He didn’t know what he was doing… He was as good as a lamb when I came back and he’s really very, very ashamed of himself.
– Tennessee Williams
A Streetcar Named Desire, Scene 4. Stella shows that she too can sometimes find it hard to distinguish between fantasy and reality. Blinded by lust for Stanley, she excuses his violence towards her by saying he didn’t know what he was doing and is very remorseful. She uses an animal simile to compare him to a lamb, suggesting a Stanley that is innocent and child-like. This contrasts with the insensitive, bullish and aggressively masculine image he generally evokes.