In Western society in the mid-20th century, preconceptions about male behavior lay dormant. A Streetcar Named Desire's Stanley exemplifies the rigid stereotypes of an alpha male within American society, and M Butterfly's Gallimard contrasts a deep, but so far unfulfilled, desire for complete domination over a woman. Society expected men to be exclusive authority figures within the home and, more generally, patriarchal dominants. Stanley, the antagonist of Streetcar, is immediately presented as aggressive and dominant. It is immediately evident that he is a man of habit and structure and expects unquestioned authority and respect in his family, particularly from his wife. In the first scene, “Stanley throws the package [of meat] at [Stella]” (Williams 4), barely recognizing his wife after returning home from work and Stella “laughs breathlessly.” Stella finds Stanley's ignorant behavior amusing, which deduces that Stanley regularly acts without much regard for his wife. From the first scene, the audience can already sense that Stanley feels superior to Stella and takes her for granted. In scene two, Stanley accepts an enthusiastic kiss from Stella with “ladylike composure” (Williams 29). The suggestion that Stanley is lord-like is significant for two reasons. First, in feudal times lords swore vassals who owed full loyalty and obedience to their lords. If Stanley is the lord, then Williams implies that Stella is the faithful vassal who does her duty. Secondly, aristocratic succession dictates that only men can hold the title “Lord” and subsequently the power that comes with it. Since Stanley is the man, the comparison implies that Stanley has all the power in the relationship and that Stella will never have any power over S...... middle of paper ......, first hinted at with the way he treats his wife is fully evident after he rapes his sister-in-law. Stanley shows no remorse for the brutal actions he takes to restore power to his home and eradicate Blanche's menacing presence. Gallimard is reserved, insecure and submissive by nature. His deepest desire is to play the role of the archetypal “alpha male” and completely dominate a woman. Although domination is against his nature, he refuses to accept that his embodied fantasy of “Butterfly” was just a veil of perception that was ironically used to dominate him. Both characters do everything to achieve and preserve the dominant role in their family. But since they were men in the mid-20th century, they were responsible for upholding patriarchal concepts in the society that only accepted men to play the role of dominant..