A Streetcar Named Desire
by Tennessee Williams · first published 1947
3mentions
0recommended by
3HN commenters
2008–2016first – last mentioned
67% neutral33% critical
A Streetcar Named Desire is one of the most remarkable plays of our time. It created an immortal woman in the character of Blanche DuBois, the haggard and fragile southern beauty whose pathetic last grasp at happiness is cruelly destroyed. It shot Marlon Brando to fame in the role of Stanley Kowalski, a sweat-shirted barbarian, the crudely sensual brother-in-law who precipitated Blance's tragedy. Produced across the world and translated into many languages, A Streetcar Named Desire has won one of the widest audiences in contemporary literature. Also contained in: - [New Voices in the A
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…As for the kind of books that I had to read -- I found the Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood) to be utterly horrid. Bad writing, large plot holes, poor continuity, etc. To be fair, many of them (eg, A Streetcar Named Desire) I disliked simply because I found the characters distasteful and unappealing. ("meaningless people with meaningless lives")
on “In the Basement of the Ivory Tower” ↗1. Howard Roarke (The Fountainhead) 1943 Novel 2. Stanley Kowalski (A Streetcar Named Desire) 1947 Play Just two that spring to mind. I'm sure a diligent person could find plenty of other examples of rapist protagonists in 20th century literature.
on “Wikileaks: Julian Assange's internet access 'cut'” ↗…Son" in high school? Do you think that the fact that its protagonist committed murder means that Richard Wright or society at the time approved of murder? And by the way, when "The Fountainhead" and "Streetcar Named Desire" came out, those rape scenes were just about as controversial as the publication of "Native Son".
on “Wikileaks: Julian Assange's internet access 'cut'” ↗