A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams

Hot damn that's my jam.

This is the second novel in my string of "books Shannon let me borrow for this project and is thereby amazing for doing so" series. A Streetcar Named Desire, a play by Tennessee Williams, is something I always wondered about ever since I heard the Panic! At the Disco song where they make a reference to the play. (I mean, and before that, obviously, I had heard of it before 2011, Jesus.) The line itself is from the song "Memories" off of their 2011 album, Vices and Virtues, "And it was beautifully depressing / Like 'A Streetcar Named Desire'," and I feel like I agree with that quote (I mean, taken out of context of the song, of course). Let's dig into the play, shall we?

Literally forgot people were given the name "Blanche" at some point.

So the play is pretty short, and if you've ever read a play versus actually seeing one being performed, it takes very little time. I took a playwriting class my last semester of college and I really enjoyed writing them, so now whenever I read them I always go "damn, I should write one of these!" And then I remember that there's a reason I took the class my last semester of college. Anyway, Blanche is Stella's sister (Stella! STELLA!!!!) and she comes to visit because of some bullshit reason, but IS ACTUALLY BROKE AND JOB-LESS, spoiler alert. (Y'all know these have spoilers right?) Anyway she makes herself at home in Stella and Stanley's house, and Stanley sees right through her. He knows she's insane and lying about things, but Stella doesn't want to believe him, because they're sisters and would you? All the while, Stella is carrying Stanley's child, and Blanche becomes attached to one of his friends, Mitch. Well, Stanley does some fact-checking and realizes Blanche has been lying about a bunch of things ever since she got there, so he accuses her. And she loses her shit. (Stanley is also low-key domestically abusing Stella and I'm very worried for her post-play.) The play ends with Blanche being taken from their house by a doctor so she can get the treatment she needs.

I forgot how much I liked reading plays.

This play was really interesting to read because of the different time period and setting than plays I'd previously read. Overall I felt really uneasy reading this with Stanley being how he is but it ended in a sort of resolved place, so I'm okay with it. That being said I'd love to see this performed, and might have to do some digging to see one online. Highly recommend. THANKS AGAIN SHANNON!!!

NOTES IN THE MARGINZ FACTS

Book number: 4

Books left: 335

Amount of time taken to read: 2 days (should have taken less)

Books by Tennessee Williams for NitM: 1

x

P.S. - It's actually a streetcar that is named Desire. It blew my mind too.