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The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
The story of a wealthy, fiftyish American widow, recently a famous stage beauty, but now "drifting." The novel opens soon after her husband's death and her retirement from the theatre, as Mrs. Stone tries to adjust to her aimless new life in Rome. She is adjusting, too, to aging ("The knowledge that her beauty was lost had come upon her recently and it was still occasionally forgotten.") With poignant wit and his own particular brand of relish, Williams charts her drift into an affair with a cruel young gigolo: "As compelling, as fascinating, and as technically skilled as his plays." (Publishers Weekly)
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1950
About the author
Tennessee Williams
559 books3,253 followersThomas Lanier Williams III, better known by the nickname Tennessee Williams, was a major American playwright of the twentieth century who received many of the top theatrical awards for his work. He moved to New Orleans in 1939 and changed his name to "Tennessee," the state of his father's birth.
Raised in St. Louis, Missouri, after years of obscurity, at age 33 he became famous with the success of The Glass Menagerie (1944) in New York City. This play closely reflected his own unhappy family background. It was the first of a string of successes, including A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), Sweet Bird of Youth (1959), and The Night of the Iguana (1961). With his later work, he attempted a new style that did not appeal to audiences. His drama A Streetcar Named Desire is often numbered on short lists of the finest American plays of the 20th century, alongside Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.
Much of Williams' most acclaimed work has been adapted for the cinema. He also wrote short stories, poetry, essays and a volume of memoirs. In 1979, four years before his death, Williams was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.
From Wikipedia
Raised in St. Louis, Missouri, after years of obscurity, at age 33 he became famous with the success of The Glass Menagerie (1944) in New York City. This play closely reflected his own unhappy family background. It was the first of a string of successes, including A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), Sweet Bird of Youth (1959), and The Night of the Iguana (1961). With his later work, he attempted a new style that did not appeal to audiences. His drama A Streetcar Named Desire is often numbered on short lists of the finest American plays of the 20th century, alongside Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.
Much of Williams' most acclaimed work has been adapted for the cinema. He also wrote short stories, poetry, essays and a volume of memoirs. In 1979, four years before his death, Williams was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.
From Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 145 reviews
September 24, 2020
& so I thought to myself recently: Yes, a play. A play next; a play will do. I blame it on the magnificence of Raisin in the Sun, reading it recently--I know I must now immerse myself in these robust beautiful dramas that have that elusive double magic: the magic of the stage as it comes to life; the magic of the text that depicts almost everything in black and white symbols aka dialogue.
I pride myself in having read most major works by Tennessee Williams. Cat, Desire, Menagerie. (My pleasure derived from each in this precise order.) So that was my guy: except for one thing: the benefit of ignorance. My own, in this case. As it turns out "Spring" is a novel--despite its size & physical shape, which screams out that its a play. No problem! Imagine then as shock morphed into delight. (My own.)
It turns out Williams is one exemplary novelist. This, his first novella, is utter testament. And, may I say it, he's better at it then I would have thought. Better than his dramatic plays? Possibly so!
This may be another incarnation of "Death in Venice" by Thomas Mann. Meaning: mandatory!
PS The ending still sends shivers down my sound, dudes!
I pride myself in having read most major works by Tennessee Williams. Cat, Desire, Menagerie. (My pleasure derived from each in this precise order.) So that was my guy: except for one thing: the benefit of ignorance. My own, in this case. As it turns out "Spring" is a novel--despite its size & physical shape, which screams out that its a play. No problem! Imagine then as shock morphed into delight. (My own.)
It turns out Williams is one exemplary novelist. This, his first novella, is utter testament. And, may I say it, he's better at it then I would have thought. Better than his dramatic plays? Possibly so!
This may be another incarnation of "Death in Venice" by Thomas Mann. Meaning: mandatory!
PS The ending still sends shivers down my sound, dudes!
February 24, 2021
“Sermos nós próprios é deixarmo-nos ir, e ela estava a deixar-se ir.
A par da passagem devastadora do tempo sobre o corpo, a maior preocupação da protagonista desta novela de Tennessee Williams é a dignidade.
“Com a arrogância da sua beleza e o seu prestígio nos dois mundos, o teatral e o mundano, essa dignidade parecia estar para além do perigo do compromisso; mas com o declínio da beleza e o afastamento dessas esferas em que fora uma pessoa de uma eminência inviolável, não ficara nenhuma protecção a não ser a riqueza; e a riqueza não garante a dignidade.”
Depois de se retirar dos palcos e ficar viúva, a Sra. Stone instala-se numa villa em Roma e retoma relações com uma velha contessa na penúria que sobrevive às custas dos jovens bonitos que apresenta a mulheres solitárias e maduras, a quem não falta tempo nem dinheiro.
“Não podia olhar para ele. Era muito lustroso. O Sol atravessava o ar e dirigia-se para ele como uma criança se dirige a outra criança, e ela sentia-se ignorada, posta de parte, e muitas vezes, teve de se tapar, proscrita, envergonhada, na presença de afinidades como estas entre a carne nua de Paolo e o Sol.”
O que se segue é uma luta interna de uma mulher que só depois da menopausa conhece o desejo e uma luta externa para manter as aparências perante o espelho e também aqueles que a rodeiam. Tennessee Williams é o verdadeiro cavalheiro sulista, pelo que esta história é contada com um extremo bom gosto, apesar da sensualidade, sem sentirmos um olhar malévolo ou moralista do narrador sobre a sua protagonista.
“Via o vazio. Sabia que estava vazio. Mas a sra. Stone era uma mulher sempre atarefada. Estivera sempre ocupada com mais coisas do que uma só existência parecia capaz de suportar e, por isso, e da mesma maneira que a força centrífuga impede que um objecto que gira rapidamente caia para o centro da sua órbita, a sra. Stone foi afastada durante um largo tempo do vazio que ela circundava.”
Geralmente, o que sai das mãos de Tennessee Williams é o epítome da perfeição, e foi mais uma vez a perfeição que vi em “A Última Primavera”.
A par da passagem devastadora do tempo sobre o corpo, a maior preocupação da protagonista desta novela de Tennessee Williams é a dignidade.
“Com a arrogância da sua beleza e o seu prestígio nos dois mundos, o teatral e o mundano, essa dignidade parecia estar para além do perigo do compromisso; mas com o declínio da beleza e o afastamento dessas esferas em que fora uma pessoa de uma eminência inviolável, não ficara nenhuma protecção a não ser a riqueza; e a riqueza não garante a dignidade.”
Depois de se retirar dos palcos e ficar viúva, a Sra. Stone instala-se numa villa em Roma e retoma relações com uma velha contessa na penúria que sobrevive às custas dos jovens bonitos que apresenta a mulheres solitárias e maduras, a quem não falta tempo nem dinheiro.
“Não podia olhar para ele. Era muito lustroso. O Sol atravessava o ar e dirigia-se para ele como uma criança se dirige a outra criança, e ela sentia-se ignorada, posta de parte, e muitas vezes, teve de se tapar, proscrita, envergonhada, na presença de afinidades como estas entre a carne nua de Paolo e o Sol.”
O que se segue é uma luta interna de uma mulher que só depois da menopausa conhece o desejo e uma luta externa para manter as aparências perante o espelho e também aqueles que a rodeiam. Tennessee Williams é o verdadeiro cavalheiro sulista, pelo que esta história é contada com um extremo bom gosto, apesar da sensualidade, sem sentirmos um olhar malévolo ou moralista do narrador sobre a sua protagonista.
“Via o vazio. Sabia que estava vazio. Mas a sra. Stone era uma mulher sempre atarefada. Estivera sempre ocupada com mais coisas do que uma só existência parecia capaz de suportar e, por isso, e da mesma maneira que a força centrífuga impede que um objecto que gira rapidamente caia para o centro da sua órbita, a sra. Stone foi afastada durante um largo tempo do vazio que ela circundava.”
Geralmente, o que sai das mãos de Tennessee Williams é o epítome da perfeição, e foi mais uma vez a perfeição que vi em “A Última Primavera”.
April 14, 2021
«A ÚLTIMA PRIMAVERA» / Título da edição original: «THE ROMAN SPRING OF MRS. STONE»)
Uma mulher de 50 anos à deriva
Ela é a Sr.ª Stone, ex-actiz, viúva, rica, na revolução hormonal da menopausa, das rugas e dos cabelos mais finos.
[Nota pessoal: Tennessee Williams escreve sobre a menstruação de modo poético, mas do climatério e do grand finale, a menopausa, de modo algo cruel; não me agradou, mas passo]
Com todos estes factos aliados a um casamento que não tinha sido satisfatório do ponto de vista sexual, um final de carreira decadente, vive agora uma existência quase póstuma numa cidade que parece existir ainda no passado, Roma.
Roma apresenta-se contudo como uma cidade decadente e a Sr.ª Stone fica alarmada com a direcção, ou com a falta de direcção, que a sua vida estava agora a tomar. Ia a festas; procurava os pequenos divertimentos, mas vivia no grande círculo vazio e humilhante de uma contessa, cafetina, obcecada por dinheiro, e Paolo, um jovem e cruel gigolô.
Mas a Sr.ª Stone tem a sua honra e exige respeitabilidade.
Sobrevirá seguindo em frente contra um mundo hostil? Viverá a Primavera do amor e do desejo?
Uma mulher de 50 anos à deriva
Ela é a Sr.ª Stone, ex-actiz, viúva, rica, na revolução hormonal da menopausa, das rugas e dos cabelos mais finos.
[Nota pessoal: Tennessee Williams escreve sobre a menstruação de modo poético, mas do climatério e do grand finale, a menopausa, de modo algo cruel; não me agradou, mas passo]
Com todos estes factos aliados a um casamento que não tinha sido satisfatório do ponto de vista sexual, um final de carreira decadente, vive agora uma existência quase póstuma numa cidade que parece existir ainda no passado, Roma.
Roma apresenta-se contudo como uma cidade decadente e a Sr.ª Stone fica alarmada com a direcção, ou com a falta de direcção, que a sua vida estava agora a tomar. Ia a festas; procurava os pequenos divertimentos, mas vivia no grande círculo vazio e humilhante de uma contessa, cafetina, obcecada por dinheiro, e Paolo, um jovem e cruel gigolô.
Mas a Sr.ª Stone tem a sua honra e exige respeitabilidade.
Sobrevirá seguindo em frente contra um mundo hostil? Viverá a Primavera do amor e do desejo?
November 23, 2022
Aceasta carte reprezinta romanul de debut al lui Tennessee Williams si asa cum stim, acesta a fost o personalitate controversata ale acelor vremuri abuzand de alcool, stupefiante si declarandu-si public orientarea sexuala. Ca artist are realizari remarcabile pentru care a primit premiul Pulitzer: "Un tramvai numit dorinta" si "Pisica pe acoperisul fierbinte".
Fiind alcatuit din 3 parti romanul reprezinta o poveste relativ scurta dar care cuprinde o drama profunda a unei femei, Karen Stone. Aceasta este o fosta actrita care la 50 de ani a parasit scena si se simte uratita si imbatranita. Ramasa vaduva si cu milioanele sotului ei, ea se refugiaza la Roma. Acolo va intretine o societate pestrita si plina de baieti italieni tineri care doresc sa-i vaneze averea. Prietena ei din tinerete, Meg Bishop, o avertizeaza ca e ridicola si ca se face de ras vorbindu-i aspru si judecand-o.
Tanarul dandy Paolo spera ca va putea sa strapunga mecanismele de aparare datorate necesitatii de decenta si fricii de a cadea in ridicol in fata societatii si s-o cucereasca pe doamna Stone, mai ales ca are mare nevoie de averea ei. Nesigura de ce ar trebui sa faca ea rataceste ingandurata pe strazile Romei.
Romanul cuprinde temele specifice autorului: singuratatea, dezaprobarea societatii, chestiuni de moralitate, imbatranirea la femei si pierderea frumusetii, vanatoarea de zestre etc.
O alta tematica este relatia dintre doi barbati avand o scena cand un barbat ii face masaj lui Paolo, acest lucru fiind descris in nu mai putin de 10 pagini.
Cartea are si parti sordide in care un barbat urineaza pe strada in mijlocul zilei, de fata cu protagonista, chiar langa ea, Karen crezand ca el vrea sa-i transmita un semnal secret. (De ce, Doamne iarta-ma, ai crede asa ceva?) Mai apoi, in timp ce ea se afla in atelierul unui croitor il vede pe acelasi individ prin vitrina iar acesta isi desface paltonul aratandu-i nuditatea...
Aparent aceste scene nu au niciun sens si nu am inteles de ce trebuie sa fie inserate pentru ca nu duc nicaieri, autorul vrand probabil sa socheze, sa fie excentric. Sincera sa fiu nu stiu daca vreau sa citesc despre asa ceva.
In incheiere atasez cateva citate pe care le putem retine:
"... atunci cand are intalnire cu maretia, un barbat nu va indrazni sa se plece in fata tihnei..."
"Cand o sa vina vremea sa nu mai fiu dorita de nimeni pentru ceea ce sunt, cred ca as prefera sa nu mai fiu dorita deloc."
"Si, inafara de asta, cand iubesti pe cineva, nu trebuie sa asculti ce-ti spune. Iti spune lucruri care te ranesc pentru ca-i este frica sa nu fie el insusi ranit. Trebuie sa-l privesti in ochi, zisese Paolo, si sa-i simti inima."
"... nu-i ramasese nicio alta protectie in afara de aceea a bogatiei: iar bogatia nu e un garant al demnitatii."
Fiind alcatuit din 3 parti romanul reprezinta o poveste relativ scurta dar care cuprinde o drama profunda a unei femei, Karen Stone. Aceasta este o fosta actrita care la 50 de ani a parasit scena si se simte uratita si imbatranita. Ramasa vaduva si cu milioanele sotului ei, ea se refugiaza la Roma. Acolo va intretine o societate pestrita si plina de baieti italieni tineri care doresc sa-i vaneze averea. Prietena ei din tinerete, Meg Bishop, o avertizeaza ca e ridicola si ca se face de ras vorbindu-i aspru si judecand-o.
Tanarul dandy Paolo spera ca va putea sa strapunga mecanismele de aparare datorate necesitatii de decenta si fricii de a cadea in ridicol in fata societatii si s-o cucereasca pe doamna Stone, mai ales ca are mare nevoie de averea ei. Nesigura de ce ar trebui sa faca ea rataceste ingandurata pe strazile Romei.
Romanul cuprinde temele specifice autorului: singuratatea, dezaprobarea societatii, chestiuni de moralitate, imbatranirea la femei si pierderea frumusetii, vanatoarea de zestre etc.
O alta tematica este relatia dintre doi barbati avand o scena cand un barbat ii face masaj lui Paolo, acest lucru fiind descris in nu mai putin de 10 pagini.
Cartea are si parti sordide in care un barbat urineaza pe strada in mijlocul zilei, de fata cu protagonista, chiar langa ea, Karen crezand ca el vrea sa-i transmita un semnal secret. (De ce, Doamne iarta-ma, ai crede asa ceva?) Mai apoi, in timp ce ea se afla in atelierul unui croitor il vede pe acelasi individ prin vitrina iar acesta isi desface paltonul aratandu-i nuditatea...
Aparent aceste scene nu au niciun sens si nu am inteles de ce trebuie sa fie inserate pentru ca nu duc nicaieri, autorul vrand probabil sa socheze, sa fie excentric. Sincera sa fiu nu stiu daca vreau sa citesc despre asa ceva.
In incheiere atasez cateva citate pe care le putem retine:
"... atunci cand are intalnire cu maretia, un barbat nu va indrazni sa se plece in fata tihnei..."
"Cand o sa vina vremea sa nu mai fiu dorita de nimeni pentru ceea ce sunt, cred ca as prefera sa nu mai fiu dorita deloc."
"Si, inafara de asta, cand iubesti pe cineva, nu trebuie sa asculti ce-ti spune. Iti spune lucruri care te ranesc pentru ca-i este frica sa nu fie el insusi ranit. Trebuie sa-l privesti in ochi, zisese Paolo, si sa-i simti inima."
"... nu-i ramasese nicio alta protectie in afara de aceea a bogatiei: iar bogatia nu e un garant al demnitatii."
April 6, 2014
Youth and beauty are everything in the arts and when the famous stage actress, Mrs Stone, turns fifty and foolhardily tries to act as Juliet, the backlash is sufficient for her to leave the stage. She and her wealthy husband go on a holiday. Her husband has a heart attack on the plane and she is left alone. She stays in Rome and amasses a new audience of sycophants. It is about the 1950’s but it is a conservative world with a vague mention of homosexuality in a couple of places.
She is a tragic figure - rich in money and contacts - but poor in real friends and any belief in herself. Her value is in the past when she was young and beautiful. Her marriage was oddly sexless, more of a mothering relationship, as she was frightened of having a child of her own. And it makes her perhaps, more attracted to the beautiful young man, Paolo. After months of denying him, she finally takes him to her bed.
Paolo asks her,
She is drifting and she knows it but she is not a fool. She knows what Paolo is but she is willing to ignore that, at least until she is insulted by the Contessa (who takes a cut of his earnings), when she hears her gossiping about Mrs Stone and is unaware that she can hear. Then Paolo flirts with a new, younger film actress and when she berates him, in a final insult, he mocks her for her fading beauty and slaps her. She throws them all out.
For weeks, she has been followed by another young man. He is a homeless street boy; a few steps lower than Paolo. He has an aura of intensity and menace. He exposes himself to her. He frightens her. He stalks her. He stands outside of her palazzo for hours and looks up at her balcony. Paolo noticed him and pointed him out to her.
He is described as ”His beauty was notable even in a province where the lack of it is more exceptional in a young man.” He refuses an approach from a male tourist even though he is starving and poorly clothed; he wants her.
But at her lowest ebb, it is to him that she throws the keys to her palazzo.
And that is where the story ends.
Is it a happy ending? I fear not. The aura of menace remains for me. There is a mention of murders earlier; Paolo jokes about it to her. Will the young man kill her? Or, will he be her new lover with no financial requirement like Paolo who would have left her for more money or a younger woman. Will he love her; as she desperately wants? Will he adore her happily for years to come? Restore the fallen goddess to her pedestal?
But if she keeps him, her social standing in Rome is gone. The Contessa gives Paolo an acceptable cover. That is tolerated; taking a street boy to your bed is not. She cannot appear in public with him, but perhaps she does not want to. Will he be her private lover? The reader doesn't know.
The language is beautiful, and written without speech marks in an omniscient narrator style. The paragraphs are sometimes pages long, but it is a great example of the novella divided into three parts; the first, her current life, the second her past, and the third the culmination and her future. If, of course, she has one.
She is a tragic figure - rich in money and contacts - but poor in real friends and any belief in herself. Her value is in the past when she was young and beautiful. Her marriage was oddly sexless, more of a mothering relationship, as she was frightened of having a child of her own. And it makes her perhaps, more attracted to the beautiful young man, Paolo. After months of denying him, she finally takes him to her bed.
Paolo asks her,
Why did you want to know when my friend needed the money?
Because you are very young, said Mrs Stone, and very foolish and very beautiful. And because I am not so very young any more and not so beautiful, but beginning to be very wise…
She is drifting and she knows it but she is not a fool. She knows what Paolo is but she is willing to ignore that, at least until she is insulted by the Contessa (who takes a cut of his earnings), when she hears her gossiping about Mrs Stone and is unaware that she can hear. Then Paolo flirts with a new, younger film actress and when she berates him, in a final insult, he mocks her for her fading beauty and slaps her. She throws them all out.
For weeks, she has been followed by another young man. He is a homeless street boy; a few steps lower than Paolo. He has an aura of intensity and menace. He exposes himself to her. He frightens her. He stalks her. He stands outside of her palazzo for hours and looks up at her balcony. Paolo noticed him and pointed him out to her.
He is described as ”His beauty was notable even in a province where the lack of it is more exceptional in a young man.” He refuses an approach from a male tourist even though he is starving and poorly clothed; he wants her.
But at her lowest ebb, it is to him that she throws the keys to her palazzo.
And that is where the story ends.
Is it a happy ending? I fear not. The aura of menace remains for me. There is a mention of murders earlier; Paolo jokes about it to her. Will the young man kill her? Or, will he be her new lover with no financial requirement like Paolo who would have left her for more money or a younger woman. Will he love her; as she desperately wants? Will he adore her happily for years to come? Restore the fallen goddess to her pedestal?
But if she keeps him, her social standing in Rome is gone. The Contessa gives Paolo an acceptable cover. That is tolerated; taking a street boy to your bed is not. She cannot appear in public with him, but perhaps she does not want to. Will he be her private lover? The reader doesn't know.
The language is beautiful, and written without speech marks in an omniscient narrator style. The paragraphs are sometimes pages long, but it is a great example of the novella divided into three parts; the first, her current life, the second her past, and the third the culmination and her future. If, of course, she has one.
June 28, 2022
The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone
John Lahr's new biography, "Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh" (2014) inspired me to read Williams' short novel, "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone" (1950). Lahr discusses the novel at length in the context of Williams' life, together with many other works of this American writer.
Williams wrote "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone" in the late 1940s while in Rome following the success of "A Streetcar Named Desire". His working title for the book was "Moon of Pause", a phrase used several times in the work to describe its heroine's condition. Williams wisely changed the title to its more evocative final version.
The story is set in post-WW II Rome at the time of Williams' visit. The book captures the ambience of the city in both the beauties of its past and in its difficulty and poverty at the time of Williams' stay, including the large presence of American tourists. The language of the novel is slow, deeply descriptive, poetic, and full of symbolism. The result is a book dense to read for all its brevity.
The primary character of the book, Karen Stone, is a widow in her early 50s who has lived in Rome for three years following the death of her wealthy husband. Mrs. Stone had been a popular actress but left the stage following a failure in middle-age as Juliet in Shakespeare's play. Mrs. Stone contends with the loss of her husband, the loss of her career, and the change of life. More broadly, she is concerned with aging and the loss of her beauty.
The story moves back and forth between Mrs. Stone's new life in Rome and her earlier life. Her marriage had never brought her sexual fulfillment. She had pursued her career with passion and force and a spirit of fierce competitiveness. Mrs. Stone could be ruthless against those whom she deemed stood in her way. With her husband's death and the end of her career, Mrs. Stone finds herself living in "a drift". She needs to learn and to pursue what she wants out of life.
Most of the book revolves around Mrs. Stone's affair with a young gigolo, Paolo. During her time in Rome, Mrs. Stone had used the services of a procuress, the Contessa, to bring her young men. She declined to become involved with the first three young men but became deeply attracted to Paolo. The young man, of course, attempts to bilk Mrs. Stone of her money but she sees through the scheme and tries to lead Paolo along for her own purposes. The relationship proceeds uneasily before its stormy conclusion. In the meantime, Mrs. Stone has been stalked by a strange, impoverished young man, one of many in the Rome of the time. When she and the gigolo part ways, Mrs. Stone is prepared to welcome the stalker, without introductions or knowledge, into her bed.
"The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone" is a beautifully told story about taking risks and about coming to terms with aging. The book gets its force from Williams emphasis on emotion and the consequences of its long repression. Mrs. Stone comes to know herself through an acknowledgement of her sexuality and a commitment to pursue it wherever it may lead at a point past mid-life. Some authors would use the conditions Williams' describes -- the feeling of emptiness and drift late in life -- as the basis for a religious or spiritual resolution. Williams' book echoes these themes, but Mrs Stone finds herself pursuing sexuality. Williams' quest -- the "mad pilgrimage of the flesh in Lahr's title -- is still both poignant and retains the quality of paradox if not the capacity to shock.
This highly internalized novel shows great insight into and feelings for its primary character. In its treatment of aging, "drift", and sexuality, the story touches universal themes that transcend Karen Stone. Readers interested in Tennessee Williams or in relatively neglected American novels will enjoy "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone."
Robin Friedman
John Lahr's new biography, "Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh" (2014) inspired me to read Williams' short novel, "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone" (1950). Lahr discusses the novel at length in the context of Williams' life, together with many other works of this American writer.
Williams wrote "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone" in the late 1940s while in Rome following the success of "A Streetcar Named Desire". His working title for the book was "Moon of Pause", a phrase used several times in the work to describe its heroine's condition. Williams wisely changed the title to its more evocative final version.
The story is set in post-WW II Rome at the time of Williams' visit. The book captures the ambience of the city in both the beauties of its past and in its difficulty and poverty at the time of Williams' stay, including the large presence of American tourists. The language of the novel is slow, deeply descriptive, poetic, and full of symbolism. The result is a book dense to read for all its brevity.
The primary character of the book, Karen Stone, is a widow in her early 50s who has lived in Rome for three years following the death of her wealthy husband. Mrs. Stone had been a popular actress but left the stage following a failure in middle-age as Juliet in Shakespeare's play. Mrs. Stone contends with the loss of her husband, the loss of her career, and the change of life. More broadly, she is concerned with aging and the loss of her beauty.
The story moves back and forth between Mrs. Stone's new life in Rome and her earlier life. Her marriage had never brought her sexual fulfillment. She had pursued her career with passion and force and a spirit of fierce competitiveness. Mrs. Stone could be ruthless against those whom she deemed stood in her way. With her husband's death and the end of her career, Mrs. Stone finds herself living in "a drift". She needs to learn and to pursue what she wants out of life.
Most of the book revolves around Mrs. Stone's affair with a young gigolo, Paolo. During her time in Rome, Mrs. Stone had used the services of a procuress, the Contessa, to bring her young men. She declined to become involved with the first three young men but became deeply attracted to Paolo. The young man, of course, attempts to bilk Mrs. Stone of her money but she sees through the scheme and tries to lead Paolo along for her own purposes. The relationship proceeds uneasily before its stormy conclusion. In the meantime, Mrs. Stone has been stalked by a strange, impoverished young man, one of many in the Rome of the time. When she and the gigolo part ways, Mrs. Stone is prepared to welcome the stalker, without introductions or knowledge, into her bed.
"The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone" is a beautifully told story about taking risks and about coming to terms with aging. The book gets its force from Williams emphasis on emotion and the consequences of its long repression. Mrs. Stone comes to know herself through an acknowledgement of her sexuality and a commitment to pursue it wherever it may lead at a point past mid-life. Some authors would use the conditions Williams' describes -- the feeling of emptiness and drift late in life -- as the basis for a religious or spiritual resolution. Williams' book echoes these themes, but Mrs Stone finds herself pursuing sexuality. Williams' quest -- the "mad pilgrimage of the flesh in Lahr's title -- is still both poignant and retains the quality of paradox if not the capacity to shock.
This highly internalized novel shows great insight into and feelings for its primary character. In its treatment of aging, "drift", and sexuality, the story touches universal themes that transcend Karen Stone. Readers interested in Tennessee Williams or in relatively neglected American novels will enjoy "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone."
Robin Friedman
February 4, 2016
After reading this gem of a book, I was wishing Williams had written more novels. Brief but complex, filled with themes and characters that are very representative of the Williams world as we know it from the theater, this sharp, cruel, witty, moving novel shines through its exquisite style and profound, bittersweet intelligence. For some reasons, it made me think of Truman Capote, too. It’s ambiguous on many levels, yet remarkably frank on some other ones, especially sexuality. Vivien Leigh gave a bravura performance as Mrs Stone in the early sixties, and I couldn’t help but think about her when reading the novel, but Williams’ own Mrs Stone may be less tragic, and more full of life and vibrancy, than Leigh’s version. Interestingly, I saw the ending of the movie – which is very faithful to the ending of the book – as the symbolic approach of death. But In Williams’ book, it can also be interpreted as the approach of a renewed freedom. In any case, here’s a remarkable novel that deserves to better known.
November 24, 2017
O actrita ajunsa la 50 de ani nu isi poate accepta varsta si apeleaza la diverse artificii (cel mai important fiind un tanar de 20 si ceva de ani, specializat in arta seducerii femeilor passe) pentru a-si mentine o aparenta tinerete.
Am citit romanul acesta ca pe o novelizare a unei piese de teatru. As minti sa nu spun ca mi-a placut mult (de aici si cele patru stele), dar aveam mereu in minte ideea ca, de fapt, ar trebui sa fie o piesa, nu un roman.
Williams scrie superb si cred ca abia acum pot sa ii apreciez in adevaratul sens al cuvantului geniul stilistic. In piese, el creeaza un limbaj propriu al persoanjelor, iar in acest roman vocea narativa este si ea perfect individualizata stilistic.
Mi-a placut mult.
Recomand!
Am citit romanul acesta ca pe o novelizare a unei piese de teatru. As minti sa nu spun ca mi-a placut mult (de aici si cele patru stele), dar aveam mereu in minte ideea ca, de fapt, ar trebui sa fie o piesa, nu un roman.
Williams scrie superb si cred ca abia acum pot sa ii apreciez in adevaratul sens al cuvantului geniul stilistic. In piese, el creeaza un limbaj propriu al persoanjelor, iar in acest roman vocea narativa este si ea perfect individualizata stilistic.
Mi-a placut mult.
Recomand!
September 10, 2017
"Primăvara la Roma a doamnei Stone" - sau unde pot duce nesăbuinţa şi autoamăgirea, atunci când nu accepţi că ai îmbătrânit şi insişti să ignori distanţa dintre generaţii, căutând cu disperare un partener mult mai tânăr.
De la sublim la ridicol nu este, aşa cum se va vedea, decât un foarte mic pas.
De notat şi ecranizarea din 1961, cu Vivien Leigh şi Warren Beatty.
De la sublim la ridicol nu este, aşa cum se va vedea, decât un foarte mic pas.
De notat şi ecranizarea din 1961, cu Vivien Leigh şi Warren Beatty.
September 2, 2015
Mrs Karen Stone, a faded American actress is adrift in life.
She gave up her career after a disastrous experience playing Juliet, her ridiculous husband, with whom she had a mother-son relationship died two years ago and to top it all, she's nothing but a shadow of her former self.
Well in her fifties, she can't accept the reality she's old now, the beauty which was once a shield and a means to gain power, fame and privilege, gone.
She is currently living in Rome, wandering around spending her late husband's fortune and socializing with shallow, insipid creatures worse than herself, while trying to come to terms with her reality.
So it is that she meets and falls prey to Paolo, a cruel, vain 30 years younger gigolo, who cares about nothing but how others, be it male or female, will provide for him.
This is an enjoyable enough read, since the writing is quite good, but I can't say I truly liked it, since I didn't really care about the characters or the plot in general.
I'm sure this author must have better works.
June 22, 2022
Η σαγηνευτική κυρία Στόουν που πάσχει από το φόβο της μοναξιάς αλλά και παράλληλα δεν θέλει άνθρωπο κοντά της, προκαλεί συνεχώς στον αναγνώστη αντικρουόμενα συναισθήματα.
Απολαύστε την μέσα στη φοβική κυνικότητά της.
Απολαύστε την μέσα στη φοβική κυνικότητά της.
October 22, 2015
Tennessee Williams is a god! A motto for those with imposter syndrome: "What's talent but the ability to get away with something?" The novel follows the purposeless (but not directionless) "drift" of a ruthless, career-driven actress now retired and in her 50s (retired because the tradition of playing Juliet until an actress is about to drop dead no longer works these days, sadly), who has to pay young men to date her. I ask, why doesn't she just go with men her own age? But Mrs. Stone loves beauty too much -- beauty being "a world of its own whose anarchy had a sort of godly license" -- and, to Mrs. Stone's mind (or her world's), you can't have age with beauty. Beauty and sordid encounters (the one with the other) are all that can stop her drift into meaningless nothingness. You think maybe she should see a good psychiatrist, because she might easily come to a bad end. Read this and see!
November 22, 2017
Tonda Williams, děda Robbieho Williamse, který napsal třeba Kočka do stanice Tramvaj, se v Římském jaru paní Kamenové věnuje stárnutí a je to hezký, vtipný i smutný zároveň. Tak už to bývá, když stará slavná herečka dopádluje do Říma a začne randit s mladým italským hřebcem, kterému jde ovšem jen o peníze. To já schvaluji - kéž se jednoho dne dožijeme toho, kdy budou mít všechny peníze na světě jen ženy a my jim za peníze budeme dělat sex! Co mi to jen připomíná!
Jednohubka, která rychle utekla a sem tam se zablejskla opravdu nádherným jazykem. Všechno je navíc krásně aristokraticky přepálený a bonusem je bestiálně drtivý a smutný konec, umně schovaný v posledním odstavci.
Povšimněte si, že anglický název knihy (The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone) je pravděpodobně jediný název knihy v historii lidstva, který ukrývá Romana Zkamene!!
Jednohubka, která rychle utekla a sem tam se zablejskla opravdu nádherným jazykem. Všechno je navíc krásně aristokraticky přepálený a bonusem je bestiálně drtivý a smutný konec, umně schovaný v posledním odstavci.
Povšimněte si, že anglický název knihy (The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone) je pravděpodobně jediný název knihy v historii lidstva, který ukrývá Romana Zkamene!!
August 7, 2020
สนุกกว่าที่คิดไว้
July 12, 2021
Daha önce Helen Mirren'ın başrolünde oynadığı filmini izlemiştim, o yüzden bu kitabı da okumak istedim. Filmi elbette kitaba göre derinlikten yoksun ancak kitabın boşluklarını da kesinlikle tamamlıyor. Mrs. Stone hem eşini kaybetmiştir, hem de oyunculuğu bırakıp Roma'ya yerleşmiştir. Burada 50 yaşında olduğunu, artık geçmişteki güzelliğini yitirdiğini kabul etmemeye çalışırken, jigolo pazarlayan Kontes'le tanışınca önüne başka bir yol çıkar. Yaşlanmakta olan, güzelliği belki de tek yatırımı olan bir kadının gelgitleri, içsel dönüşümü, hayal kırıklıkları, beklentilerini kendine özgü diliyle anlatmış Williams. Normalde oyun yazarı olduğunu metin hissettiriyor çünkü görsellik çok ön planda ama yine de diyaloglara yüklenmemeyi iyi becermiş.
March 10, 2014
Here is a delightful little novel(la) from Tennessee Williams—the only one he apparently penned.
“Beguiling” describes this piece. Like some of his plays, a deeper investigation of life lurks below the seeming “light” title.
Protagonist: Mrs. Stone. Stage Actress, (Retired). Socialite.
Plot: Mrs. Stone begins her “new life” of retired leisure in Rome.
Well . . . no surprise so far given Williams’ characters in other work.
Nor is there surprise in the “uncovering” of Mrs. Stone’s character as the narrative moves forward. Nor in the difficult, cruel relationship with Paolo. And finally . . . nor in the novel’s climax. All these elements of story Mr. Williams has wrought in some shape before.
The surprise here is the subject of Mrs. Stone’s flight. That horrible abyss which Nietzsche described as such a terror that humans create whatever diversions or illusions they can in order to avoid it.
Perhaps Rome, Paolo, the Contessa, etc., were the worst possible acquaintances to make upon retirement. Yes. Mrs. Stone . . . Karen . . . becomes Mrs. Stone after all—when this Roman Spring ends.
This little fiction not only entertains but also provides a cautionary tale.
April 9, 2015
Oh dear. What to say about this one? Such incisive writing, and beautiful in so many ways, but then the awful ending that I should have seen coming right from the first, that anyone would have seen we were headed for, but not me, I always want things to end well. Worst of all, when I was done, it was hard not to think that Mrs. Stone was more like a gay man of that era than a woman, but that only made me feel sexist for having such a thought. In any case, I was so hoping for something more interesting to come of the story, it was such a let-down to have it end the way it did. But that's my fault for wanting the character to come out alright, when life is not always like that, is it? As Tennessee Williams knew only too well.
October 4, 2015
This book is all about two simple, powerful fundamentals of every person's life: The relationship between our present and our past, and the relationship between our memories and the truth.
Mrs. Stone is in denial, sort of. She is depressed, and she is listless, and she doesn't know how she got here. She used to be, or so she says, someone important. Someone worth watching. But now she retreats into the shadows, in another world. Here, she can escape her past and be her own new person.
But Rome is old, and history is in its bones. It doesn't easily brush aside the past as much as America does. And it's always watching...
Mrs. Stone is in denial, sort of. She is depressed, and she is listless, and she doesn't know how she got here. She used to be, or so she says, someone important. Someone worth watching. But now she retreats into the shadows, in another world. Here, she can escape her past and be her own new person.
But Rome is old, and history is in its bones. It doesn't easily brush aside the past as much as America does. And it's always watching...
July 11, 2007
Although Tennesee Williams is most well-known as a playwrite, this novella was the first thing I read by Williams. An aging actress has an "All About Eve-esque" crisis when she retires from the stage. She travels to Roma and deals with her loss of youth, beauty, and career. Mrs. Stone has an affair with a young Italian hottie who uses Mrs. Stone as his sugar mama. I also loved the movie version of this book starring Helen Mirren and Anne Bancroft.
April 19, 2014
A failing star is faced with a life-style change when her rich husband suddenly dies while they are en route to Italy. She then sets off in a series of flings with gigolos found for her by an aging contessa. Each contact spirals further out of control until she becomes obsessed with one young man, who initially treats her well, but then with disdain.
A movie was made based on this book and it is available at YouTube
A movie was made based on this book and it is available at YouTube
August 29, 2016
An older woman who was once renowned for her beauty becomes involved with a young gigolo after her husband dies. She soon finds that beauty is often a facade to hide the ugliness that is hidden in the soul. Williams forces us to confront age old questions about the connection between beauty and goodness.
February 15, 2009
Morals – Having sex with salacious, impoverished, macho hunks stops time and cures loneliness. Paying for love is degrading. I'm half in agreement, and totally in love with Tennessee Williams. The unique talent who hasn't written a thing I haven't liked.
September 11, 2018
This was a punch of a book. An aging stage actress with a limited inner life and a giggolo in Rome. It was a heartbreaking gem of a book and many times I stopped to re- read simple sentences that packed quite the punch.
March 29, 2010
I love stories of women falling from eminence and beauty. Is that depressing?
May 27, 2020
Surely somewhere along the course of her progress, from the fairly ordinary gentility of her girlhood in Virginia and those school-dramatics which had led into the choice of her profession, and then through the obsessive pursuit of that profession and through the years of conventional marriage, surely somewhere along that terribly rapid but uniform course, there lay some token, however cryptic, some inconspicuous sing-post that pointed toward Paolo and this spring in Rome.
Read
August 2, 2019Three things happened to actress Karen Stone in quick succession: her husband died while they were touring around the world, her career is in tatters after disparaging reviews of her performance as a rather aged Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), and the onset of menopause. Not particularly considerate to colleagues, she played an adult version of King of the Mountain where she was always number one, but now with her career in tatters, her husband gone and wealth her only asset she contemplates the wreckage time has wrought to her face and ageing body, and she realises that she is pretty much alone and bored in Rome.
Enter the Contessa, someone whom Karen and her husband had met. However, the Contessa has her own agenda and a generous supply of young gigolos. Sinisterly lurking in the shadows is an even more handsome young man...
Lovely façades everywhere, but with much ugliness and danger underneath.
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Actress Helen Mirren very capably plays the role of Karen Stone in the film which has same title as the book . Her co-actors are Anne Bancroft and Olivier Martinez.
When I finished reading this keenly observed novella I couldn't help but think of Muriel Spark's The Driver's Seat.
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"The failure as Juliet had come like the head-on collision of two opposite velocities, and only then did she realize that she had been racing ahead with her eyes tight shut and her fists doubled at her sides, really knowing only that she was moving, and moving swiftly. The opposite force had been time, time the imponderable, not moving amicably with her but treacherously against her, and finally meeting her and arresting her in mid-flight with a shattering crash."
"King On The Mountain was not a game that she had discarded with the passing of childhood."
"No doubt the trouble was partly that Mrs Stone had failed to make any intellectual provisions for the time of life that now confronted her. For many years the only reading that had really interested her was play manuscripts and theatrical columns of newspapers. She enjoyed music only as a background to some activity such as bathing or dressing."
"In the arrogance of her beauty and her prestige in two worlds, theatrical and social, that dignity had seemed beyond the danger of compromise; but with the decline of her beauty and her removal from those spheres in which she had been a person of inviolable eminence, there was left her no protection but that of wealth: and wealth does not insure dignity.”
Enter the Contessa, someone whom Karen and her husband had met. However, the Contessa has her own agenda and a generous supply of young gigolos. Sinisterly lurking in the shadows is an even more handsome young man...
Lovely façades everywhere, but with much ugliness and danger underneath.
#####
Actress Helen Mirren very capably plays the role of Karen Stone in the film which has same title as the book . Her co-actors are Anne Bancroft and Olivier Martinez.
When I finished reading this keenly observed novella I couldn't help but think of Muriel Spark's The Driver's Seat.
#####
"The failure as Juliet had come like the head-on collision of two opposite velocities, and only then did she realize that she had been racing ahead with her eyes tight shut and her fists doubled at her sides, really knowing only that she was moving, and moving swiftly. The opposite force had been time, time the imponderable, not moving amicably with her but treacherously against her, and finally meeting her and arresting her in mid-flight with a shattering crash."
"King On The Mountain was not a game that she had discarded with the passing of childhood."
"No doubt the trouble was partly that Mrs Stone had failed to make any intellectual provisions for the time of life that now confronted her. For many years the only reading that had really interested her was play manuscripts and theatrical columns of newspapers. She enjoyed music only as a background to some activity such as bathing or dressing."
"In the arrogance of her beauty and her prestige in two worlds, theatrical and social, that dignity had seemed beyond the danger of compromise; but with the decline of her beauty and her removal from those spheres in which she had been a person of inviolable eminence, there was left her no protection but that of wealth: and wealth does not insure dignity.”
March 28, 2015
I really liked the descriptions of Rome. The best part of this book that was the most haunting for me was the exhausted self awareness of the sad, aging heroine. She doesn't have any illusions, but can't stop herself from succumbing to temptation and happiness that she knows will be fleeting. It also doesn't stop the end from being awful. This is the kind of book I kept thinking about for a while afterward.
March 22, 2015
I will readily admit that for some few years when still in the flower of my youth, I believed this book to be somehow related to the movie Roman Holiday. Yes, I realize the stories are fairly-- well, perhaps egregiously different. Nonetheless, since Hollywood hid the involvement of Dalton Trumbo all those years, how was I to know??
In any case, this is a splendid little work by Tenn. Williams that comes highly recommendef, dahlin'..
In any case, this is a splendid little work by Tenn. Williams that comes highly recommendef, dahlin'..
March 28, 2011
Just a little book but beautifully written. Williams captures the angst of Mrs Stone as she deals with widowhood, her retirement from the stage and a much younger Italian lover. Really worth reading.
April 9, 2015
Exceptionally beautiful prose. Thematically, this parallels the pains of the aging theater star played by Bette Davis—charming even when cynical—in "All About Eve", which, may be the best written film of all time.
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