A Streetcar Named Desire - Tennessee Williams

 

This play has showed up in various lists of best books, and I stumbled upon a discounted penguin copy of it, a few years back. I've averaged at a modest one play over the last couple of years ( 2020 - Fences; 2021 - Waiting for Godot ), and now felt a good time enjoy this play, and follow it up with the Vivian Leigh and Marlon Brando starring movie of 1951.

The book: While the script is rich with what is said, what is inferred, and the social commentary of the classes of the 1940s and 1950s, reading this in 2022, one cannot discount the change for the better, of the world as a whole, in its treating against racism. Negro wasn't a taboo word at the time of this book, and looking down upon commonness of people, categorizing them to their racial origin ( even if they were a generation or more removed from that origin, and has served the country in the military ) was common. I couldn't help but side with Stanley for the better part of the book, simply because the man had his commonness rubbed down into his face, in his own home. At one point Blanche wonders if her brother in law's hatred towards her is a reverse reaction to a more intimate feeling which he hides, and as the play ends we have reason to believe that it could

very well be so. From another perspective it can be said that the more established of the classes have been in a path of degradation over decades, and the last links of such generations like Blanche pay a heavy price, no doubt contributed by her own unfortunate circumstances. Another subject of discrimination is how Allan is pushed to commit suicide, for his sexual orientation. While it is true that Blanche couldn't have know better, given her own age at the time, and the times that she lived in ( 1930s ?), it brings to perspective one of the main themes of the whole play - treating of the other who is different. Stanley, for his commonness, Allan, for his sexual orientation, even the sundry characters such as the unnamed negro woman, and Mexican woman who sells flowers - in a nation in transformation. Stanley calls the United States the greatest Country in the world, for he sees himself one hundred percent American, although the classes that of the Dubois ( who too have  a French origin) , are slow to embrace this still setting American Oneness. It even looks as if the question of the colored segments of the society is still not even a consideration, as the main theme is class differences between the whites alone. I would venture that Williams suggests through the character of Stanley Kowalski, for all his coarseness, his awareness of  the thinking trend of the times - be it his rejection of racial origins, be it his demand to be considered  a king in his own home, and of the prevalent law of the land ( Napoleonic code).

The Movie: For all the richness of the script, it would've had little impact if not for the movie - Stanley's  ( Brando) aggressive male dominance, Blanche's charm and her deception ( Vivian won an Oscar for this performance), as well as of the apparent affection between Stella and her husband, Stanley, can only be comprehended in full, in its cinematic production ( the stage production too, am sure - which I hadn't watched) . The movie's end is a little different to that of the play, and is suggestive of a longer disagreement between the husband and wife. Plus, there is at least one line of script, not found in the play text, which suggest that even his friends see Stanley as having made use of an opportunity, against Blanche.

The play script, as well as the movie made such an impression on me, that I will think of these two, as great works of art - and I will not hesitate to recommend the two, to book lovers as well as movie buffs.

Rating: *****
Genre: Drama / Play script (1957)