The KIndness of Strangers...analysis of ending spoilers
This is actually an analysis of the whole novella, but you can skip down to the bottom. The line "I have always relied on the kindness of strangers" comes from Streetcar Named Desire Another great novella, but that seems to be the strain running through this one also. This analyzer seems to think so and I do, too.
From the worldly point of view, this is Mrs. Stone's ruin. There can be no going back to Roman society after this night, and certainly no appearing there with this boy. But who can take the worldly view of Mrs. Stone at the end of this story? Pan savages cultural identity by forcing it to yield to the rite of spring, in which he appears as an implacable but redeeming celebrant of creaturely being. And Mrs. Stone who was so frightened of him for months, now smiles at his approach. That touching view of the paused sky signals clearly that nature mysteriously governs this choice, graciously framing it as a small miracle of renewal. Williams recalls an earlier image for Mrs. Stone's desire here, that of the moon over a passionless lake, which she first used to envision her relation to Paolo. He's changed it considerably though. Now the whiteness appears in the beckoning and then falling handkerchief, and, instead of coldly governing passionless tides, the color which is no color interrupts "the awful vacancy," sends down keys for entry to it. Self-creation is natural yielding to desire here, not social bargaining that turns eros into haggling vanity. The ghost of another, older Shakespearian heroine floats through this Roman story with the mention of that Egyptian obelisk. While Juliet was her undoing, Cleopatra proves to be Mrs. Stone's delivering role. And she doesn't die when she takes a phallic babe to her breast. She lives, for the very first time.
It comes from this site:
http://jsse.revues.org/index138.html
I love the way with words that Tennessee Williams had but it has been many years since I read some of his works. My early 20's maybe, a very long time ago.
IMDb; where 14 year olds can act like jaded 40 year old critics...another poster