Art as a Sustaining Force in the Plays of Tennessee Williams

Abstract

Tennessee Williams and his protagonists are artists marginalized by their circumstances. They are dissatisfied with their present and keep on pursuing what ought to be. It is because of such traits that they seek survival and redemption in the art. The present paper focuses on how with the force of their creativity they succeed in transforming the unpalatable events of their life into a thing of beauty. These artists unlock the secret corners of their minds through the agency of art or sex considering sexuality and art as the way to personal meanings in the world of confusion and chaos. The paper further explores their lives, full of traumatic experiences, and their struggles to make it endurable with the power of their art. The qualitative analysis of the characters suggests that their tender feelings, which serve them as source of inspiration in their moments of creativity and their imaginative ability, with which they try to avoid their complete breakdown are the main reasons for their survival.  Finally, the paper considers the role of their art as the most powerful consolation in their lives.