Do You Want the Movie Version or the Truth?

In the film adaptation of “A Streetcar Named Desire” there were a few minor changes to Tennessee Williams’ original play, but nothing too major. That is, until you get to the very last scene. All of the other changes I understood to a point; this was a racy play, and some adjustments had to be made in order for it to be presented to a larger audience. And these changes were made in a way that, ultimately, they did not take away from the larger picture that Williams’ was trying to get across. But I could not get over how the ending was changed. To me, this seemed to take away the very point of everything that Williams’ writing had been about and by making such a drastic change to the ending, the very reasoning behind all of the moves made by each character seemed to be taken away.

In Williams’ original script, the story ends with Stella choosing to live in denial of her husband’s infidelity and even worse, his gross mistreatment, and ultimate rape, of Blanche. By the conclusion of the story, the reader is left pondering why Stella ever fell for Stanley, and yet, understanding that all the steps she had taken in her life led her to this final decision to choose Stanley over Blanche. It is an unbelievably sad ending, but one that, in the context of events, the reader sadly understands. Stella’s decisions are being guided by society’s voice which tells her she cannot leave Stanley, or she will be financially unstable and will be unable to care for their child; she must instead “keep on going,” as Eunice tells her (686). She is also being controlled by the lust and love that she shares with Stanley. She is so infatuated with him, that she is able to overlook all of his faults as long as he beckons her to their bed at the end of the day.

But in the movie, everything ends with Stella still sending Blanche away, but then turning around and running out with her baby saying she will never go back to Stanley again. I was completely shocked. To me, this ending did not add up at all! Why on earth would Stella send Blanche away to a mental institute if she was going to leave Stanley anyway? If she wasn’t with Stanley, she could believe Blanche and seek help for her in a different setting than simply shipping her off to a mental institute. And why would she suddenly have such a change of heart concerning her dreadful husband? Now she would have no one in the world to help her get through life—no husband, no family, just a baby to raise on her own!

Although I understand that the ending may have been changed to once again keep the “scandalous” moments of the movie down to a minimum, this is one change that I do not think is acceptable if it is going to maintain the title of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” In my mind, this ending changed the very essence of the movie. And I was sincerely disappointed.