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Summer and Smoke
Dramaturgy Notes by Kate Pierson
The culture of the South conjures up images of front
porches, going to church on Sundays, meals of fried
chicken, grits, and “home-style cooking,” jazz and
blues music, a strong sense of history, and most importantly, a tight-knit community. Even today, Southern culture remains distinct from other regions of
the United States. Going back to the turn of the 20th
century, with the effects and changes from the Civil
War still fresh in the memory of the South, the desire
to hold onto Southern sensibilities regarding manners,
social interactions, and lifestyles shaped every aspect
of the culture.
In the early 1900s, the Progressive movement sought to
reform the labor laws and the educational system and
advocated for social justice, prohibition, and equality
for citizens. Occurring in tandem with Progressivism,
the Women’s Rights Movement was actively gaining
support, which eventually led to the passage in 1920 of
the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote.
All the while, the South struggled to maintain its long
established sense of identity, embracing some changes, such as elements of Progressivism that reformed
education and labor, while resisting others, like women’s rights and equality. It is during this moment in
history, as the United States underwent many changes
to its laws and social policies, that Tennessee Williams
set his play Summer and Smoke; written after the end
of World War II, but set just prior to the start of World
War I.
As many great playwrights have done before, Tennessee Williams wrote about what he knew best, deriving
inspiration from his life and roots in Southern culture.
Born in Columbus, Mississippi in 1914 (in his grandfather’s rectory!), he grew up to create characters that
have become iconic figures in American theatre and to
share his affection for the world he had known in now
canonical works like The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire. In an interview, Williams explained
his complex relationship with the South and why he
was drawn to write about it: “The South once had a
way of life that I am just old enough to remember--a
culture that had grace, elegance...an inbred culture...
not a society based on money, as in the North. I write
out of regret for that.”
Written in 1946, at roughly the same time as A Streetcar Named Desire, Summer and Smoke seeks to capture
the grace and elegance of the old South. In the play,
the tensions of this period of cultural upheaval come
alive through the characters, Alma and John. They
each struggle to understand their own identity while
negotiating personal desires and societal expectations.
Through Alma and John, we gain entry to a historical
moment filled with exciting yet unforeseen changes to
individuals and communities that continue to reverberate through US American life. The play allows us to
imagine a world long past, while the characters invite
us to acknowledge--and perhaps to resist--the societal
forces that dominate our world view and now prevent
our risking it all to live the lives we dream.
Kate Pierson is a second year Ph.D. Theatre Studies
candidate from St. Petersburg, Florida. She received
her BA in Theatre from FSU and her masters in Theatre Studies from Central Washington University.