A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

5/5 Stars

Publish Date: March 5th 2009 (Original 1947)

Publisher: Penguin Classics

Pages: 112 pages

“They told me to take a streetcar named Desire and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at - Elysian Fields”

- A Streetcar Named Desire

Image from Goodreads

This was a book I had to read for school and I was pleasantly surprised with it. This is not a book I would normally go for, but I am glad I read it.

The most iconic line from this book has to be when Stanley shouts“Stell-lahhhhh!’”

The story follows Blanche Dubois as she goes to visit her sister Stella and her husband Stanley after loosing her job and the family home, Belle Reve. Stanley feels that Blanche is ruining his home life. Stella on the other hand is caught between her husband and her sister. As the play progresses Blanche's mental state comes into question.

Rereading this again allowed me to appreciate it so much more. Tennessee portrays the juxtaposition between fantasy and reality, the relationships between death and sexuality as well as the dependence on men as it was set in a time where males were the sole earners.