Tennessee Williams and Southern Gothic Literature

Tennessee Williams was a part of many different movements including the Realist movement and the Southern Gothic movement. Perhaps the quality that made his writing unique was his relationship to the Southern Gothic Literary movement. Williams writes in Southern Gothic style through the eyes of a realist. This movement was first started in 18^th century England and then later the genre carried to authors writing about the American South. Authors from this movement tended to downplay the super natural and wrote about characters that were delusional or damaged. The southern Gothic style sought to change the typical stories from the south and focused more on the negative attitudes rather than the positive ones. Southern Gothic literature also dealt with oppression of minorities including black, women and homosexuals. Examples of this influence on Williams writing can be seen in “The Glass Menagerie”, “A Streetcar Named Desire”, and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”.

            Although the “The Glass Menagerie” was inspired by William’s sister, Rose; much of the thoughts and ideas were taken from the southern Gothic Movement. In the play, the character Laura is an example of a character that was damaged. Not only was Laura crippled but Williams hints that she had some mental conditions as well. Laura has no friends and no mate. She drops out of business school perhaps because it is too hard but maybe because she does not fit in socially. Laura collects glass animals and is involved more with the glass animals than her dreams, desires or other people. Williams doesn’t end his play like typical southern plays. The girl doesn’t fall in love with the guy at the end. There is no happy ending. Laura is left with her mother alone after her brother abandons them. Williams writes more from a realist perspective than one where there are always happy endings.

            “A Streetcar Named Desire” carried similar elements of the Southern Gothic Movement. Blanche is a proper southern Belle from Mississippi. She is a typical southern girl but she is obsessed with her upper class upbringing. Blanche doesn’t like her sister’s new husband because he is from a lower social class. Stanley, (Blanche’s brother in law) is always butting heads with Blanche. Their arguments get to the point of violence and Stanley hit his wife because he is upset over Blanche’s behavior. Stanley’s actions show the oppression that women were facing at the time. Williams also brings up homosexuality in the story. Blanche’s husband kills himself after Blanche finds out that he is gay.  Although homosexuality is accepted today, it was not decades ago. It was an embarrassment to the person and to the family. Williams uses his realist perspective to show what would happen in a situation like Blanche’s. Blanche also shatters the image of the perfect southern belle. Blanche reveals that she had a shady past with multiple men and she has a drinking problem. Toward the end, Blanche tries to stab him with a broken bottle top. Although he probably had it coming, this shows how emotionally unstable she is and follows Williams pattern of creating emotionally unstable characters.

            Williams attempts to shatter some of the stereotypes of the south with his story “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”. Brothers Brick and Gooper are competing to try to get  each other cut out of their dying father’s will. Brick was always the favored son but he does not love his wife Maggie.  Gooper and his wife Mae think that they should get the whole inheritance and try desperately to win “Daddy’s” favor. Brick doesn’t love his wife, he is a homosexual, he lies and he is an alcoholic. Although Gopper is none of these things, Daddy still favors Brick and plans to give the majority of the estate to him. Maggie lies that she and Brick are pregnant. This action makes Daddy further favor Brick and his wife. Again, Williams uses the idea of the oppression of women and brings the element of homosexuality into the play.  The story is presented how it actually happened rather than how the audience would have liked the story to end.

Many literary movements define William’s writing. His realist perspective also helped him to write a fresh style of southern gothic literature. William’s writing allowed him to combine two styles of writing, which worked to his benefit. Williams is recognized as having unique style, amazing characterization and realistic plots.