In the mid nineteenth century the relationship between men and women were defined by the men's domineering character and the woman's vulnerability. This is proven true in both "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams and "Fences" by August Wilson. The authors convey this message through extensive use of characterization of the men and women and their relationships. Although the couples differ drastically in race and character they both prove to be excellent examples of the role of the male in the family and the vulnerability of their spouses.

In "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams is a classic example of the inability of women to break from the man who controls her, the man often being overbearing which is certainly the case with the play's leading man Stanley Kowalski. The character of Stanley epitomizes the brutish, close-minded man of his time. He feels that certain things...