Is Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire a victim or a villain?
In A Streetcar Named Desire, the protagonist, Blanche DuBois, becomes the victim of a horrific crime when her brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski, rapes her. This sexual abuse, which occurs offstage, triggers a psychotic breakdown. For most of the play, Blanche is neither a victim nor a villain. Blanche fits the character profile of the tragic hero. She is undone by circumstances beyond her control, and certain elements of her behavior contribute to her downfall. In classic Greek tragedy, the strong, guiding hand of the gods helps propel the hero toward their inevitable ruin. In this modern play, abstract social forces have a substantial influence. Blanche’s mental health issues further contribute to the final catastrophe.
In revealing Blanche's fragility and vulnerability in the scenes leading up to Stanley’s attack, playwright Tennessee Williams emphasizes that Blanche is adrift in a society that she no longer understands. Blanche remains immersed in...
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a hierarchical, largely rural Southern society dominated by a few elite families. As long as she had some family support and could live in their estate, she was buoyed up. Once she was on her own, however, it became obvious that she could not cope with the demands of modern life. Although she is against the marriage of her sister, Stella, to Stanley, this opposition does not arise from malevolence on her part. She does not wish to harm Stanley; instead, she misguidedly believes that she can help Stella.
Is Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire a self-inflicted victim or purely innocent?
Blanche is her own worst enemy. It is true that she had situations in life which left her to face desperate circumstances, to which she elected each of the outcomes.
When she found her husband in bed with another man, she pretended to shrug it off, and went out with BOTH that same night, as a way to mask her internal pain. Yet, she was no longer able to hold her contempt that same night, told her husband that he "disgusts her" and he went on and shot himself.
In this situation, Blanche was a victim, for this event follows her throughout the play, showing that it left her traumatized. However, no matter how we try to put the jigsaw of her life together, sleeping with her 17 year old student made no good case in her favor, no matter how love-starved she was.
When the family lost Belle Reeves, Blanche claims that she was the only one left to care for the plantation, and for her ailing family. Once list, she lived in a hotel in Laurel where, apparently, she did the same as as a prostitute: Sleep with men that would pay for her keep. She claims that these things led her to drink, and find some way to escape.
Finally, she shows up at her sister's house to literally disturb her peace, impose herself, and stay under a cloud of lies of what really happened. What was her purpose of her visit, but to escape her shady activity and try to land herself someone to take her on?
In this, she is no victim. She had choices, and she made all the wrong ones. Hers is not a case of victimization, but one of really bad common sense. Blanche tends to place herself in a position of self importance, then blame others for her misfortunes. However, she always had a chance to turn her life around. She had an education, talent, charm, and she knew how to get what she wanted. She may have a case of post traumatic stress due to the death of her husband, but she also had a clear path towards starting over. She chose not to.