Why might have Tennessee Williams used "Jelkes" as Hannah Jelkes' surname in The Night of the Iguana

Coffin is a good name for her aged grandfather, and certainly Ms. Fellows, who's a lesbian, but hasn't come face-to-face with the fact, is another well-chosen name.

But Jelkes? For the spiritual Ms. Jelkes? I can't find a thing online or in the Britannica. Rev. Shannon refers to her as a 'female Budhha.'

Anyway, I'm intrigued by the play and would really like to ferret out a plausible reason for Williams' having named his artist-in-residence in this play as he did.



P.S. I put this question down in here with etymology because I've asked too many questions this week in Q&A.