Streetcar Context
Quotes:
Williams: ‘It is a thing (misunderstanding) not a person (Stanley) that
destroys her in the end.’ ‘It is a tragedy with the classic aim of producing
catharsis and terror.’
"I am Blanche DuBois."
"I have only one theme for my work, which is the destructive power of society on the sensitive
and nonconformist individual."
"There is no good or bad people."
Elia Kazan: ‘This is a poetic tragedy, not a realistic naturalistic one.’ ‘She is
doomed in this society’ ‘In another society she would work; in Stanley’s
society, no.’
CONTEXT
Streetcar was written and set in 1947
Authorial Context: Tennessee Williams was born in Mississippi in 1919.
His mother, Edwina, was a high-class Southern belle, a muse, but was married to an
alcoholic working-class salesman, leaving him personally stuck in the middle, a mix of
classes.
His grandfather squandered the family fortune
He even chose to make the name ‘Tennessee’ (his college nickname) permanent
As a child, he was bedridden and bullied. He lived as Blanche did, vulnerable.
His sister, Rose, was institutionalized for SZ, had a lobotomy, and was institutionalized.
The operation failed -> the hands of others shaped her, just like Blanche.
Some say she was lobotomised after accusing her father of sexual assault
Rose said, "You must never make fun of insanity; it’s worse than death."
The misuse of mad women was a common theme throughout many of his plays e.g.
‘Suddenly young summer’ or ‘Night of the Iguana’
We also see loneliness / exclusion in William’s play ‘The Fugitive Kind’
Williams would have had to conceal his sexual life in a similar way to Blanche
He was homosexual, something society at the time viewed as a mental illness.
Homosexuality wasn’t legalised until 1961
When his father changed jobs, they moved into a small home, where he could hear his
mother’s screams as she tried to withhold sex, creating a tense atmosphere that made him
see sex as a source of power.
Quotes:
Williams: ‘It is a thing (misunderstanding) not a person (Stanley) that
destroys her in the end.’ ‘It is a tragedy with the classic aim of producing
catharsis and terror.’
"I am Blanche DuBois."
"I have only one theme for my work, which is the destructive power of society on the sensitive
and nonconformist individual."
"There is no good or bad people."
Elia Kazan: ‘This is a poetic tragedy, not a realistic naturalistic one.’ ‘She is
doomed in this society’ ‘In another society she would work; in Stanley’s
society, no.’
CONTEXT
Streetcar was written and set in 1947
Authorial Context: Tennessee Williams was born in Mississippi in 1919.
His mother, Edwina, was a high-class Southern belle, a muse, but was married to an
alcoholic working-class salesman, leaving him personally stuck in the middle, a mix of
classes.
His grandfather squandered the family fortune
He even chose to make the name ‘Tennessee’ (his college nickname) permanent
As a child, he was bedridden and bullied. He lived as Blanche did, vulnerable.
His sister, Rose, was institutionalized for SZ, had a lobotomy, and was institutionalized.
The operation failed -> the hands of others shaped her, just like Blanche.
Some say she was lobotomised after accusing her father of sexual assault
Rose said, "You must never make fun of insanity; it’s worse than death."
The misuse of mad women was a common theme throughout many of his plays e.g.
‘Suddenly young summer’ or ‘Night of the Iguana’
We also see loneliness / exclusion in William’s play ‘The Fugitive Kind’
Williams would have had to conceal his sexual life in a similar way to Blanche
He was homosexual, something society at the time viewed as a mental illness.
Homosexuality wasn’t legalised until 1961
When his father changed jobs, they moved into a small home, where he could hear his
mother’s screams as she tried to withhold sex, creating a tense atmosphere that made him
see sex as a source of power.
