Desire in both texts are found in most characters in both texts, particularly in the characters of Blanche and Ethan. Their desires can be seen as immoral in our times and in the context of the times the texts were written. Blanche desires her appearance to be youthful and beautiful, whilst Ethan desires Mattie who has youth and beauty. Blancher does not want to be revealed in the light of truth, preferring to be in the mysterious shadows of her own delusions. It is shown quite early in A Streetcar Named Desire as her drinking implies her desire to escape from reality, but in the end, she cannot escape from time and age. In comparison to Blanche, Ethan isn`t as deluded only that his morals are hard to understand, as he jumps between keeping his unhappy marriage with Zeena and his happy affair with his wife`s cousin as Mattie`s youth and beauty become of Ethan`s Affection which he reciprocates his love and infatuation for her. Ethan`s aspirations for a better life are hampered by his underperforming work at the farm, Zeena`s illness draining the Frome finances.
Unlike Ethan, Blanche has left her main household and status in Belle Reve, to live with her sister Stella and her husband Stanley. Stella and Stanley`s relationship is restricted in the way of life they have been living, as they have been very physically intimate before Blanche`s arrival. Stanley very early on does not like the idea of Blanche coming into their household and doing what she wants, ordering her sister for simple things like baths and drinks. Stanley`s power and presence has been stifled by Blanche`s arrival and as a man in the late 1940`s he would not like being looked down upon by Blanche. Stanley`s desire to get Blanche out of his household makes him go to the very extremes, for example when Blanch doesn`t turn the radio off during his poker game he throws it out destroying any type of enjoyment Blanche was having, he ruins Mitch and Blanche's potential relationship by telling him the truth about her provocative past in Laurel crushing her own desire of a man to provide for her and escape Stanley. In the end, he mentally damages and physically defiles Blanche in a show of overly aggressive power. In the end, Blanche is seen as an outcast unveiling the truth about her scandalous past, Stanley strips her of her psychological, sexual, and cultural identity Nicola Onyett.
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Similarly in Ethan Frome, the Frome family gains a new member in the house, Mattie Silver. Unlike Stanley, Ethan takes interest in the newcomer Mattie`s kindness towards the family, her willingness to carry on throughout Zeena`s dislike of her may have made Ethan take interest. She was going through this without wavering and with joy that she is serving the Fromes, something Ethan has not had in his years of marriage with Zeena. Ethan is also more passive than Stanley he has no power due to his living circumstances and Zeena`s supposed medical issues, Ethan has no control and is living through unfortunate circumstances. The character similar to Stanley in Ethan Frome would be Zeena, as she openly does not like Mattie`s presence and her low quality of work in the Frome household, she wants Mattie out, so she had more money for her visits to several doctors.
In both A Streetcar Named Desire, Ethan Frome and the real world red is a color of love, passion, and also danger. The red satin robe that Blanche wears is used to make herself more appealing and has sexual connotations as she lures in Mitch with her bright colors and appearance. Similarly, Mattie Silver in her red scarf and red ribbon attracts Ethan as this color, in particular, indicates good health and vitality which easily catches Ethan`s eye in the dull landscape he lives in. This color in both represents sin, symbolizing the Devil in very religious times, in Blanche`s case it represents her adultery, and in Ethan`s case it is his questionable moral in being in love with Mattie Silver.
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