Discussion Forum (Archived)
Guest
In a class the other day, we were discussing Tennessee Williams's play A Streetcar Named Desire, and I brought up a line that I found particularly interesting. In the play, Blanche DuBois takes an interest in Mitch, one of Stanley Kuwalski's friends. However, she is not too familiar with his circle, and so she asks her sister Stella if he is a "wolf." That line stuck with me, because I wasn't sure what to make of the term--in the play, it is explained that Blanche's first husband was a closeted gay man who killed himself after being found out, and so I thought that might be the explanation.
I went to the Oxford English Dictionary, and found two possible meanings--one, a sexually voracious man, and two, a homosexual man (the dictionary indicated that the latter was particularly popular in the US). That is certainly interesting, but it only lets me know that my hunch might be right. What I would like to do is find out if there is a particularly historical/regional meaning of the term--in other words, would a person in New Orleans in the 1940s, on hearing a man described as a "wolf," think that he was a lothario, or that he was gay? I looked in several slang dictionaries, but if they had an entry on the term at all, they essentially repeated what I had already found in the OED. As Blanche has a voracious sexual appetite of her own, I just have a hard time thinking that she would fear entering into a relationship with a man who was similarly inclined.
Doen anyone know of any particularly good regional/historical dictionaries in which I might find a more definitive sense of how the word would have been used in Williams's place and time?
Thanks,
Dennis
Boy, I confess I never heard that use of "wolf," Dennis. How interesting! The frustrating thing is that neither the fabulous Dictionary of American Regional English nor the Historical Dictionary of American Slang go up to "W" yet, so the answer isn't easily accessible from the published versions of these venerable tomes. Since Grant's a lexicographer, though, he might have an inside track on this usage. GB?
It's almost certainly the first meaning of a sexually voracious man. It was an incredibly common term in the 1940s. You'll even find wolf characters in cartoons doing the wolf whistle at the ladies.
I think you've got the definition slightly wrong, though. It's not a man with a voracious sexual appetite, meaning that he wants sex long and often. It's a man who is sexually aggressive and pursues lots of women. Blanche is worried about a cheater. She is not worried about a man with a strong sexual drive.
A look at the entry for “wolf” in Wentworth & Flexner's Dictionary of American Slang reveals a homosexual usage as far back as 1917 (!). Furthermore, it mentions that the lotharian sense evolved around 1930 and was standard by around 1945. It also states of the second usage that: “Orig{inally} containing derog{atory} overtones of "seducer," it now is considered complimentary by youths who wish to be known as ladies' men, and is often used jocularly.” That was "back" in 1960/67 (the book was updated in 1967). R.L. Chapman's Thesaurus of American Slang (1989) gives “wolf” as a synonym for “stud” (i.e., a Casanova), “ladies' man”, and (of all things) “angel dust”, but not for “gay” (a homosexual); so maybe that particular usage had dropped out by then. Sense 3 of “wolf” in R.A. Spears' Slang and Euphemism (1991) has (male) homosexual overtones, but only after senses 1 and 2 of, respectively, “chaser or seducer of women” and “an aggressive or masculine lesbian.” Who knows how the homosexual concept came about? Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable doesn't mention anything even approaching that direction… At any rate, I hope this helps!
Thanks very much for the information. After about a week of poking around looking for clues as to what the term might have meant for Williams, I was about to give up--and then I thought of how great it would be if there was some website out there run by language experts, especially if one of them specialized in slang. Then I slapped myself upside the head and wondered how I could have forgotten about AWwW.
Thanks again; I (and all your other fans) appreciate your hard work and expertise.
Dennis
“Blanche DuBois takes an interest in Mitch, one of Stanley Kuwalski's friends. However, she is not too familiar with his circle, and so she asks her sister Stella if he is a “wolf.” That line stuck with me, because I wasn't sure what to make of the term–in the play.”
You've got to be kidding. So many other plays, movies, and even cartoons from the period are still being shown on TV using the slang word fairly frequently as Wordsmith's post alludes to. “Wolf” was about as prevalent in American vocabulary during the war and post war years as “player” is now, which has replaced it though with a more positive connotation than was conferred in the 40's, when being a sexual predator (as a wolf is a predator) was not admired but distrusted.
Forget the obscure homosexual reference; that is not how it was used at the time nor how Williams would have expected it to be understood by the majority of playgoers in 1947, when Streetcar premiered. Replace the word in your mind with “womanizer.” Listen to Wordsmith. Blanche is worried about being used and discarded. She wants to know if Mitch is capable of commitment
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
1 Guest(s)