10 Myths About Tennessee Williams (and Some About His Plays)
#1) Tennessee Williams is from Tennessee.False. Tennessee Williams was born in Columbus, Mississippi. There are various rumors as to how he came to adopt the nom-de-plume, but the fact is, while he was a Southerner...he was not a Tennesseean.
Left: Tennessee's first home in Columbus, Mississippi.
False. At any point in his life, Tennessee knew just where to find a church. In his early childhood, he was raised by his mother and his loving grandparents—a minister and his wife. They instilled in young Tom, as he was known then, a solid understanding of Christian scripture and practice. Eventually, Tennessee would break away from strictly organized religion, but he always had a respect for what went on in houses of worship. His plays frequently included religious themes and references, showcasing Williams' understanding and fascination with the spiritual. This myth is perpetuated by the idea that his brother Dakin "saved" Tennessee after a difficult period during the 1960s. Tennessee allowed his brother to "convert" him to Roman Catholicism, but the playwright would then go on to say that it didn't really stick.
#3) Tennessee Williams hated his family.
Very False. Tennessee loved his sister Rose dearly, and ventured to take care of her for his entire life. His relationship with his mother, while strained at times (whose isn't?), was one of devotion and understanding between two complex people. His brother Dakin was never his closest sibling, but the two got on well enough, it would seem. Of course his relationship was wonderful with his grandparents, going so far as to travel with his elderly grandfather all over the world. The most troublesome relationship, perhaps, is that with his father, Cornelius. They'd never see eye to eye in their lifetimes, but upon Cornelius's death, Tennessee wrote a touching essay exploring his feelings about his father. In "The Man In the Overstuffed Chair", Tennessee expressed a touching understanding of the troubled patriarch of the Williams clan.
#4) Tennessee Williams lived his life in the closet.
False. While Tennessee didn't wear his sexuality on his sleeve in the same way as Gore Vidal or Truman Capote, he certainly didn't work to hide it. In the 1960s and 70s, he came under fire for not being as proactive as some activists thought he should be. He was accused of demonizing his gay characters or writing covertly gay characters in the guise of women. The truth is, he wrote gay character just as raw, broken, and magnificent as any of his other characters. However, in the films based on his plays, gay themes would often be cut out or whittled down by the studios for censorship purposes. All the more reason to see his plays in a live theatre!
#5) Tennessee Williams choked on a bottle cap and died.
False. Tennessee didn't choke to death. If you want to know more about this myth, John Lahr's biography, Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh is a good place to start. But I won't spoil the surprise.
#7) Tennessee Williams was a misogynist.
Extra False. Many of Williams' richest, most developed characters were women. He basically set the standard in eroticizing the male body through the lens of the female character—which is the opposite of say, a Bond film, in which women are set dressing and men rule the world. Even in a world where the men hold the power, which is often the case in the symbolic and realistic worlds in Williams' plays, the female voices are some of the most pointed and poignant.
#8) Special Super-Southern Myth: Tennessee Williams paints a negative portrait of the South.
Well, yes and no. If by "negative" you mean "not sugar-coated", then yes. Tennessee wrote the South the same way he wrote every other locale: with brutal, unflinching honesty. The heroes have flaws, the antagonists can be charismatic, and society looks like society—at best, dysfunctional. What some might be unused to seeing is the South drawn in such a way that's not precious, sweet, and slow. That South is two-dimensional. Tennessee's is not.
#9) Tennessee Williams detested St. Louis, Missouri.
Below: The infamous shoe factory alluded to in The Glass Menagerie.
Qualification: Sometimes. Young Tom Williams and even young-ish Tennessee expressed a strong distaste for "the city of St. Pollution". He was dragged from an idyllic Southern landscape into a cramped urban setting where he was poked fun at for his accent and, more importantly, was made to live in a hostile environment at home, where his mother and father were constantly at odds. Later in his life, however, Tennessee would come to accept that St. Louis was part of his artistic journey. While it was never his favorite place, Tennessee would forgive St. Louis for what he came to understand were offenses committed not by the place, but by circumstances.
TRUE! Not a myth! ...Well, we think so, anyway. And we hope you agree. But whether you love Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Eugene O'Neill, Lillian Hellman, August Wilson, or whomever—we hope your life has been or will be enriched by Williams' unique contribution to the American theatre landscape.
