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.
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