A review by pomegranatepanacea
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

challenging tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No

4.0

I'm trying to parse my feelings on this one. I liked it a lot up until the last scene. It left a bad taste in my mouth at the end, even though I know that was a deliberate choice on Williams' part... Definitely check the content warnings if you want to read it. It didn't ruin it for me, but it definitely left me with a lot of conflicting feelings and a lot of things to think about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Sexual assault and Adult/minor relationship

I want to explain the graphic content warning for mental illness. This spoils the ending of the play in detail.

In the last scene, scene eleven, a doctor and a matron show up to the apartment to hospitalize Blanche. There is mention of a straitjacket, but the doctor says it won't be necessary. Blanche is hospitalized seemingly because she is a compulsive liar, hears music that isn't there, and has developed a delusion.

This ending just seemed very out-of-left-field. It greatly affected my enjoyment of this great play. I know that this is deliberate on Williams' part to showcase Stella's character (

she sees the best in everyone, after all, no matter what

) and the negative stigma surrounding mental health and how it's treated. It's just a massive bummer, and I tend to enjoy reading bummers.