Decay of the Public and the Private in Tennessee Williams' 'The Glass Menagerie' and 'A Streetcar Named Desire'

Abstract

By sentencing his female characters to death, Williams shows that the distinguished values of the Old South are not properly adaptable into the futile life of modern man. Despite losing the battle against the representatives of the New South, the dignity and highness of Williams’ Southern Belles is restored in both of his plays. He articulates his admiration for the respectable history and the dignified traditions of the Old South and commemorates the grandeur and glory of his homeland in The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire.