Sweet Bird of Youth: Analysis of Major Characters
"Sweet Bird of Youth" is a play by Tennessee Williams that explores themes of lost youth and the pursuit of dreams through its complex characters. The central figure, Chance Wayne, is a disillusioned would-be actor who returns to his hometown, St. Cloud, with Princess Kosmonopolis, a faded film star seeking to escape her own failures. Chance dreams of rekindling his relationship with Heavenly Finley, his youthful sweetheart, but is confronted with tragic revelations about her circumstances, including a hysterectomy resulting from a venereal disease he transmitted.
Princess Kosmonopolis, whose real name is Alexandra Del Lago, embodies the struggle against the passage of time and the harsh realities of aging in an industry that prizes youth. As the play unfolds, she grapples with her own sense of failure but ultimately learns her film is a success, offering a glimmer of hope. In contrast, characters like Boss Finley, Heavenly's father, represent a more oppressive force, concerned primarily with his political image and willing to sacrifice personal relationships for gain. Other characters, such as Miss Lucy and Aunt Nonnie, provide insights into the familial and societal pressures that shape the lives of individuals entangled in Chance and Heavenly's story. Overall, "Sweet Bird of Youth" presents a poignant commentary on the fleeting nature of vitality and the consequences of choices made in the pursuit of dreams.
Sweet Bird of Youth: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Tennessee Williams
First published: 1959
Genre: Play
Locale: A fictional Gulf Coast town called St. Cloud
Plot: Poetic
Time: 1959
Chance Wayne, a handsome would-be actor who did not “make it” in Hollywood and is now a gigolo. He has maneuvered his traveling companion, Princess Kosmonopolis, to visit his birthplace, St. Cloud, a small town on the Gulf of Mexico. His plan is to get the princess, who is really a faded film star, Alexandra Del Lago, to help him and Heavenly Finley, the youthful sweetheart he had deserted, begin careers in the motion picture industry. During their short stay, however, he learns that Heavenly has had a hysterectomy, because of his having given her a venereal disease, and that her father, Boss Finley, and her brother, Tom Junior, are waiting to castrate Chance if he ever shows his face in St. Cloud again. As the play ends, Chance recognizes that his youth has passed, that his dreams of stardom and Heavenly will never materialize, and that he must wait for the inevitable with what the playwright calls “deathbed dignity.”
Princess Kosmonopolis, also known as Alexandra Del Lago, a film star traveling incognito after fleeing from a preview showing of her “comeback” film. She uses every service and distraction Chance offers, from oxygen, pills, liquor, and hashish to sex. She cannot forget, however, what she believes to be her failed attempt to return to motion pictures as a middle-aged woman. Toward the end of the play, she learns that her film is a success, and she offers to take Chance with her on the return trip to Hollywood, but he declines. She, too, has lost the “sweet bird of youth,” but time has allowed her a slight reprieve.
Boss Finley, the father of Heavenly and Tom Junior, a caricature of a “redneck” pre-civil rights politician. His concern for his daughter stems from his fear of what gossip about her will do to his election campaign. He has bullied his son into complete compliance; even his mistress, Miss Lucy, has neither respect nor love for him. As Heavenly reminds him, it was he who drove the young, clean Chance away years ago because he wanted his daughter to marry an older man from whom he hoped to profit. His character becomes clear when he tells his daughter how he had bought her mother a diamond clip as she lay dying—to prove to her that she was going to recover—and then had gotten a refund before the funeral.
Miss Lucy, Boss Finley's mistress for years. She is disloyal to him, secretly encouraging the Heckler, who has interrupted Finley's youth rallies before, by asking questions about Heavenly's operation. She tries unsuccessfully to urge Chance to escape his fated castration by leaving with the princess while he has the opportunity.
Aunt Nonnie, the sister of Heavenly's dead mother, dependent on Boss, who had a part in the original love affair between Chance and Heavenly. Now she reminds Chance that time has passed for Heavenly, too, and that nothing can come of his “plans” for them to win a Youth Search in Hollywood. She warns him to leave St. Cloud while he can.
Heavenly Finley, Chance's sweetheart, who blames her father for much of what has happened to her. She does, however, appear at his side in “virginal white” at his television rally and has agreed to marry Dr. George Scudder, although she threatens going into a convent. She is a very weak person whose only chance for happiness ended when she was not allowed to marry her young lover.
Tom Finley, Jr., Heavenly's brother, a wild young man whose indiscretions have been paid for by his father.
Dr. George Scudder, the chief surgeon at St. Cloud Hospital, which was put up by Boss Finley. He operated on Heavenly and will marry her, but he wants nothing to do with plans for the castration, even though he agrees in principle that it is deserved.
Hatcher, the assistant manager of the Royal Palms Hotel, who tries without success to get the princess to leave St. Cloud.
The Heckler, who has taken a number of beatings but continues to appear whenever Boss Finley holds a rally.
Scotty and Bud, former friends of Chance. They participate with Tom Junior in the final coup de grâce at the end of the play.
Stuff, a bartender in the hotel who remembers Chance from the old days and hates him.