From Life to Page: A Look into How “A Streetcar Named Desire” Came to Be

To better grasp the importance of a play, one must look at the background information that lays the ground for the play to flourish. “A Streetcar Named Desire” was written by a man who goes by the name Thomas Lanier Williams, or as he would come to be known, Tennessee Williams. He was born to a family of five in 1911 in Columbus, Mississippi where he would spend the first few years of his life. His father’s absence due to his sales work would later on play a big part in his family’s life. During his stay in the South, Williams would come to be quite fond of the ways of the South. He was taken with the idea of the nostalgia present in the old South as its modes of articulation were quite fascinating to him. 

When the family moved to the St. Louis part of Missouri, he and his sister were mocked for their southern modes. As he and his sister were both taunted because of their Southern manners, it made way for them to grow even closer than they were before. With Williams becoming an outcast in Missouri, he turned to writing stories and poems and thus these unfortunate events started the journey of Williams’ authorship. 

In 1929, just after he had gotten his first printed work “Can a Good Wife be a Good Sport?”, he attended the University of Missouri only to be pulled back by his father after failing a class. His father found a shoe factory for him to work but it only led to Williams’ breakdown which resulted in him retiring to go to his grandparents in 1935 to recover. There he would produce his first play “Cairo, Shanghai, Bombay!”. After his grandparents supported him on his journey to be a writer, he returned to a university in Washington only to move to the University of Iowa quickly after where he found his love for drama. 

While he was attending school his sister Rose’s mental health was deteriorating day by day. His mother found the best way to deal with the situation at hand was by putting Rose through a prefrontal lobotomy which would leave Rose with the comprehension of a child for the rest of her life. Although Williams felt responsible for what had happened to his sister, he managed to finish his Bachelor of Arts in English Studies. 

1939 was the most prominent year of his career. This was also the year he named himself Tennessee as he lied about his age and name to get a story published in Story magazine. He won a Group Theatre Prize which was $100 he spent on travels. He would visit many places alongside New Orleans where his play “A Streetcar Named Desire” takes place in. 

The following year he began writing The Glass Menagerie while he took various jobs. He became a scriptwriter for MGM for a short period during which he tried to sell them the play but failed. The play opened for the first time in Chicago. Although the play was not doing good at first after critics kept nagging people, it became a hit among the crowd. The play won the New York Critics Circle Award. The sudden spotlight terrified Williams which led to his flee to Provincetown Massachusetts and later on to Key West and Mexico. After he escaped from the fame, he found he was much more comfortable in his skin as he was able to embrace his homosexuality in these places that he would consider safe-havens. As he was at last comforted by the environment he was in, he returned to writing. 

There he wrote “A Streetcar Named Desire” which became a phenomenon. The play went on to win many prizes including the Pulitzer Prize. He wrote many more plays before his death but, “A Streetcar Named Desire” would remain his most famous work. 

A change in his style was not received well by the critics during the 1960s. These events brought about rumors of him experiencing burnout. The rumors affected Williams deeply as he grew anxious. He would continue his writing before stopping altogether in 1981 after his last play premiered in New York. Two years later, he was found dead after choking on a cap. 

The road to Williams becoming an outcast in society was deeply rooted in how the different parts of the United States experienced the period after the Second World War. His most famous play “A Streetcar Named Desire” examines this period after the Second World War. The play also depicts the racial segregation experienced by people of color during the war times as people of different racial and social backgrounds are all present in the play. 

While the end of the Second World War meant great loss, for the United States it marked the beginning of a period that affected the society majorly. As many were forced to ration goods during war times, after the war had come to an end there was a demand for more goods. With three years under the war rationing, the Office of Price Administration encouraged the tenants to save up. By 1945, most Americans were saving 21% of their income which was seven times more than they had during the 1920s. When the war was finally over, with all of their money saved up, American consumers were eager to make up for lost time. Homes, cars, furniture, and such were in high demand alongside clothes and everything else that they had been deprived of during war times. These events led to the economic growth of the states as they would rise to power after the war had concluded. America became one of the dominant superpowers of the world as it left isolationism behind to increase its international involvement. Life in America was greater than it ever was as they were gaining more power day by day. It did not take long for the states to become a global influence as their affairs involving economy, culture, and technology were working in their favor. The growth resulted in prosperity that brought about many office and factory workers rising to the middle class. This meant that they could move to the suburbs and indulge in activities that they could not before such as embracing consumer goods.

With the ever-growing economy of the United States, the Southern and Northern parts were divided into two as well. Agricultural and Urban economies were the main difference between the two as they became the indicator of the quality of life in these areas. The agricultural economy was agrarian which is associated with the cultivation of land. It is rooted in pastoralism and thus needs natural sources. Meanwhile, the urban economy is centered on markets and the financial system. Manufacturing, trade, and commerce are of importance when an urban economy is present. Due to the profit-driven nature of markets, the motive that guides most activities is always profit. As occupations are more specialized, there is a division of labor based on skills in comparison to the agricultural economy. In the North, manufacturing was well established and agriculture was limited to small-scale farms whereas the South’s economy was dependent on a large-scale farming system that required the labour of enslaved people. New Orleans, where the play takes place, belonged to the southern region but at times it was reflective of the northern points of America. The city was a key player in terms of international trade. 

The Southern and Northern parts however were not the only things divided as another issue depicted in the play is the yearning for the old South and the representation of the new South told through the differences Blanche and Stanley represent. Blanche is the embodiment of the ideals of the old South while Stanley stands for everything she is not. An interesting factor that plays into this theory is the fact that so little is known about Stanley’s past while Blanche’s past becomes the talk of the town. Stanley’s portrayal of looking forward and starting anew contradicts Blanche’s past and traditions always following her no matter how hard she denies it. Stanley is the epitome of a man in industrialized America, in contrast, Blanche is a Southern Belle. The old traditions she tries to revive with her manners and clothes are meaningless in New Orleans. 

The role women took after the war had concluded and the woman Blanche represents are the two ends of the spectrum. While Blanche’s Southern Belle image with her fragile and flirtatious ways was beautiful in the past, nowadays women were predominantly domestic with marriage and femininity depicted as the main goal for the average American woman. The post-war events caused the baby boom which embraced the motherly figure of women. Stella and Stanley’s pregnancy in the play is a result of the baby boom. Blanche and Stella’s differences in terms of being a woman in society can be seen through this conversation as Blanche criticizes her way of living. 

Another aspect that makes the urban parts of America different from southern life is its multicultural approach. People from many different backgrounds are present in New Orleans which is new to a woman like Blanche who is not used to living among people of color. Blanche is a woman from the Deep South where racism was still present even after slavery was no longer legal. She is reluctant to give up her old-fashioned ways which can be seen through her persistence to accept Stanley and those like Stanley who is of a different racial background. While New Orleans was also considered a Deep South state, the way of life was quite different compared to other Deep South states like Mississippi where Blanche is from. New Orleans embraces their identity and accepts them into society because during the 1940s a large portion of their population were immigrants from Europe and Africa. Seeing that Stanley is also not American, the dichotomy between the old ways of America and the new set of rules that came along with industrialization is undeniable in the play. 

Additionally, Blanche represents the failed attempt to achieve the American Dream. The American Dream is based on acquiring endless opportunities and second chances in a new world. Seeing that the post-war period had opened doors for many who wanted to flourish and make up for past mistakes, Blanche had the perfect window to get what she wanted. In the 20th century, the American Dream evolved from a perfect society to individual success. Her dreams were materialistic as she wanted to obtain the grand American Dream. As her reputation catches up with her, her plans for a better future are halted. She cannot be absolved of her soiled past and therefore cannot have the one thing she badly desires: a second chance at life. 

With all of that said it can be argued that Tennessee Williams’ play ”A Streetcar Named Desire” approaches not only the Northern versus Southern clashes that took place in the United States during the postwar period but also the implications that industrialized America had on the nostalgic Southern life.