The destruction of the female characters in the four play of tennessee williams thesis of american litterature

Chapter IINTRODUCTION A, - PURPOSE - LIMITATION The in t e rn a ti onal reputation of Tennessee Wi ll iams as one ofthe foremost American playwr ights of the postwar generation seems sur

THESIS

Submitted f or Mas ter's Degree in the f ield ol

A merican L itera ture

DEPA ~TMENT Of ENGLISH

Ad viso r :

Dr ~ Duan E HAUCH

\, O

THE DESTRUCTION OF THE T I+ >': 0000 t~c: d 1

FEMALE CHARACTERS IN THE FOUR PLAYS OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS

~ur;n lt - giJ5lt t - filiJ>h~ n~

S u b m itted [or Ma ster 's D egree i n th e f ield 0/

A m erit-an Lit erature

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

Ad v iso r :

Dr Duane E HAUCH

- - - ;,; ~

TRUONG ~~I-H9C ~-KHOA SAIGON

khong tan thanh cung khong ttOA nhu.1'tg t}-IU~Yt phdt-b-i.elL :tJtong ban :u~-~n nay _ Nhilng Y-·IU~.'rt

phan-ao, tac- g-i.~ ch+u hoan-toan nM?m-

711 -6pUe 06 the cU66eJr.mt bac.kgJtOwtd - ,c it WMc.h a p.ta.ywJt-i gM:. -6W

fU-b ptay-6, they - a eway-6 'ne. Me c t a p-<-c twr.e 0 6M Ue t Y and -i :t6 Jr.eaUt y -<- 11

.-U6 mu Ui.pte Mpe.ct6 We.U-wJU;t;te.1t p.e.ay~ C.OIt.tMIt a ult.<.Ve.MaUty in time and -6pac.e, whA.c.h - theate.lr.goeM ail oVeJr thewoJr.tdc.al1ultde.M.:ta.l1d and

e.l1joy -d~p,(.te -.th~ cU66eJr.e.1t.t c.uttwr.e.-6 altd taltguag~.

Te.I1I1~-6e.e. W ill.-tOJYl)., ' :p.ta.lj.6 i6 tJr.aIt).,6e.Jr.Jr.e.d to the. Vie tltam~e .ooue t~

06 - today may 1r.e.c.Uve a WMm w e.R.c.ome and Ml1d aIt e.lt.thU-6iMUc p ubu c , 601r .the Vie tl1ame oe .6oue ty i-6 e.l1dWtil1g a glr.e.a.t -6oual c.haltge .6imUM t» .the.

Ame.M c.al1 MUuy - aOteJr .the Se.c.OI1d WoJr.td WM Will.-talrUl· 6av oJr.Ue and mO-6.t 6 ympa.the.tic c hMac te.M Me ail - 6e.ma.te : - The. heJr.oil1~ buol1g to the Otd South, - 6amLUM - W-U:h ~:toc.Jr.aUc. ide.aU ul1ge.M l1g 6lr.om th« al1.te.-betWm 6ouuy il1 .the South But they Me 60lr.c.e.d to 6ac.e .the c.ol1.te.mpoJr.aJr.y c.om- meJr.ual 6Oue tq : TfU-b c.ol16JtOlt.taUon -ove.Jr.Whe.R.m-6 the.m, the.y c.aIt'.t ac.c.e.p.t

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- i

-TfU.6 :t hu-u -u w JL.Ltte.n w.Uh :the hope 06 g-i.v-i.ng :to :the

V-i.e.:trta-mu e p ublic a be.:t:teJt k.nowle.dge 06 one 06 :the mOf.>:t 6amoUf.> liv-i.ng AmeJt.{.can

playWJUghU, Te.nnU f.>e.e WUU amf.> H e has u.ndeJtf.>:tood the. de.licate 6ate.

06 :th e so 6:t wome.n who Me doo me.d -i.n :tfU.6 de.mand.{.ng commeJtu at w oJz.td 06

:the :twe.rt:U.e.:th ce.rt:tWty S-i.milM :typu 06 Te.rtrtUf.> e.e. WUUamf.> I heJto-i.nu

can be 60u.nd e.ve.ltywheJte -i.n :t he wo Jz.td and among V -i.e.:tnamu e wom e.n M we.U

16 w e. eonscde« :today'f.> V-i.e.:tnamue f.>ou e.:ty, Mme V-i.e.:tnamue w ome.n mi.gh:t Mnd :thUlt own p oJttJta.,U :thJtough W UUamf.> ' heJto-i.nu Uf.> e.d:to bung

«eased -i.n a dof.>e.d and cortf.>eJtva:t.{.ve 6 ami e.y s Y f.>.te.m, 0Me.n w ome.n s udde.rtiy Mnd :the.mf.>uvu le.M :to 6ace :the w oJz.td atone Be.caUf.> e 06 :the · e.V eJttM:t- -i.ng WM, f.>ome have :to e.aJtrt :thUlt liv-i.ng and Ita-Ue :thUlt ch.< e.d!te.n w.<.:thou.:t :the f.>UppoJt:t ' 06 :thUlt hUf.> bandf.> w ho Me away -i.n :the 6lt ort:t on: dead, A mo ng them , ~ome. mi.gh:t 60 uow S:te.Ua.'f.> dU:t.{.n y 601t li6e mUf.> :t go on , bu.:t un601t- :tu.natuy :the.Jte. Me f.>Ute f.>ome Vie.:tname.f.> e wame.n who, lik.e LaWta, A ima and

blanche., plt UeJtv-i.ng :thUIt tJtad.{.Uo nat p Jt.<.nuple.f.> , plte.6e.1t :to be du :tJtoqed :than coJtJtu.p:te.d

Te nrtuf.>e.e. WUU amf.> -u 601t me :t he. mo~ :t exc.{.:t.{.ng w Jt.{.:teJt -i.n :t he cort:tempoJtaJz.y AmeJt.{.can :thea:tJte and one 06 :the m Of.> :t -i.mpoJt:tart:t. In :the.

60 u0uU.ng pagu , by anaty~-u 06 :th e. 6e.mate chMac.:teJtf.> -i.n :the 60Wt p layf.>

06 Tennu~e.e WUUamf.> , I hope my :thu-u w< u pltov-i.de ample mateJt.{.at on :the li6e and v-i.e.w po-i.rt:t 06 Tennuf.> ee W-i te.-i.a.m6 and :the w omen he hM

cseaxed

- i i

-In dO-6-< n.g, I -6h ould Uke :to explZ.e.o-6 my 0b Uga.:tA o n a nd gJz.a.:ti :tude t o a U wh o have h e)~.ped an d en coUlZ.a.ged me In :t he WJl.LUn g 0 6 :t hM p apeJz. :

6 -i M:tR y :to m y dean advcso«, VIZ Vua n.e E Hauc h wh oJ.>e vafuab te advce« a nd gu-i d an.ce aug men.:ted m y kn ow.tedge 06 m y -6ubj ec:t; :to PM 6e.o-6OIZ. V O I<.HA N H

HO AN , C ha.-< Jz.man 06 :the Vepa.Jz.:tmen.:t 06 E n g e.-< -6 h 0 6 Fac u.e.:t y 06 Le:t:teJz.-6 , wh o coUlZ.:teoU-6 ty gave me Ideas and -6u ggUWYUl and 6.{.n a.Uy :to m y h U-6 ban.d 601Z.

hM en.coUlZ.a.gemen.:t, 6a.Uh and un.deJz.-6:ta n.d-< n.g and wdhou:t w ho-6e h e.tp :th-i -6 :the.o-i -6 would p lZ.obab.ty n.eveJz h ave been comp.teted.

HUYNH PHI PHUNG

- iii

-TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter I I NTRODUCTION

A PURPOSE - LIMITATION

B SUMMARY OF WILLIAMS' LIFE

Chap t e r II THE FOUR PLAYS

A SUMMARY OF EACH PLAY AND CHARACTER ANALYSIS

1 The GW.6 M ena.geM.e

2 SummeJz and Smoke

3 A S.:tJteUc.aJl named Vu-Ute

4 Suddenly W t SummeJz.

B COMPARISON O~ THE FEMALE CHARACTERS'

.SIMILARIT IES

1 The SoutheJz.n Gentiewomctn

2 I 6 o~o n a.n d Lon et{nu 6

3 S.:tJta.nge R e~oYl.6 h<.p wah Men

4• Soul a6a.n AJt:t.J /., t

C COMPARISON O~ THE FEMALE C HARACTERS '

DISSIMILARITIES

1 I-6oR a.tioY/.

2 Ves:tJw.e-ti.oYt

Chapter III CONCLUSION

RELATI ONSHI P OF THE FOUR P ~AY S TO WILLIAMS' LI FE

Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

A, - PURPOSE - LIMITATION

The in t e rn a ti onal reputation of Tennessee Wi ll iams as one ofthe foremost American playwr ights of the postwar generation seems sur-

prising since his best plays present characters and problems rooted inthe deep American South Yet in this limited area of the wor l d , theSouthern locale, that he knows in t i ma t e l y , Tennessee Will iarr~ sees pro-blems common to all humanity His heroes and heroines do not belong

to the South alone; they have a universality that makes them a part ofall people everywhere

Williams'plays present the despair and loneliness of mankindafter the Second Wor l d War The y deal wi h certain char act e r types,

wh i ch keep reappearing in his work : the fugitive kind who attempts tofind an escape from the dissolute postwar society; the lonely Southernfemale who, out of place in a growing vul ga r materialistic wor l d , live s

in romantic dreams of the past and is defeated by ha r sh realities ofthe twentieth century life

- I

-Though his view of life is pessimist as well as romantic, nessee Williams is also a realist as he describes the misfit and

Ten-failure of his characters with sympathy and honesty He understandsthat the time to recreate a pure and good socie t y, based on honor andcompassion, has gone and when one tries to fight against the growth of

a new industrial and materialistic world by clinging to the past,sooner

or later one faces destruction

Tennessee Williams became famous with his first Broadway success,

The GLass Menagerie~ in 1945 In the following decade he was regarded

by almost unanimous critical consensus as one of the best living wrights of the American The a t e r He has won four Dr ama Critics CircleAwards (in 1945, 1947, 1955 and 1961) and two Pulitzer Prizes (194 7 and1955)

play-Af t e r hi s treatment by psychoanalysis in 1957, Tenne s s e e Wi lli amslater plays seem to ·have varied from hi s favorite theme of hi s pre-psychoanalyt ical plays: "t h e longings, the futilities and the frustra-tions at the heart of life"l In an interview wi th N ew s week in the

spring of 1960, Williams declared that he was "through with what havebeen called my 'black' plays" He has said:

lWilliams, quoted in Ch a r l es W Cooper , P re f ace t o Dram a

York Ronald Press Co , 1955 ), p 571

2

-"I want t o p ass the res t o f my li f e b e l i e vi n g in o t he r

t hi ngs F or y ears I was t oo pre occup i e d w i th t he de s tructive i ses Fr om now on I w ant t o be c o ncern ed wit h the kinder as p ect s o f lif e,,2

mpul-The purpose of my thesis represents an analysis of TennesseeWilliams' four earlier plays, written wi t hi n the ye a r s 1945-1957,whi chseem most to reflect the playwright's own life As Williams said:

' 7 wa s born ol d I ha d n o y ou t h ~ f or my youth w as unh appy and a n unhappy y out h is li ke n o yo ut h a t a ll My l fe wa s no bed o f

r oses and my play s rat he r f o ll ow my li fe pattern ,,3.

The G lass Menage rie (1945) is lVill iams ' most autobiographicalplay It deals with the playwri ght's earlier days wi t h his family in St.Louis, his relationship with his mother and his sister Rose who was sub-

jected to a lobotomy operation in 1937 In the play she appears asLaura Wingfield, a crippled girl, who has with dr awn from a worl d whi chseems to offer her nothing but pain and humiliat ion Alienated fromthe society, she created her own wor l d wit h her gl as s Mena ge ri e,

Summer and Smok e (1948) and A St ree tcar Named D es ire ( 1947) ace

affected by the playwright's Puritanical background They deal wi ththe same theme : the Southern Belle who tries to re conci l e her sexualurges and her spiritual moral values becomes the victim.of this con f lic t

2Williarns , quote d in Roge r B Stein, "The Glass Men age r i e Revisite d : Cat astrophe Without Violence", T he r o/ e s t e rn H umani t i es R e vieia ,

-XVI I I (1964) p 141

3Wi11iarns, quoted in Francis Don ahue, T he Dram at i c W o r ld o f

T ennesse e Wi l li ams (New York : Frederick Ungar Co , 1964 ), Pre f a ce

- 3

-Alma destroys her spiritual quest and gives he r s elf to the first traveing salesman she meets Blanche is raped by the brutal Stanley and ta-ken to a state asylum.

l-In S uddenl y Last Summer (1957) Catherine Holly is also ened tobe taken to a mad house because she had witnesse~ the ho r r i bl edeath of Sebastian, who is adulated by hi s mother In this las t violentplay Williams'.lovefor hi s sister still lingered He used Doctor Cuk r o-wicz character to free himself from the haunting sense of guilt of notbeing at home at the moment when the decision for a lobotomy on his sis-ter was made In the play, because Catherine is sincere when she des-cribes her sisterly love towards Sebastian, the doctor believes her andthe operation is not performed

threat-In these four plays, the major characters are women They allwant to reach an idealistic way of living, to create a wor l d of theirown, to revolt against the ugliness of reality by not facing it Butbecause they are women, they fail in their romantic quest and they will

be destroyed

I have chosen Tennessee Wi11iams'four plays: The G lass M ena

because these plays all orbit a central theme which is the DESTRUCTION

OF THE FEMALE CHARACTERS, which is also the title of my thesis

- 4

-Tennessee Wi l l i ams' backgr oundis dealt with in the introd uct i on

as it concerns his life and artistic devel opment The main body of mythesis contains two parts In Part I, I summarize ea ch of the fourplays and sketch the character analysis; in Part II, I establish thecomparison of the female characters and point out their reflection in

Wi l liams ', own "li fe,

B SU MMARY OF W ILLIAMS ' LIFE

Thomas Lanier Williams was born on March 26t h , 1911, in bus, Miss issippi In her book, M rs ~ dwin a Dakin Wil l i ams re f ers to

Co1um-W i 1 1 i ams ' " b~ r t h,whi ch did not take place in th e recto r y of Saint Paul'sChurch in Columbus, but in a hosp ital bui l t by her doctor

Tennessee Williams gives his own ve r s i on :

I was born in the Episcopal rectory of Co lumbu s ~ Mi ss i ssipp i

an old town on the T omb i g bee River which was so dignified and rese y ~

v ed t hat there w as a saying , on l y sligh t ly exaggerate d , that you have

t o live there a whole year bef ore a neighbor w oul d sm i le at you on the st reet As my grandfather w i th whom w e li ved, w as t he Episcopa l clergyman , we were accepted without probat i on , MY fa ther , a m an with

a formidabl e na n~ o f C orn e l i us Coffi n Wi lliam s , was a man of ances try that came on one si de , th e We st, fr om pi onner Tenness ee s tock , and on the other from e ar l y settl ers o N antucket Is land in N ew Eng land My Mother was de scended fr om Q uakers Rough ly, t hese w as a combinat i on

of Puritan and C ava lier strai ns in my blood w hich may be accountable

f or the confl i c t i n g impulse I o f ten r epresen t i n th e people I wri te 4

4Williams, quot e d in Donahue, The D ramati c Wo rld of Tennessee Wil l iam s , p 1

- 5

-Williarr.s' fatherwas a tra veling salesman who was seldom at home.

For the first seven years of his li f e,Wi ll i ams and his sis t er Rose and

their mother lived with Mrs Will i ams ' fa t h er

Li fe w as p l easa n t ~ gr ac i o us fu ll of i mag i nin gs , We l i v ed

i n sm al l M is siss ippi T owns , We alway s ha d a l ar g e b ack ya rd , MY s

is-t er a nd I p lay ed t o gethe r , We in ven te d gam es The po or c htldren l ~ e c

t o ru n a ll ov er tow n • but my s i s t e r an d I playe d i n our own ba ck y a r d ,

My si ster w as v ry c harmi ng very beaut i fu l , S he had a n i ncr e d i bl e

i maginati on, W e wer e so c l ose to eac h othe r ; we had n o ne ed o f oth e rs

This perfect chi l dhood is marked b an incident ; Willi ams suf

-fer ed a severe cas e of diphte r ia wh e n he was five years old This happ y

chi l dh ood was also interrup t e d by his fa t h er's infrequ en t home visi t s

On ly on th ose oc cas i ona l w eekends when my fathe r ui s i t ed th e

house w er e thin gs d i f f eren t , Th en the sp e l l o f p erfect peace was brok e

A lo ud v oice w as heard an d he avy f ootste p s , D o or s we re s l amm e d Fur nitu re was k ic ked and ban ged, • •

O f ten t he v o ic e o f my fath er wa s jovia l and b o is t er o us B ut

s ometimes it wa s h ar sh , And s ome t imes it s ounded like thunder

He w as a big m an B eside the s l igh t ; gent le f g r e o f my

gra ndfather he looked aw f u l l y b i g , An d i t w as n ~t a ben ign b igness

Yo u w ant ed to shr ink aw ay fr om it to h ide yo ur s e lfO ,

When Wi lli ams was eigh t years old the Wil li ams f ami l y moved to

St Louis, For Williams the expe rience was traumati c, "I t was a tragi c

move Ne i t h e r my sister nor I coul d adjus t ou rse l ves tv live in a Mi d

-5Williams > quoted in Ben j a min Nelson, Tenne s see W i lliams

The Ma n a nd hi s Wo rk (New York: Ivan Obo l ensky, 1961), p.4

6Wil l iarns , quoted in Mr s Edwi na Dakin Williams , Rememb er M e to

Tom (as told to Lucy Freeman ) lNew York : Put nam's, 1963 ), p, 2

- 6

-leste rn city"7 The big city in the Mi dYles t is a sharp cont r ast to the

Sou the rn small towns and the conflict th is move provo ked is the subj e ct

of the memo r y play, Th e Gl as s Men agerie

Now Wil l i ams had to get used to his father's constant pre s ence

His family life was unhappy • At the age of fourteen, Williams took r

e-fuge in his writin g He gave the caus e of this escape :

I t immediately beoame my p laoe of re treat , my o ave , my

re-fu ge F rom what ? - F rom being oalled a s i s s y b y the nei ghborhood

k i ds and " Miss N anoy " by my fathers bec ause I w o ul d rath er re ad bo oks

i n my gra nd-fa t her 's l arge a nd ola s sioal l i b rar y than p lay ma rbles

an d ba seball 8

At sixteen, Wil l i ams received a five- dol l a r third pr i ze awarded

by Smar t Se t maga zin e in a contest "Can a Good.Wif e Be a Good Sport" H

answered "No" and was the only male out of the twelve winners

At seventeen, Wi l l i ams received thirty-five dollars fr omW ei r d

T tile s magazine for his published short story "The Vengeance of Nit ocris"After his European trip wi t h his grandfather Wi l l iams·wrote a ser ies of

essays about the cities he-had vis i t e d ,whi ch were publ ished in his sch oo

newspaper

Wi l l i amsI.writing wa s looked on by his fathe r as effe mi na te and awaste of time His separation from his father increased wit h his

7Wi11iams, Fact s About Me(Record Cover,C aedmon TC 100,1952) p,2,

BWi11iams, F oreword to Sweet B ird of Youth (New York : New Directions , 1959),

- 7 -

-rela t i on s h i p with Hazel Kramer Williams had'known her since he was

:stuaies;Haze1's grandfathera one of

marks became slightly lower, then finally he failed ROTC (Reserve Officer

in-sisted Williams not to return to the university for the last year and

offered by the Garden Players on July 12,1935 at the Rose Arbor and

, l a s well received. "He decided right the r e-and then th a t writing forthe :theatre was fun,,9

During the fall of-1936, Williams enrolled at-the University

of St Louis, using his grandmotherQs money for the-tuition His father still refused to pay for his education

-In the spring of-1936, Mr s Williams notL ceddn the newspaperthat the Webster Theatre Guild was offering _f or _t he -bes t' one-a ct play.She urged Williams to enter this contest-and- he won the first prizewith The M agi c T ower in-the-form of a sterling-s.ilver-.plate, ins tead

of money Williams-was disappointed and-gave Ltrt o his mother

That year-he-alse won-a twen ty-if'Lve.dol.Lar prize verse contest

with'~onnets for the Sprin~! ·H is aunt,Isabelle Williams believin g hehad inherited his poetic ability from one -of her ancestors, SidneyLanier wrote him a-congratulatory letter One of Wi l liams'-be s t knownshort storiest "The Resemblance Between a V.i ol i n Case and a Coffin",

is dedicated to Isabelle's memorylO

During the years of 1936-1937, the situation-at home was lerable The relationship between his parents was deteriorating into

into-9Mrs WilliarnsQ R emember Me to T om 3 p 72

lOMrs Willi ams, R em ember M e t o To m 3 pp 77- 8

9

-a frozen hostility Wi l li ams was severe ly cr it c l of his fa t h e r in

an early poem "Cortege" :

Co ld, co ld eo ld

W M :th e. me.JtcilM6 blood 06 :thy 6a.:the.Jt

By :the ha.R.o 06fU.6 bJt e.a.:th

T hy mo :the.Jt Imew fUm ;

B y JanuMy -6he Imew fU m and dJte ade.d :the kVlOWle dge

HA.-6 w-tYlt.e.Jt b Jte.a.:th

m ade t.e.aJt6 -tmp066-tble 6 0Jt he.Jt She paM e.d h-i.m and eJte.pt 6.< dewA.-6 e.

do wYl :the 6.t.a.-i M ,

L oa:th-i.Yl g :the t oueh

06 :the dooJt kYlob h e h ad etMpe.d, hatiYlg th e. vtap w

he h ad U!.le.d at :th e t.ab le .

Th e ehU dJte.Yl boLt e.d :the <.Jt 600 d and p futje.d 0ux do0M -tYl ukYlt.e.Jt

H op - -6 eot.eh t ook :the.m

bloeb.6 aw alj 6 Jtom :the.-i.Jt 6 a.t.h ,e.Jt 1 1

In 1937 Wi l liams dropped out of the Unive r s i t y of St Louis andenrolled at the Un i ver si t y of Iow a ~ also wi t h his gran dmot her ' s tuition

money It was during this year that his beloved sister Ros e was slipPing

toward'her mental breakd own, and finally the lobotomy separ ated her

forever from realit y Wi l iams always fe l t as though he had fa i l ed Ros e

llWilliams, "Cortege" In Th e ~ i f!~el' of C itie s (New Yor k New

Dire cti ons , 1956), p 5

- 1

-that had he been on hand when the big decision was made, he migh t have

be en able to stop the lob ot omy,

Williams got his B.A from the Univers ity of Iowa in 1938, Hewent to Chicago to find work with the Work s Progress Wr ite rs ' Pr oject,but failed because he cou l d not pr ove tha t his family was des tit u t e Hereturned to St Louis temporarily, then went to New Orlean s for good.The city excited him : "I found th e kind of freedom I had always neededand the shock of it aga inst the puri t an ism of my na ture has given me asubject, a theme wh i ch I have neve r ce a s ed exp lo i t ing,,12

It wa s not unti l 1939 when Wi l liams authored the short stor y,

"The Field of Blue Children" for publi cat i on in St o ry magazi n e, that hechanged his name "Tom" to "Tennessee", Wil liams ' mothe r said that evenwhen he was little, he did not li ke his name be cause eve r ybo y wa s namedTom So she was not surpr ised that he late r chan ged it Williams give sdifferent re as on s about this stat ing tha t : " the Williamses had fough tthe Indians for Tennessee, and I had discovered that the lif e of ayoung wr i t e r was going to be somethi ng simi lar to the de fen se of d

stockade against a band of savages"13, Lat er, he remal:ke d :

l2Wi l l i ams , quoted in Rob e rt Ri ce, "A Man Ndme d Tennessee" Ne w

Y ork P os t (April 3D, 1958~ , p 2

l3Wil l i ams , quoted in Mrs Williams, R emem ber m e to T om; p 97,

11

-I got the name of Te n ness e e w hgn I was go i ng t o th e Uni

ver-s i t y o f I owa be ca use the f e l l ows in my cl as s cou ld o ly r e m emb er tha t I was f r om a Southe rn State w ith a l o g name A nd whe n t hey cou ldn ' t think of Mi s si s sippi , th ey s et t l ed o n T ennes s e e That was all r i ght with me , s o whe n i e tu ck , I ch ange d to i t pe rman e ntly "l4,

To enter a contest sponsored b The Group Theatre of New Yorkfor writers under twenty- f i ve, Wi l liams knocke d three years of his age

"justifying to himself for lyi ng ab ou t his age with the memor y of almostthree wasted year s in the employ of the In t ern a t i on a l Shoe Company"lS.The judges Harold Clurman, Irvin Shaw and Mo ll y Day Thatcher - gave him

a one hundred-dollar reward for Am er i c an B l ues , a gr oup of three sketches which constituted a full length play

-The most impor t an t re su l t of the Group Theatre prize wa s that

Wi ll i ams got himself an agent, Audr ey Hood, a clos e frie nd of }~ o l ly DayThatcher who recommended him to Mi s s Wood Soon Mi s s Hood secured aone thousand-dollar Rockfe l l er Fe llows hip wh ich gave him money enough

to work comfortably, to rewr ite Batt l e o f Ange ls , He also received ascholarship to an advanced playwrit ing seminar at the New Schoo l in NewYork City , conducted by The r esa Helcurn a d John Gassner from the

Theatre Guild

His play Battle of Ange ls was ac ce pt e d by Gas s ner and opened inBoston on December 30, 1940, directed by Marg ret Web st er and with

l4Wi l l iams , quoted in Mrs Wil li ams , Rem emb er m e to Tom ~ p,97

lSNe l s on, Tennesse e W i l l iams _ p 40,

- 1

-Miriam Hopkin in the lead But it was a fail u r e, Discouraged, Wi l l iamsdrifted again to the South and Wes t Du r i ng this sad period of hi s

life, he received letters from his grandmot h e r in which we r e stitchedcarefully a five or ten dollar bill

In 1942, returning to New Y ork ~ Wil liams struck up a friendsh i p

with Jo Healy, who work ed for the Thea tre Guild She received lots offree tickets, so the two wou l d meet freque n tly for an early dinner andthen wou l d wa lk over to Broadway to attend the play of the night1 ,And,

perhaps, Jo Hea ly' s fri e ndsh i p encouraged hi m to wr i t e his first cessful play

suc-The G l ass Menag e r ie opened o De emb er 26, 1944, in Chicag o Despite the glowing rev i ews of the Ch i cago cr itics for the pl ay and itsstar, Laurette Taylor, The G l a s s Me nagerie di t not draw large audiencesthe followin g nights Aft e r a week, Eddie Dowling and co-producer

Louis J Singer decided to close the play rathe r than waste the remainder

of their funds, Then a woman came to Hi l 1iams' rescue Led by ClaudiaCassidy of the Chicago Tribune the Chicago drama critics began a steadybarrage in their columns exhort ing the pub li c to attend the new dramaand they won

The G lass M enage r i e opened in New York on Mar ch 31 , 1 45, It

ran for more than a year, Tenne s s e e IVi 11i ams had arr ive d Fr om that

16Donah ue , Th e D ramatic Wor l d o f Te nne ssee W illiam s p,16

- 13

-time on, he has averaged more than a pl ay eve r y two ye ars : Y au T ouche d

The Ro se T attoo (1951); Camin o Rea l (1953); Cat O n A H ot Tin Roof (1 955 ) ; Suddenl y L ast Summer (1957) ; Swe et Bir d o f Youth (1959); P e~ : od of Ad -

j ustment (1960); The Ni ght o f t he I gu an a (1961); The ~lk Train Doesn ~ t

St op He re An ymore (1963); S lap s tick Tragedy (The lfuti l a ted and Lhe

Gn adige s Fr aul e i n) (1965)

In thi s thesis I limit my subject to four of Wil liams ' earlie rplays They are Th e Glass Menageri e J Summer a nd S moke J A Streetcar

N amed D e s i r e and S uddenly L as t Summer. These plays refle ct the lif e of

the South and especially the decadence of the Sou thern gentl ewome n :

Wi lliams i s de aling with a m or e c omprehensive myt h F or t he

So uthe rner t he a nte - be l l um da ys · repr ese nt an ideal o f gra ci ous

liv-in g J an i deal that include s a code of per sonal ho nor e x t end in g i nt o

eve r y area of hi s expe rience Mo r eover J t he S outherner tra diti on is

a fami l y tr aditi on The Southerne r ca n look ba ck on pa s t g lories

tha t hav e b e come part of hi s own fa mi l y h i s t or y Th e im age o f th is

gloPy J th e S outhern way of l ife is t he heri t age o f e very So utherner

from ba ckw oods to tidewater and h e rece i ves i t as a bi r t hri ght ,l?

By coincidence, the three pl ay s in wh i ch the fema le cha r act e r s

are soft, delicate , had the participation of women in the ir production:

in Th e Gla ss M enagerie J Ma rgo Jones was ass ist ant to Eddi e Dowling wi ththe staging of the play; Summe r and S moke open e d suc cessfull y off-Broad-way at Margo Jones' Ar en a Theater in Dal l as; A S treetcar N amed D e sir e was

l7Thomas E Porter, MY t h an d Modern A me ri ca n D r ama (Mich i gan

Wayne St at e Univers ity Press , 1969 ), pp 153- 76,

- 14

-produced by Mrs Irene Mayer Selznick With the masculine character of

Mr s Venable, Suddenly L ast S ummer had -men as director and p r o ~

ducer

Tennessee Wi l l i ams' re Lationshipwi th women was obvious s i.nce

The female characters in the four plays : Laura, Alma, Blan che

and Mr s Venable are Southern ge n t l ewomen of culture and refinement

Al ong w i t h t heir re fine ment s eems t o go a k ind of pr i ssy

affectati on t hat i s s ome t imes only a m ask f or a p ass i o nat e and

frustrated nature T hey a re a l l out of touch w ith the wor ld ar ound

them a nd t hey li ve in wor lds o f thei r own makin g In sp ite of h is

ruth less thei r a f fec tati ons -and p r et ens esJWi l l ams s e ems to ha ve

sympathy fo r th em all 1 8

IBSigni Fall<, Tenness e e W i lliams (New Y or k

15

Chap ter II

A - SU MMARY O F EAC H PL AY A ND C HA RACT ER ANA LYSIS

1 " r u r G LASS MENAGERI E

The seven sce ne pl ay is a memo ry play The scenes 2.re Tom's

re coll e c t i ons They ar e re called to him when as a mer ch an t sailor in a

foreign port, he sees o jec ts in a sto re window, which remi nd him of

her sister 's glass menagerie at home

A young man with dreams , TomWi ngf i e l is bound to his mo the r

and sis ter be c aus e his father van ished one day and left them des t itut e

The mother, Amanda, live s in two worlds: the pleasant dr eam of the

past, the memo r y of seve nteen gentlemen caller s o one Sunday aft e rnoon

in Blue Moun t ain , and the shabby world of the present , wi th a son who

hates his job at th e warehous e and a da ugh te r who has refu s ed to ac ce pt

- 1

-the harsh realily of her life and has withdrawn into he r wo rld of theglass figur ines19

Laur a , the shy sis ter , has a defect A ch i ldhood illnes s hasleft he r crippled "St emming fr om th is , Laura' s se parat ion increas estill she is li ke a pi ece of her oym glas s colle c tion , too exqui s itelyfragile to move fr om the shelf " ZO

Furthermore , she always appe a rs on th e sta ge in a pool of light

which should not b reali s ti c, "having a peculiar pris tine cl a r i ty such

as ligh t used in early rel i gious po r tra i ts of female sa ints or mado nas"Zl Thus "La ra' s sepa r at ion with th e rea l wor l d is symb ol ic all y

-illustrate d by the stagin g and the l ghtingZZ

In the first scene , the Wingfi e lds ar e eating dinner Amanda

ke eps nagging at he r son's ea ting hab its and his smo k ing She does notlet Laur a clear the tabl e , becaus e sh e wants he r to stay fre sh andpretty, ready to.receive gen t l emen call er s She remi nds her ch ildr en

that on a particular Sunday aft ernoon sevent een gent l emen c me to cal l

on her Tom becomes irritated but Laura plead s with him to let Aman da

19Nelson, T enness ee W i [iams, D 98

2 Wi llia ms , T he Gl ass Mena gerie , p 5

2 I bi d , pp 9- 10

22Wi ni f r e d L Dusen bury , The T heme o f Lone l i ne s s in Mo de rn ~

- 1'7

-tell her story because she loves to tell it Perceptive of ot h er 's

never to return

.- 18

-been sent to a fifty dollar secretari al course whe r e she may learn th emeans of self support But too delic a te , unabl e to face the realit ies

of life, Laura becomes nauseated dur in? the typing speed test an d gives

up the course on the first day Now Amanda ha s jus t lea rne d this newsfrom the school She asks why Lau r a ha s de c e i v ed he r and he r daughtercan only reply that she could not face he r moth e r ' s suffer ing look whendistressed , she ha s ha d to deveive he r Everyday, whi l e he r mother

thinks she is at school, Lau r a has be en wa lk in g in the park , vis i t i n g

the bot an i cal ga rd ens sometimes has even g ne withou t lunch in order

to use her allowanc e to go to the movies

Betw e en the th r e a t of catching a cold while walking in the parksand the secretarial cou r s e, Laura has cho s en the first beca us e it wa s

"the lesser of two evils" Any contact with real ity is al mo s t mor e thanLau r a can face She canno t cope either wi t h the problem of living orwith he r environment Forced b he r de t e rmin ed mo t h e r to join the youngPeopl e ' s Le a gue at the church , she suffers anoth er failure because of

he r shyness She is a he l pl e s s girl who cannot deal with the commercial

wo r l d and he r consciousness of he r limp make s he r wi th draw from anycontact with people So she seeks to escape throu gh he r wo r l d of fan-tasy, of the glass figurines and of her worn out phonog r a ph recordsplayed on an old vi c t r ol a Bu t , someho w Lau ra ' s glass collection andthe soft music of the past from the old reco r ds give he r a kind of

beauty amidst the unhappiness and the phys ical squalor of he r life

- 19

-She lives with her family in an apartment in the rear of a

bui l di ng , "flanked on both sides by dark, narrow alleys which run in t omurky canyons of tangled clotheslines, garbage cans, and the sinister

Laura's own world which is more beautiful and harmless

experience what can happen to a southern girl without a home of her

birdlike women without any nest" According to her, the only way out

she has been secretly in love with a high school boy and has dreamed

Tom brings home at his mother's urging

father had plenty of

In Scene Ill, Amanda, after her unsuccessful attempt to sendLaura to a secretarial school, has only one last hope: to find a

23Williams, The Glass Mena geri e, p 21

20

-husband who will provide for her and somehow ke e p her from submergingentirely into he r world of imaginat i on To make Laura and he r home abit more attractive, Amanda hope s to ga i n a lit tle ext r a money by sell-

Then Amanda and Tom are he a r d quare l ling while La ura st an ds less with clenched hand s and panicky express i ons : the sens it i ve girl suf-

hel~-fers from the friction between Tom and A ~ and

con-fiscated his books Exa s pe r a t ed by th is ev e r l a s ting ca r pin g and he r

much h ha tes the life he is leading He is app alled by the idea of

spending hi s li fe coo ped up in that "celo tex int e r i or with fl uo r e sc enttubes ' " , of waking every mo rning to his mo th e r' s "Ri se and Sh in " Hewould rather be dead In the vi olen ce of his argume nt Tom throws hi s

cries out as if wounded, "1y gl a s s Me nage ri e ." For Laura , he r only

sense of attachement is to he r lit t l e glass ani mals She feels hurt

~~ h e n she se es the br oken figurines He r glas s collec t i on , together with

the ol d phonograph records, is what she cares mos t for He r fragi l e

La t e that ni ght Tom re t ur ns from the ~ ov i es about fi ve o'clock

in the morning.- ;, -Lau r a ope- - _ _ns :"\ the doo r for him

key She is wor r ied to see him sta y OUt so late, at the s~ me time she

tr i es to keep hi m from awakenin g th eir mother She pleads him to ~ o­logize, to make up with Amanda Tom, loving his de l~ ca t e 5 ~ S t e t , asks

his mother's forgiveness

After their making peace, Amand a c j oles Tom t bring home a

gentleman calle r for Lau r a, because i t fright ens her t et c ~bl y how Laura

just drifts along Tom defends his sis t er sa ying that she ' s JUS t thetype that people call home girls and Amand ~ re tocts that there is nosuch type She knows about Tom's intentio to enl i st at the M e l~ h a n t

Marine but before doing that he must look out for Laura because she ~ syoung and dependent

At his mother's insi s t ence to find a clean- living, n on-d t~n k in gsuitor for Laura, Tom agrees to bring home a gen tleman ca ll e r In S ~ en e

V, Amanda is thr il led wh en she hears th e news T0m.final l y l nv~te 5 to

dinner a warehou s e friend , name d Jim 0' Connor He admits that he had

said nothing about Laur a and tr ies to make his mo th r be a lit tle more

realistic, to warn he r not to expect too much He urges her to t ~c e

the fact that Laura is cripp led, that she seems a I~ t t l e p culiar ( 0

people outside the house because she live s in ~ wOl la of her own, aworld of little glass ornaments and old phono raph records Aman da

refuses to listen and implores Laura to wish on the moo for h app ~nes s

and good fortune

- 22

-The final two ~ c ene s present the supper at the Wi ngfield home

and the relationship betwe en Laura and Ji m

Amanda works to change La ur a into a pretty trap He r daught e r

wi th her new dress seems transformed "A fr agile , unear thy pre ttiness

has come out in Laura : she is li ke a piece of transl ucent gla s s touche d

by ligh t , given a momentary radiance, not actual, not lasting" 24.

Laura·is filled with apprehension.as we l l as wi th exc i t ement

She fi na l l y has a gentleman caller This feeling gives her a momentar ybeauty But her apprehension turns· to·panic·when she·hears the ca l ler 's

name, Jim·O'Connor, the high.school student whom·she had secretly loveand of whom she still dreams She is so terri f i ed at the·ide a of meet-

ing Jim that she feels si ck Whe n Ama nda asks her to answer the door

bell for·Tom and·Jim, she·rushes·to the·Vict rol a , wi nds· it fr an tic allyand turns·it·on The musi c of the old record, "Dardanell a" , gives her

str eng t h to open the doer Laur a is like a frightened child Beca us e

for support On the oth er hand, the old mus i c bri ngs the memory of th epast, of her high schoo l day s wit h Jim She feels cou rag eo us enough to

and runs out the room

24Wi l liams, The Glass M enageri e, p 69

- 23

-Tom, le f t alone with Jim tel ls him cha t he is t Lred of tne

movie s when in the company of mi ll ions of ot h er Amer ican s Sitti ng ~n

darkened theat e r s, he lets a few HolLywood actors have all his advetures for him He confe s s e s to Jim that he had joi ne d the Me r ch an t

n-Mar i ne , using th e mon ey set asid e to pay the light bil l to pay his

union dues Then Amanda app e ars in her al most his torica l ball dres

to gre e t Ji m Tom is shocke d and embarra s s ed and J1m, too, stands

spee chless in spite of his ni ghtscho ol co rs e in pub l i c spe ak i ng Tom

saves the situation by asking to have suppe r served La ura , too sick

is unable to come to the tab l e for dinner

Aft er the dinne r th e ligh t s go ou t -the result of the unpa1d

ele c t ri c bi l l , Amanda pretends to pun ish Tom by mak1ng him help her

wi t h the dishes, but in re al i t y she wan t s Jim to be alone wit h Laura

Laura's voi ce is thin and br eathless from her shyness in answing Jim's questions Then as he disp l ays his warm th an d ~ h a ( m , she

seems won by hi m She con f e ss e s that she kn ew hi m 1n high school as

he used to call her Blue Roses As they r e col l ~t the i r hi gh schoo l

days, Laura refers to her brace o her le g which cl umped so loud, li k

thunder, an d to her intense shyness Jim advis es her to o ver ~o m e the

Laura br ings out the annual with all the t0mancic memori es an

Ji m is so sur pri s ed tha t she knows so much abou t hi m as a high s ~ h ) ul

athl e t e and a le adi ng figure in the school musi c programs, Laura

- 24

-con f e s s es that during he r final semester she became nervous l y ill,

flunked her final examination and did not gr adua t e He r sickn ess haddeeper reason She had seen in the personal section that Jimwas enge

ged to Emily Me i s enba ch She felt rejected and did not have the courc

to continue · studying She dropped school When she hear s Jim saythat this engagement was just propaganda, her face shines ou t with halpiness

Since high school, she had taken a business cours e but had todrop out because it gave her indi gestion Laura's sickness is the co-ver of her inability to cope with the harsh reality Whenever she feeunable to adjust to her environment or when she suffers a dis a ppoin t -

men t , Laura feels sick The illness betrays her fragil ity

Laura is afraid that Jim may judge her as an idle gir l Sh ejustifies herself, saying that her gl a s s collection takes up a good dE

of time

Jim begins immediately to analyse Laura as a victi mof an inf eriority complex He tries to build up some self-confiden ce in he r }tells he r that the solution to her problem is to forge t he r cripple dleg, whi ch is only a mi no r defect

Listening to Jim, Laura's shyness is eclipsed in he r abs olutewonder She bl ooms under Jim's attentions The ma gi c of lov e has Wo]

o Laura Her · mo t he r has tol d her the same things but sh e did not

-car e , too busy with her own world She responds to Jim's encourageme

She develops charm and vitality She shows him her precious collecti

of fragile glass figures, which she so treasures and which are her esworld, to which she flees when the real world proves too much for herShe picks up her favorite piece, a thirteen year old unicorn, pointsthe single horn on his forehead and admits that he is extinct The

little glass figurine is a living thing to her, she talks about hi s ~

cepting without complaint his companions, horses without ho r ns Theunicorn is obviously a symbol for Laura who is also a delicate trans]cent girl, out of place in the contemporary world as is the gl a s s unicorn in her menagerie among the common animals

Laura is carried away with the conversation, but Jim is soondistracted by the music played across the alley He asks Lau r a to d ~

against the table There i s a shatter of glass The unicorn has fa]and its horn.h as broken off Although Laura insists that the unicon

gets along well with the other horses, it is·with deep relief that Sfsays : "Now i t is just like all the other horses"

For Laura the break of the horn is a blessing in disguise Lc

raIs "horn" is the slight limp25 Now the horn is broken as well asher limp is, according to Jim, only a minor disablility, she feels

25Duse nb ury , T he Th eme o f Lon e l iness i n Mo dern A mer i can Dramc

p.137

26

-rel ieved She sees ~h ~ symbol as her chance to live an ordinary life

and no longer remain a unique indivi dual apart from others 1 "I' l l JUsimagine he ha~ an operation, The hor n wa s removed to make him fe el

le s s - f r e ak i sh! Now he will feel mor e at home with the ocher hocse s, t hones that don't have horns"26,

Jim is won by Laurais unique charm He tel ls her she is different from anyone else She is special and pretty in hec own way Hesets out to build up her confidence in herself Like che clumsy SCum-

blejohn who broke her unicorn, and unaware what is happening to Laur a

he talks about making her proud and not shy He tenderly kisses her,

When he releases her, Laura sinks to the sofa with a dazed and bri ghtlook She is for a brief whi l e drawn out of her pri vate world ButJim, seeing her radiant fa ce , realizes his mi s t ak e Popping a mint

int o his mouth ~ he managed to stammer out that he is al ready enga ge d

to a girl named Betty Ji m's kis s and his gesture of love which Laureneeds so desperate l y does not heal her, It is onl y a momen t ary ex i tfrom her wor l d of glass collection, As Ji m tal ks about hi s love for

Be t ty, Laura crumples as if struck, The joy has been snuf e d out ofher fa ce, She has a look of almost infinite desolation

Laura carefully places the broken unicorn, whi ch is no long erlike her but like any ordinary animal, in the hand of Jim O!Connor

26Wil l iams, Th e Gl ass M enagerie , p 104,

- 27

-then pushes his fingers closed upon her onc e favo r it e figu r i ne: as a

s o ~ v e n i r. Jim, so completely at ease and self -assured a momen t before

is unable to help her at the moment she ne e ds himmost , As Laur a's

dreamvanished, Jim departs Laurarises uns teadil y and starts to wind

the Victro l a She relapses in to her former wor l d of the old phonograph

recor ds and the glass menager ie Her br ie f entrance to the wor ld of

rea li ty is a failure Like the glass uni corn wh ich is smas he d by her

gentleman caller, Lau ra , the deli c ate and sensit i ve girl is v artual Ly

helpless in a modern world wit hou t tende rness and under s t anding Loo

k-ing for compas s i on she is brought face to fac wit h the reali ty ot a

wor l d which can only offer : "ho t swing mus ic and liquor , dan ce hal l s,

bar s and movies and sex that hung in the gl oom l i ke a ch ande li er and

flooded the w or Ld with brief and decept i ve rainbows,, 2 7

To escape this deceptive wor l d of re a l ity, as deceptive as

Jim' s fee lings for he r Laura withdraws int o her own sparkl in g cold

wor l d of the glas s menager ie , never to come out

Amanda bru tally berates Tom for bringing.Laur a another gi rl' s

fiance She accuses him of all owing them, Amanda and Laura; to make

fools of themselves and spend money reckl e s s ly, for getting th at Tomhad tried to warn her

:27 Willi ams , The G l ass Me na gerie > p, 57 ,

- 28

-·I n the closing scene, Amanda is seen comfo rt ing her da ugh te rwho finally enclosed herself in her illusions Me anwh ile, Tom, asnarrator, explains that he was fired by the shoe company He le f t St.Louis He has departed into a world from whi ch Laura has made herfinal irrevocable retreat Although he realizes how much he is needed

by his mother and sister, he must run away to save himself But he isforever haunted by a feeling of guilt toward Laura and ple ads that hercandles may be extinguished in his memory As he concl ude s his tor-

tured speech, Laura blows out the candl es , and having thus apparentlybeen forgotten by Tom, she is left in black dar kness foreve r28.

Laura, at the:finals cene , seems to be destroyed by the ness of reality Her gentility and her fr a gi li t y cannot cope wi t h thecommercial world Any contact with people, with any kind of sociallife brings failure She cannot deal with the present way of living

harsh-Her inability, her helplessness before a ma t e r i a lis ti c wor l d is exp res ,

by sien of - sickness, Destruction is in evi t ab l e She sees a way

out of her isolation when receiving the gentleman~ caller But i

turns out that he is already engaged to another gd rl , So Laura, toflee forever the real world, seeks refu ge in her world of imaginationand illusions She finds comfort among he r glass menager ie and her allphonograph records

28Dusenbury, T he Theme o f L one li n es s in M ode rn A mer ican D r ama ,

p 137

- 29

-2 - SUMMER AND SMO KE

In a setting reminiscent of the broken wa lls and in t e r i or s of

a Chirico painting, Williams underscores his theme in S umme ~ a nd Sm oke

with two symbolic pieces: on the public square, a st one ange l wit h

wings lifted and hands cupped as for a drinking foun t a i n; 1n the doctor's

of f i ce an anatomy chart These are outward Aymbols of an inner conflict

between soul and body, spirit and flesh29, The play recounts the

simple love story of Alma Winemiller, the puritanical daughter of a

Mi s s i s s i ppi minister and his insane wife, and Alma's childhood compan L on zl c

Buchanan, a wi ld boy and even·a wilder youth Al ma and John are attracte

to each other Yet, because of their antithet ical attitudes toward life,

they cannot reach any real understanding300

The twelve-scene play takes up the Jim O'Connor-Laura Wi ngfi e ld ' stheme·of loneliness-and the need for a warm, meaning ful re lat onship

3 Donahue , The D r amat ic Wo rZd of Te nnesse e Wi Z Ziams~ p 39

-But in this play, the re is an obs e s sion with sexua l i ty that was absent

in T he Gla ee He nagerie."

At the opening scene, Alma who has just sung at a Fourt h of Jul ]

band concert come s off the plat fo rm, suf f e r i ng from a seve re case of

stage fright She knows she si ngs well but she ~ acting wi t h he r de ep

labo r ed breath and froz en fingers Beside s , John ' s nearby pr es ence

disturbs her She sits on a bench in the par k to wait fo r Roge r John

throws a firecracker toward Alma's bench She sp rings u with a shoc ke c

cry John, trying to comfort her, offers he r appl ej a ck br andy as a res·

torative, but spinterish Alma turns it down col dly

Alma'has a nervous laugh and gestures whi ch bel ong to year s of

church entertainment Having growing up in the compa ny of her pa r ents,

she "i s too proper and correct All this exces sive pr operness and ai r~­

ness cove r s he r hidden passion fo r John She is in love wi th him but

she cannot accept his deb auch er y For pr o t e c t i on against her weakness,

she hi de s her s el f behind th e mask of a delicate and elegant lady mov~

in her own respectable cir cle

John' tells Al ma that he had graduated wi th honor s from John

Hopki ns·; and.:that he is not.sure whether he will take over hi s fathe r ' smedical practice.Hearing this, Alma speaks ecs~ a t ically about the medi -cal profession, which brings relief to al l human suf f er ing Then sheremarks that she has great admiration for John's father , and that she

- 31

-goes to him on occasion because of her nerv ous hear t troubl e Doctor

Buchanan always gives her temporari l y reass uran ces.John sus pe cts thatshe needs something mor e than a temporary reassur an ce He goes o

di agnos i ng Alma's case, saying that she use s the trick of hys terical

women , swallowing air when she lau ghs or tal ks, tha t she has a Doppel ganger (another person inside one s e l f) and the Doppelgange r is badly

-irritated

Alma responds to John's diagnosis wi t h fei gned surprise.But he rlaugh is hollow because she knows he is right She feels uneasy Shepretends to treat the matter lightly with the manners of a curious womanwho wants to know her sickness In fact, she desires to know John'sopinion about her John refuses to analyz e her further wi th the pretex tshe is not hi s patient She reproaches him that he is down right wickednot to let her know the tr uth The n remembering her goo d manne r s , she

does not insist and le t s the subject dr op

At this point Ros a Gonzales wal ks indolently by , dre s s ed in rish finery, feathers and flashy jewelry John soon learns that Rosa

ga-is the daughter of the Mexi can who owns the Moon Lak e gambl ing Ca sino

When John puts his foot on the bench, Al ma becomes nervous andused verbal affectat ion which John refers to as a verb a l "py rotee:hn ic ldisplay" John's nearness ri s e s her desi re for him To avoi d it sheretreats behind her shiel d of snobbishness usi ng bi g words

- 32