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and the audience likes it. They like the madness in you hitting out. It
is the most beautiful thing that Vlasilov Nijinsky wrote; he said a lot
of profoundly true things, of course, some of them were mad too.
Int.:
Is Blanche mad or does she just give in to the situation of her
being mad?
Williams:
I think she's broken at the end.
Int.:
Which is not the same thing?
Williams:
She had personal, great strength and personal vulnerability
that was finally broken.
Int.:
The madness becomes a metaphor to express that.
Williams:
Yes.
Int.:
To be taken away.
Williams:
Yes. I think it was the only solution for her to go away, to be
taken away or to go away. She was not adaptable to the circum–
stances as they were, that the world had imposed on her. She was a
sacrificial victim, you know; she was metaphorical as a sacrificial
victim of society.
Int.:
There's great wit in her, too.
Williams:
Oh quite funny, she's funny.
Int.:
She fights with incredible stamina.
Williams:
Yes, she fights to the end. She's a tiger, extreme tigers are
destroyed, not defeated.
Int.:
She had some of the nature of a great poet too.
Williams:
Not a great poet; she had had some good speeches but she
was eloquent in the way that maybe southern ladies are, you know. I
always thought she had her comic side, her little vanities, and her
little white lies, but when it came down to the nitty-gritty she wasn't
a liar. She told the truth when she had to. But, she was broken on the
rock of the world; I find her a sympathetic character, but I also find
Stanley sympathetic. (laughter)
Int.:
Yes, that made a great drama because there was a great conflict
there.
Williams:
You have to understand both sides.
Int.:
In these new plays do you still try to strike at the audience, do you
still try to shock them?
Williams:
I don't think I'm the tiger I used to be. Hahaha. I'm trying to
deal with them differently.
Int.:
I'm very curious about these new short stories too because the
Eight Women
is the expression of the femininity.
Williams:
Several sides of one, yes. Oh, I should think women are
getting very funny and touching don't you?
