The essay "The Catastrophe of Success" was written by
Williams to celebrate the third anniversary of the Chicago opening of his play
The Glass Menagerie (1944). The play received enthusiastic reviews
from critics and was soon sold out. Its move to Broadway in 1945 brought more critical
and public attention to the playwright who won the important Circle Award. The
Glass Menagerie propelled Williams into literary fame and paved the way for
his other big hits of the 1950s: A Streetcar Named Desire and
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
"The
Catastrophe of Success", which is nowadays often reprinted after The Glass
Menagerie, describes the impact of success on Williams. From a struggling
artist Williams suddenly became a literary personality, but this was far than positive
for him. The essay, which displays an equal sense of irony and desperation, defines
success as a catastrophe because it makes people give up the struggle for survival. One
falls prey to what Williams calls "an effete way of life" which destroys an artist's
creativity. In addition, success puts great pressure and demands onto the artist to
continue literary production. The essay was written before the opening of A
Streetcar Named Desire and Williams seems to be arguing that the depression
caused by his sudden success has been overcome through the writing of the new play. Yet,
depression would plague Williams throughout his life. The essay is oddly prescient of
what would happen to the author in the 1960s and 1970s when critics often agreed that he
was unable to replicate the success of his early plays.
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