Edipo, Orfeo y Electra en los personajes de la obra cinematográfica de Tennessee Williams

Abstract

«Oedipus, Orpheus and Electra in the characters of the film adaptations of Tennessee Williams». Classical mythology has an important presence in the literary basis of the American playwright Tennessee Williams. This feature appears in the topics covered in his works, but especially in the construction of their characters because of the strong psychological load that contain. In this sense, certain aspects of Oedipus, Orpheus and Electra, as well as the complex arising out of them, are reflected in the protagonists of some of his most important theatrical texts. This mythological parallelism is emphasized in the film adaptations of them to reach a mainstream audience and appears in some characters that are part of cinema history. Also, the analysis of the characters as a person and as a role based on the approaches of Casetti and Di Chico make possible its proximity with the spectators and, consequently, gives today the classic myths that evoke. From these considerations, this study attemps to reflect on the presence of the traits of Oedipus, Orpheus and Electra in the main characters of three of the most relevant films based on Williams’ plays: Suddenly Last Summer, The Fugitive Kind, and This Property Is Condemned.