The Night of the Iguana | The So-Called "Happy" Ending of Williams's Play
In this essay, Petrusso examines the so-called "happy" ending of Williams's play via the motivations of its three main characters.
One source of controversy among critics of Tennessee Williams's The Night of the Iguana is the decision of Reverend T. Lawrence Shannon to stay at the hotel with Maxine Faulk at the end of the play. Glenn Embrey, in his essay ‘‘The Subterranean World of The Night of the Iguana,'' argues "the ending isn't as believable as it is formally pleasing and optimistic. Even according to the overt level of drama, the ending sounds suspiciously like the product of wishful thinking. For one thing, it comes rather suddenly and unexpectedly; an hour's exposure to human compassion, a...
[The entire page is 1726 words long]
Join eNotes
The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:
Summary and Analysis – Themes – Characters – And much more...
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
Related Topics
Tell a friend about The Night of the Iguana at eNotes.
