Poker shouldn’t be played in a house with women.
– Tennessee Williams
A Streetcar Named Desire, Scene 3. Mitch believes that women being the gentler sex shouldn’t be subjected to the rough game of poker and all that it entails. His comment comes after Stanley’s outburst of violence following a drink-fuelled all-male poker party. Stanley struck his wife Stella and had to be restrained by the other men. Curiously Mitch doesn’t blame wife beater Stanley for the assault, but the game of poker. This shows how domestic violence was not taken seriously at the time and the perpetrator made face the consequences of his actions. There is a certain amount of detachment from reality and engaging in delusional thinking here.