ASND, biographical AO3 Flashcards
When did Rose have her bilateral prefrontal lobotomy?
1943
What was Tennesee’s fathers view on his effeminate nature?
His father did not condone this and would call him ‘Miss Nancy’
Why was Rose institutionalized?
She had schizophrenia.
By the late 1930s Williams accepted his homosexuality and found a gay social circle. When did he initiate an affair with dancer Kip Keirnan?
They met at a conga class, they began a relationship in 1940.
Why did Kip Keirnan leave Williams?
To marry a woman.
When did Williams meet Merlo?
1948
How long did Merlo + Williams relationship last?
14 years until infidelities and drug abuse on both sides ended it.
Why did Williams return to Merlo?
Because Merlo was diagnosed with cancer shortly after their breakup. Williams looked after him until his death in 1963
What happened to Williams after Merlo’s death?
He spiraled into depression and drug use. Eventually dying in 1983 by choking on a bottle cap.
When did Kip Keirnan die and at what age?
He died in 1944 at age 26, this was a huge blow to Williams.
What did Williams say about writing?
‘At the age of fourteen I discovered writing as an escape from a world of reality in which I felt acutely uncomfortable’
Williams is thought to be able to identify with the fragility and vulnerability of women. What did he say about his characters?
‘I draw every character out of my very multiple split personality. My heroines always express the climate of my interior world at the time in which those were created’
Why did Williams connect with Crane?
Crane was homosexual and also had troubled relationships with his parents, he was trying to express himself as a homosexual in a heterosexual world.
Why are Williams and Blanche similar in terms of relationships?
Both have fragmented relationships.
In 1945 on a visit to New Mexico Williams met Poncho Rodriguez y Gonzales and they lived and travelled together until 1947.
Williams spent the summer of 1948 in Rome with a teenage italian boy called Raefello to whom he financially assisted for years later.
