Blanche DuBois from “A Streetcar Named Desire”

In the play “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams, Blanche DuBois is presented as both a victim and villain determined by the way the reader comprehends her. By the end of the play, it seems that she is a victim. Blanche is a delicate, conflicted, and cultured character. After having no other place to live, she went to New Orleans to stay with her sister and brother-in-law, Stella and Stanley. Though many may consider her a villain for the lies she told Stella, Mitch and Stanley during the play, it can be proven through her psychological issues and past that Blanche is a victim.

Although Blanche was raised in a middle class environment, she endures her life full of lavish and class. Rather than facing reality, she chooses to live within magic. Being that she won’t have to encounter with past or problems. The psychological issues began when Blanche underwent a suicide of her ex-husband at a young age. After publicly confronting him about being homosexual and calling him “disgusting”, Blanche's husband shot himself in the head at a club that following afternoon. After experiencing this extremely tragic event, Blanche denied professional help and chose a corrupt lifestyle. Afterwards, she had many intimacies with random males. Losing a husband from another man as well as death is a very destructive and heartbreaking situation in any persons life. If one was put in the same situation as Blanche, they’d react very similarly to conceal their past. Therefore Blanche’s actions in New Orleans are more than reasonable to blame on the death of her ex-husband.

Another way Blanche is presented as a victim is through her deception. During many parts in the play, she lies to everyone around her specifically Stella, Stanley and Mitch. This caused not only herself, but others to think that Blanche lives in an illusion rather than reality. Telling lies was the easy way out for Blanche to avoid her rough present and past life situations. First of many lies, she claimed she was on break of her teaching job in Laurel. The truth behind this lie, undoubtedly shameful, was that Blanche got fired for having a sexual affiliation with a student. This eventually led to never ending lies about herself in expectation of no one finding out. Ultimately, Stanley and his friends found out about Blanche’s lies and unwilling made her see through her illusions and face her tragic reality.

Lastly, Blanche makes use from her sexuality in order to get passed uncomfortable situations. While alone with a man, Blanche suddenly becomes sexually indiscriminate and flirtatious. For example, earlier in the play, she threw herself at the young newspaper boy as well as other times when alone with Stanley. Ever since the start of the play, Blanche has flirted with nearly every guy in which resulted in Stanley raping her by cause of sexual tension between them.

Blanche experienced many complicated moments in her life starting with getting fired, losing her property in Bell Reve, her ex-husband's suicide and in the end only earning a humiliating name from it all. As a result of the past events, Blanche is instantly viewed as the victim in the play. Being a dishonest and convincing person, living in her own illusion, is not logical to criticize Blanche as a villain.

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