The "Soft People" of Laura and Tom Wingfield in 'The Glass Menagerie' and Blanche DuBois in 'A Streetcar named Desire'

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, Martin Luther University, language: English, comment: This term paper is intended to elucidate on the topic of "soft people" within Tennessee Williams most important plays, "The Glass Menagerie" and "A Streetcar Named Desire". Why did the theme "soft people" gain such prominence within Williams` work? What parallels can be detected between the authors life and aspects of his characters? What makes Laura and Tom Wingfield, on the one hand, and Blanche DuBois, on the other hand, belong to this category? What misery do these characters share? What signifies their softness in any individual case, and what determines their fate? , abstract: "Ive run for protection .... And so the soft people have got to - shimmer and glow - put a - paper lantern over the light. ... But Im scared now - awf`ly [sic] scared." These lines of self-revelation by Blanche DuBois, the protagonist of A Streetcar Named Desire, go hand in hand with Maggies words of consolation at the end of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: "Oh, you weak, beautiful people who give up with such grace. What you need is someone to take hold of you - gently, with love, and hand your life back to you, like something gold you let go of ...." Both describe one of the most crucial, if not the most central, elements of Tennessee Williams literary work: the concept of fragility and need for protection within a universe of hostility - the notion of "soft people."
This term paper is intended to elucidate on the topic of "soft people" within Tennessee Williams most important plays, The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire. It will try to investigate the following questions: Why did the theme "soft people" gain such prominence within Williams` work? What parallels can be detected between the authors life and aspects of his characters? What makes Laura and Tom Wingfield, on the one hand, and Blanche DuBois, on the other hand, belong to t