Dramatizing dementia

This study examines the presentation of madness in the major plays by Tennessee Williams, and demonstrates the ways that Williams's preoccupation with the mentally ill and society's treatment of them were explored through his drama. Thematic chapter groupings divide the analysis into discussions of confinement, language, women, and the artist. The critical approach is eclectic and the author draws on a variety of psychological, literary, and biographical sources to construct her argument. Analysis of madness in such plays as A Streetcar Named Desire, Suddenly Last Summer, The Night of the Iguana, and The Two-Character Play will interest scholars of Williams and readers interested in literary madness.