Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Night of the Iguana was a stage play by Tennesse Williams that was based on one of his own short stories. It was first staged in 1959 and it was converted into an Oscar-winning film in 1964. Like his other dramas and stories, The Night of the Iguana deals with the subject of sex, repressed sexual desires, mental illness, loneliness, and confinement. There is an iguana in the story that is bound to be killed and eaten the protagonist frees and lets it go while the protagonist himself decides to stay.
Characters:
Larry Shannon is the major character of the play. As a child, he was beaten by his mother for masturbating and that trauma had a deep impact on his character. As he grew, he became a reverend at a local church, but he continued to struggle with the sexual repression he had faced. He had to leave the church after being accused of sleeping with another young woman teacher and characterized the image of God as a “senile delinquent” during a sermon. He was institutionalized for a nervous breakdown. Later on, he becomes a tour guide for Blake Tours. He arrives at Costa Verde with a furious group of college professors on his tour bus. Maxine Faulk is another important character. She is a mature lady in her forties. She is proud of her sexuality. She recently lost her husband Fred who was a friend of Shannon. After her husband’s death, she feels lonely, and to get rid of her loneliness, she engages in a sexual relationship with one of her employees Pedro. She likes Shannon and has sympathy for him. She feels he is also lonely as her and asks him to stay with her. Judith Fellows is a member of Shannon’s tour. She is a straightforward woman who cares about her colleagues touring with her. She reminds Shannon of his mother as she approaches Shannon with a furious attitude and claims that Shannon slept with Charlotte, one of the teenage girls on the tour. Hannah Jelkes is a middle-aged woman, she is an artist who paints portraits of people in the places that she travels to around the world; however, she also takes care of Nonno, her ninety-seven-year-old grandfather, who is also the world's "oldest poet." Shannon finds her sexually attractive. However, Hannah has no interest in sex and she believes that Shannon can also triumph over his desires as well. Charlotte Goodall is a member of Shannon’s tour. She is a 17-year-old girl whom Shannon finds attractive and slept with her. After having sex, he slaps her as if he is punishing her for the act. Shannon tries to avoid Charlotte after that but she confronts him and says she loves him dearly. She even states that she forgives him for slapping her after the two had sex and begs him to marry her.
Summary:
The play begins on the west coast of Mexico, in Costa Verde, a rustic hotel owned by Maxine Faulk. Maxine is a voluptuous woman in her forties who recently lost her husband to an infection. Although her husband died recently, she engages in a sexual relationship with one of her employees Pedro and she flirts with guests at the hotel she manages. One of her guests is Larry Shannon who works as a tour guide for a second-rate company Blake Tours. He used to be a reverend at a local church but had to leave the church. He is more interested in rambling about and seducing young women on the tours and he has a special interest in teen girls under age 18. Faulk flirts with him as soon as she meets him and proposes he stay with her at her hotel. However, Shannon wants to get back into the priesthood after his recent nervous breakdown, but he is hesitant to leave his tour, which consists of female teachers from a Baptist college in Texas. As Faulk, Shannon, and Hank, one of Shannon’s assistant are talking, one of the tour members, Judith Fellows approaches them and start berating Shannon for having sex with a seventeen-year-old girl on the tour. She is a strict teacher who wants Shannon to follow the instructions of the tour guide. Shannon convinces her to stay at the hotel for some time. Faulk is soon approached by a middle-aged woman, Hannah Jelkes, and her grandfather, Nonno, who ask if they can stay at the hotel despite being short on money. Finding out that Hannah is a portrait artist and her grandfather is a famous poet, she initially denies them, but Shannon says he will pay their costs. This is because he is attracted to Hannah, and Faulk acquiesces for now.
Later on, Faulk approaches Hannah and talks about her art and money. Hannah informs her that currently she is broke. Faulk tells her that she recently lost her husband and she is in debt and she cannot afford freeloaders. Shannon appears at the same time and Faulk leaves to have fun with some German tourists. A young girl named Charlotte is searching for Shannon. As Shannon sees her, he hides in his apartment of Hannah. Charlotte is the young girl with whom Shannon had sex on the tour. She tells Shannon through the door that she is truly in love with him and wants him to marry her even though he apparently hit her after they had sex. Miss Fellows notices Charlotte pursuing Shannon and drags her away. Later on, Shannon confesses to Hannah that he had sex with Charlotte. He also says that he used to be a reverend at a church but had to leave for having sex with a young girl there and for calling God a “senile delinquent.” Suddenly, they hear a crash and they find that Nonno, Hannah’s 97 years old grandfather has fallen from his chair. He is a renowned poet but is struggling with memory loss. He says that he is fine but fails to recite his old poem. Hannah notes that he has had many more accidents like this lately. Faulk lightly taunts the old man, and Shannon defends him. They engage in an argument and start throwing a cart at each other. As Shannon throws the cart while trying to hit Faulk, it falls down the hill near the hotel. Faulk tells him to bring the cart back. As Shannon leaves, Faulk tells Hannah she and her grandfather can stay as long as they want if she stays away from Shannon. At the same time, a major storm is about to hit Costa Verde.
At night, Shannon starts writing a letter to the dean of his former divinity school, requesting he let Shannon join the church again. Faulk visits his room and says that she is thinking of selling the hotel and moving to the United States. She tells him that she heard from her late husband about Shannon’s childhood trauma, being beaten by his mother for masturbating. She speculates that might be the source of his issues with God.
At the same time, Jake Latta, a representative from Blake Tours arrives at the hotel and informs Shannon that he will be fired and will not get any severance pay if he immediately doesn’t leave the hotel with him and the other tourists. Miss Judith Fellows approaches Jake Latta and informs him how he treated a teenage girl and had sex with her. Jake Latta demands the keys to the bus from Shannon and decides to leave him. Shannon has a mental breakdown, and Faulk has her employees tie him down. She threatens to have him sent to a mental asylum and makes him a sedative drink. As Fauk goes away for her hotel duties, Hannah and Shannon engage in discussion. Shannon convinces her to untie him and as soon as he is freed, he goes to take a drink. Shannon expresses his interest in Hannah and asks if she would like to travel with him. Hannah confesses that she struggled with depression, and she gives him some advice on how to manage his mental issues. She says that when her grandfather passes, she plans to travel the world making art. She says she has never had any romantic encounters but has been assaulted by two men. That is why she is hesitant to fall for someone. Shannon proposes to her again but she rejects him and Shannon realizes that he is stuck with Faulk. Hannah warns him that Faulk is a jealous woman and he should get away from her.
Suddenly, Hannah notices a scratching noise coming from under the verandah. As she asks about it, Shannon informs her that Faulk has kept an iguana tied up under the verandah and she has planned to kill and cook the animal to eat. Hannah feels sad for the iguana and asks Shannon to set it free. Shannon agrees and loosens the iguana to go free. Soon they hear Nonno yelling from the hotel, and they run in to hear him recite a new poem, the first he has written in years. Hannah is overjoyed and promises to help him type it up in the morning. Faulk asks Shannon to go swimming with her, where she asks him to stay and help her run the hotel. He reluctantly agrees. The next morning, Hannah discovers that Nonno has passed away after reciting his poem.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.
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