To what extent is Blanche presented as a victim - A streetcar named desire PDF

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To what extent is Blanche presented as a victim? In a Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche is a tragic victim who is presented as a social outcast and doomed from the start in the mundane setting of New Orleans. Shirley Galloway argues that “Blanche is both a victim and a villain” [1]; this supports the view that Blanche is a controversial character who is either viewed as a manipulative individual who owns no sense of compassion for others. On the other hand, Blanche is also viewed as an emotionally unstable character who has turned to alcohol and other outlets as a result of suffering a tragedy at an early age, which continues to play a large role in her later life. One example of how Blanche is presented as a victim is through Stanley’s dominance and predatory nature towards her. Stanley’s dominant nature which victimises Blanche is perfectly shown towards the end of Scene 10 where he rapes Blanche. In the scene, the atmosphere is tense, both Blanche and Stanley are intoxicated; Williams makes it clear that Blanche is terrified of Stanley’s advances as her confidence clearly falters as she correctly realises his predatory nature is focused on her. This also causes the audience to view Blanche as a victim and to feel sympathy towards her as her vulnerable nature where she’s unable to get her words out clearly and stutters is a stark contrast to her confident, well carried character. Blanche’s fear of Stanley’s is shown through the stutter she develops due to her uncertainty and fear as a result of Stanley’s imposition of her (“Let me – let me get by you…You – you stand over there!”). The fact she exclaims and uses imperative language towards him which has the opposite effect as with her stutter it makes her seem even more vulnerable with a weak attempt at trying to regain her confidence. In the 1940s women’s roles and expectations in society were changing rapidly. Previously women had very little say in society and were stereotyped to stay home, make babies and be a good homemaker and wife. Despite women’s position in society improving during the 1940s, society was still very much patriarchal and women were still largely inferior to men. This is symbolised through the rape of Blanche which is also central to the victimisation of her character – it shows the position of women and how men used the patriarchy of society to take advantage of women. This supports Blanche’s portrayal as a victim as she’s the prey for predatory Stanley who takes what he wants, does as he pleases, and always gets what he wants even if it requires force (as his desire for Blanche does). As a result of him always enforcing his power through fear and always being pleased and satisfied it causes an emotional response from the audience and evokes sympathy in them for Blanche. This also supports Robert Brustein’s argument that ‘The conflict between Blanche and Stanley allegorises the struggle between effeminate culture and masculine libido” [2], as it juxtaposes Blanche’s feminine vulnerability in this scene against Stanley’s male dominance - the male protagonist versus the female protagonist. I believe the struggle between Blanche and Stanley also causes conflict of opinion on whether Stanley is a hero, giving Blanche what she deserves and what she has suggested towards through their time together through her flirtatious nature and promiscuous actions. For example, when “Blanche moves back into the streak of light. She raises her arms and stretches, as she moves indolently back to the chair”, by this action of moving into the light from Blanche it allows people from the other room to see her. Blanche tries to use her sex appeal to gain influence over men, essentially, the only tool she has at her disposal, which is interesting since Stanley’s over masculinity is his only tool. However, despite controversy as to whether the rape is justified or not, the implied rape (‘All right lets have some rough-house’) still victimises Blanche as she becomes the most vulnerable, as well as Stanley’s prey in every sense possible – sexually, physically, emotionally and mentally. This irony of how Blanche’s own weapon of sex is being used against her not only points out a blatant danger through the use of dialogue, but Williams has also used it to foreshadow how her love for fantasy and escaping reality will also be used against her when she is institutionalized for insanity. I feel this paints Blanche as a victim as she is unable to protect herself from the actions of chauvinist Stanley and ends up as a victim– this follows the traditional concept of a woman who is weak under the power of men. Another example of the portrayal of Blanche as a victim is through her sexuality. It may be argued that Blanche uses her sexuality as an appeal to manipulate when she feels necessary; for example, she insists to Mitch that she is ‘old fashioned’ with her beliefs of sexuality to the extent of being ‘old maid school-teacherish’. This insinuates that she is virginal, modest and pure, as per the ideal Southern Belle, this is opposed to the promiscuous ‘Dame Blanche’ who is company to soldiers and a frequent visitor of the notorious ‘Hotel Flamingo’ to which she confesses ‘that’s where I bought my victims’. Blanche desperately tries to conceal her sexuality behind a façade of gentility by quaintly excusing her sexual encounters as her depending ‘on the kindness of strangers’. Williams presents Blanche’s inner conflict with her sexuality (which may possibly mirror his own inner conflict as a homosexual man) as she struggles between her desire to be an innocent young girl who fits the characteristics of the ideal Southern Belle, and her need for sexual, physical relationships. However, while this view is valid, I personally view Blanche as using her sexuality to get through situations she feels uncomfortable in and would rather not face. The burning need for sexual desire which can sometimes come across as aggressive can easily be interpreted as immoral lust, however, I would argue that Williams

includes her relentless sleeping with men as a reflection of her loneliness and insecurity. Peggy Doyle argues that Blanche is “a girl who is composite nymphomaniac – alcoholic – neurotic”[3], however I only partly agree with this is as I believe the story of her ‘degenerate’ husband’s suicide is the clear root of her problems as ‘she didn’t just love him but worshipped the ground he walked on’. She cannot face reality and deal with her emotional problems in a ‘normal’ way, thus as a result she creates a sordid reputation for herself. In this way I feel she is a victim as she is unaware of her actions, they’re the sub-conscious result of suffering a traumatic experience at such a young age that has effectively scarred her for life and that plays a large role in her life. This portrays Blanche as a victim as when men discover the dirty past she had, as Stanley and Mitch do, they see her as cheap and as a sex tool, merely a woman. Explaining why when Mitch knows the truth about her, his respect to her is gone and he even tries to insult her and Williams suggests he tries to take advantage of her physically; it also explains why when Stanley comes home from the hospital a little drunk and finds what she speaks about is all her imagination, lies and tricks about unreal romances, he rapes her. Another example of the way in which Blanche is presented as a victim is through the use of the Varsouviana music in the play. Throughout the play, the “Varsouviana music steals in softly” and reminds Blanche of her dead husband; the music symbolises her growing hysteria and mental instability. The music is a motif for her insanity and used to underline tragic developments, with the consistency of this polka music throughout the play Williams uses it to evoke feeling and sympathy from the audience as only Blanche can hear the music and in this way it’s a constant burden that haunts only her. In this way Williams paints her as lonely and isolated causing an emotional response from the audience as whenever reality hits and Blanche is unable to handle it, the polka music plays and she is unable to escape the constant reminder of her husband’s death. For example, in scene 8, “the Varsouviana is heard, its music rising with sinister rapidity” which shows how at this point in the play Blanche is becoming increasingly fragile and vulnerable; the adjective “sinister” gives the scene a menacing atmosphere and the negative connotations it holds builds suspense for the audience causing them to fear for Blanche. This shows how the music symbolises Blanche’s inability to escape from a past, the memory worms its way to the forefront of her consciousness when she is recalling her dead husband and not only serves to highlight her disintegrating sanity, but also to highlight the theme of death. The Varsouviana is a tool used to foreshadow death, it was being played leading up to Allan’s suicide, meaning that it will also lead to Blanche’s death as well. The tune establishes the mood of the play and is heard increasingly towards the end of the play which makes both Blanche and the audience uneasy. This links to Lucy Webster’s argument that “the audience also haunted by the music is forced to experience Blanche's reality” [4], as with the feeling of uneasiness for the audience they can link it to Blanche and put things into perspective and empathise with her somewhat of another level. This is because due to the music, they hear what she hears and build up tension within themselves the same as she does. The combination of music and the fact of Blanche being the victim of desire and left with nothing, creates a sense of catharsis which leaves the audience feeling empty and therefore pity for Blanche the victim. The constant heavy drinking in the play is suggestive of Blanche’s state as a victim as Williams uses her alcoholism to create the awareness of Blanche’s need to escape the harsh reality of life and how out of control she is. This is also shown in scene III where she ‘cannot stand a naked light bulb’, and insists on covering it with a ‘paper lantern’, reflecting her need to hide from the reality of her past. Blanche turns to alcohol as an escape mechanism – to numb the unforgiving feelings of loneliness and despair and as George Marotous states to “blot out the ugliness of her life” [5]. Whiskey is the only thing that is constant in her life and consequently she uses it as a crutch to avoid the hard-hitting circumstances of her reality; whenever she remembers a traumatic event or must share unpleasant news, she always has a drink in her hands. An example of this stress mechanism is as she awaits the return of Stella in scene I she finds where the Kowalskis keep their alcohol, and she “springs up and … removes a whiskey bottle”. The verb “springs” is evident of Blanche’s erratic behaviour and her inability to contain herself and her need for a drink, clearly presenting her as an alcoholic to the audience. The fact Blanche claims the alcohol calms her nerves, foreshadows her later admittance to an insane asylum; Williams presenting Blanche as an alcoholic from scene I allows for the audience to feel sympathy for her from the start. Lastly, Blanche’s outlet cleanliness and her obsession to bathe also portrays her as a victim as while Blanche uses bathing as a stress reliever, water symbolizes cleansing and purity. In the Bible, John the Baptist symbolically washes away people’s sins with water from the Jordan River. Whenever Blanche feels unclean from a memory, or from seeing something that upsets her, she immediately requests to draw a bath. For example, when she arrives at Stella’s apartment for the first time in New Orleans, she already complains about her appearance. She gives Stella the orders, “don’t you look at me…and turn that over-light off!” The imperative verbs that Blanche uses emphasis the demand she has to help her self-consciousness which allows the audience to see the deeper meaning of how desperate she is to be seen as she wishes. For Blanche, hiding

her appearance acts as a way for her to mask her past; if she keeps herself youthful-looking then others would not notice the years of trauma that have slowly taken their toll on her body. Mitch later criticizes Blanche for her self-obsession stating, “I don’t think I ever seen you in the light…I’ve never seen you in the afternoon”. Those around Blanche begin to notice her suspicious tendency to hide her true self, and this reveals the instability of her mental state which causes an emotional response to the audience as from an outside perspective they’re able to understand Blanche’s panic of feeling alienated from more and more people unveiling hidden truths about her. Blanche uses bathing as a way to rid herself of the unpleasant memories of her past. She uses it therapeutically, it washes away the old thoughts and also rejuvenates her. Williams makes Blanche’s obsession with bathing prominent from the start ‘Blanche is bathing’ and foreshadows Blanche’s sequence and pattern of behaviour as it is the first of many times that Blanche bathes. Lynn Spaminato argues “both Blanche’s drinking and her endless hot baths suggest that she is attempting to wash away her past and emerge through a sort of water purgatory” [6]. I personally agree with this as the way in which Blanche uses bathing as a coping mechanism to deal with her past as she tries to cleanse and purify imitates the actions of Lady Macbeth whose obsessive hand washing is symbolic of her need to remove her guilt in the play Macbeth. This also presents Blanche as a victim as it foreshadows her inevitable doom, just as Lady Macbeth came to hers, allowing the audience to feel sorry for her and the lengths to which she goes through to feel content. To conclude, Blanche is a victim of desire, however, some may argue she is not a victim as she is in control of her actions and what will result of them. Her excessive drinking and provocative sexual intentions lead her into a world of desire, where she is most comfortable but becomes distresses when she is not in control and reality starts to take over. Although Blanche does not fit the Aristotelian view of being a tragic hero, it could be argued she is an anti-hero as she follows her heart throughout her life as opposed to letting herself be guided by reason. Blanche’s fatal flaw of giving in to desire is infused with death, love, sex and violence. At the end of the play, the audience are overwhelmed with a sense of catharsis as the audience feel pity for Blanche – despite bringing it onto herself she still knows no different. In this sense, Blanche Dubois is presented as a victim because she cannot face the harsh, cold facts and limitations of reality.

[1] – Shirley Galloway – 1993 “Last Stop: Blanche’s Breakdown” [2] – Robert Brustein – “America’s New Culture Hero: Feelings without Words” [3] – Peggy Doyle – “Enjoy New Play ‘Streetcar’” [4] – Lucy Webster – “Tragedy – Student Handbook” [5] – George Marotous – “A Streetcar Named Desire” [6] – Lynn Spaminato – “The Structure of A Streetcar Named Desire”...