In “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams, the character Blanche DuBois is lonely, desperate and extremely sensitive. Many feel her pain she had in the past and view her as the victim and give her sympathy. Others loathe her and put her as the victimizer, deserving what she gets. Some people do not know whether to view her as the victimizer or the victim. She is an alcoholic and she has an addiction to men. Blanche depends on the drinks and men to comfort her.
Although Blanche lied about many of the things she said, she does not deserve her fate. Not one person deserves to get raped. After her husband Allan’s suicide, Blanche is expected to be the way she is. Allan had homosexual affairs which may have drove Blanche to become how she is, especially after his suicide. But, when she told Allan he disgusted her, which may have been part of the reason why Allan did what he did; she didn’t have to go off on him like that. If she didn’t say those horrible things to Allan, the situation might be different and he would probably still be alive; that action may put her in the situation of the victimizer.
Coming into New Orleans, Blanche was trying to change and let her old self die; Stanley, Stella’s husband, tries to prevent that from happening. He wants to make her life a living nightmare. She needs the help of her sister to make a new person of herself, but Stanley is a selfish, jealous man; only he can have Stella. Stanley mocks her about her baths and the clothes she has; this makes her the victim. Also, Blanche really likes Mitch, but Stanley ruins the relationship for her by telling Mitch the truth; this would also make her the victim. In this position, she may have deserved this because she shouldn’t have lied from the start.
Blanche gets raped by Stanley, which she is definitely not deserving of. Stanley is drunk and he’s been attracted to her since she came; Blanche is not attracted to him what so ever. She has become the victim of an unnecessary action taken. Many people would give her much sympathy over this. The only characteristic about Blanche that is off is the way she acts and speaks. Blanche speaks in a flirty voice and acts flirty all of the time, but says she has never been with a guy. She is a victim, but she is also the victimizer because of the way she acts and the way she lies. Blanche lies about men in her past, where she has been in the past, and her job. Blanche says she is on leave from her job, but it’s a lie. Only in that case she is the victimizer. Other than that, she has become the victim. What was done to her was not what she deserved.
