A Streetcar Named Desire
Written by Tennessee Williams
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“A Streetcar Named Desire” is a play written by the American playwright Tennessee Williams who is considered one of America´s greatest playwrights and this is considered his greatest work. Blanche Dubois is the main character and her story begins in Laurel, Mississippi then moves to the French Quarter in New Orleans. It has won so many awards including year after year of Tony Awards, Oliver Awards and a Pulitzer Prize for good reasons. It has been brought to TV, film, Opera and Ballet with many different adaptations.

“A Streetcar Named Desire” is the story of Blanche Dubois who comes to live with her married sister Stella Kowalski and her husband Stanley Kowalsky in the immigrant neighborhood of the French Quarter of New Orleans. From the very start Blanche behaves like a primadona looking down at her sister´s living situation even though she does not have enough money to afford a hotel or anywhere else to live. Blanche is a strange and delusional woman who has a big problem confronting reality or even telling the truth. She seems to have lost everything which includes Belle Reve, her ancestral home, and her job as a teacher. She said that they let her go because of her nerves but this is not the complete truth.

Stanley Kowalsky dislikes Blanche from the very start and even accuses her of cheating Stella out of an inheritance, which did not seem to be the case. These are some highly dysfunctional people marinating in an environment of heavy alcohol. Alcohol is at the center of this story influencing the lives and decisions of the characters throughout the story. This was something the author knew very well from his upbringing.

To me this really is the story of a train wreck that is called Blanche with characters too self absorbed to see their dysfunctional dynamics they create. These characters are stuck in patterns of misery with Blanche at the forefront leading the pack. The bad behavior and crimes that Stanley gets away with because of the time period they lived in reveal that he really is no better a person than Blanche even though he sees through her hypocrisy better than Stella does. The American South of a hundred years ago was not so friendly for melinated people, women and many other groups of the population. This is important to note when looking at the relationship between Blanche and Stanley (I won´t give any spoilers).

So, if you get the chance to read the play, see it on Broadway I urge you to do so because it´s a good one.

John

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