to see this out of curiosity. The differences were about class distinction rather than ethnicity.
The issue was never with Stanley's ethnicity. I think that was something Blanche mostly said to get back at him for his brutish ways. The main problem Blanche always had with him were his "subhuman" ways, which is very clearly illustrated in her "he's common" monologue.
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