Ten Things You Didn't Know about Tennessee Williams

1. Tennessee Williams's mum was very much a 'southern belle' and in many ways a real life equivalent of Stella's character. She was someone who could take care of herself - a 'survivor', just like Stella.

2. His father was a travelling salesman, often away, who was drunk and violent at home. Williams felt alienated from his father and relied on his mother and sister for emotional support.

3. Williams worked at a shoe factory, where his closest friend was a burly co-worker, someone who was easygoing and attractive to women. His name was Stanley Kowalski!

4. His father attacked his sister Rose (it may or may not have been sexual) and afterwards, his mum, Edwina, signed the papers for a lobotomy for Rose, who then spent the rest of her life in a mental institution. (Compare this to what happens to Blanche at the end of the play!)

5. Williams planned the play as a series of confrontations between working-class poker players and two refined southern women.

6. He won a Pulitzer Prize for 'Streetcar Named Desire'.

7. The first name for the play was 'The Poker Night'. The second one was 'The Moth', before Williams settled on 'Streetcar Named Desire'.

8. 'Streetcar' relies on effects of language, especially of a vivid and colloquial southern speech. Rhythms of language become an almost musical indication of character, distinguishing Blanche from the other characters. (Remember that Stella switches between registers with ease, which highlights Blanche's inability to fit in even further.)

9. According to Williams, Blanche is desperately attached to things that are going to destroy her.

10. He also said that 'desire is rooted in a longing for companionship, a release from the loneliness that haunts every individual.' Loneliness and desire propel his characters into extreme behaviour, no doubt, but such behaviour literally dramatizes the plight that Williams saw as universal.


PS: We are not studying the play as a representation of Williams's life. Rather, we should be interested in the messages conveyed in the play and these ten things might help you find your way.

PPS: Thoughts? Anything you can add to our list? Share your reactions, please! My groups need to post something by Thursday 5th November 2009 but everyone is welcome to join in!