I always wondered why everyone takes Blanche at her word that Stanley raped her. She spends a good portion of the movie telling lie after lie which Stanley exposes for the rest of the cast to see.
Yet Stella, Eunice, as well as Mitch and the guys seem to take her at her word that Stanley raped her, even in her precarious mental state at the end of movie.
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I've had this argument numerous times... In a GRAD COURSE I was yelled at by my classmates for taking the stance that you just don't know. She lies from the first scene and continues to lie and have delusions so why can't that be a lie too?
The stageplay doesn't say "He rapes her." Period. It just doesn't. Doesn't mean he DIDN'T, but doesn't mean he DID with certainty either.
Tennessee Williams, the actual author of the play, has been quoted numerous times saying that Stanley rapes Blanche.
shareI understand - but the brilliant thing - it wasn't on the page. It wasn't on stage. And it wasn't on screen.
I am not saying HE DIDN'T... but there is no certainty. Tennessee Williams could have simply written in the text "He rapes her." He didn't. I know censorship blah blah blah... but the simple fact... it is not written, therefore there is uncertainty.
Even if it doesn't outright say it. From what is shown on screen, he did SOMETHING to her. He either hit her or raped her. That scene with the mirror was shown for a reason. Throughout the movie he never touches anyone, just throws things. Blanche even mentions how it's just a matter of time before he escalates. The moment the mirror breaks is his descent into either a rapist or woman beater.
And Blanche is committed because Stella thinks Stanley did something to make Blanche have the breakdown. From her viewpoint, she comes home and sees here sister messed up and possibly bruised, plus stuff is broke again. Of course she would believe her.
Throughout the movie he never touches anyone? He does. He smacks Stella around and that's before he hits Blanche.
"It's Minnie Pearl's murder weapon."
He rapes Blanche and there was a scene cut where Stella finds a ripped dress of Blanche's - she has a baby and she feels like she has to believe Stanley. But in her heart she knows what Stanley did.
When Anthony Quinn played the role with Uta Hagen, he used to really bang her up when that scene starts and they grapple. She would tell him repeatedly that he was hurting her, and he'd say, "I felt it...I felt it." So one night she really let him have it, I think she kicked him in the groin or something. When he complained, she said, "I felt it...I felt it."
Anthony Quinn is the same in every film
what a bully
the kevin costner movie 'Revenge' are Quinn's true colors
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Correct me if I'm wrong--all these posts about what is actually in the text/did the rape happen confused me--but I took the original question to ask why do the characters in the movie believe Blanche when she said she had been raped.
I'm pretty sure that in the original play by Tennessee Williams, Stella does in fact believe Stanley's story and she and the baby remain with him. When the movie was made, Hollywood got freaked out at the idea of a resolution where the main characters ignore the rape, so they changed the movie. I'm also fairly certain this was verified by Williams himself.
So yeah, you were right when you thought it was weird that they all believed Blanche because they didn't.
The OP asks a valid question. I have no doubt that Stanley raped her, but I wouldn't believe it soley based on Blanche's say-so.....in fact, if she told me that today was Wednesday, I'd want to get a second opinion.
shareI think that is the most sensible evaluation. Blanche cannot be believed but there could be other evidence that is not shown in the movie. As far as reading into what we do see, the mirror shattering says to me that significant violence of one kind or another took place.
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I agree with mhearn. I think we're supposed to know he really did, too. It's what drives her round the bend. It's maybe like the girl who cried wolf.
Get me a bromide! And put some gin in it!
Iceblade, you are correct - people might have an uneasy feeling about what went on but no one out and out believes her.
shareI agree the OP got it wrong- NO ONE believed Blanche. That is why they have her sent to the mental institution, because they thought she made the whole thing up. Doesn't Stella at some point say she couldn't go on living with Stanley IF he had actually raped her?
One of the biggest mistakes (the only one) that the movies makes is that it changes the end of the play. At the end of the play, Stella and Stanley embrace while Stella cries about her sister. At the end of the movie, Stella all of a sudden has moxie and rebuffs Stanley's affection by saying "don't ever touch me again-" hinting that deep down she believes her sister.
Stella and Stanley had an animal attraction to each other, Stella says this herself. The point is, NO ONE believed Blanche when she said Stanley raped her, and that is why she is sent away.
My interpretation is also that he raped her; no, we don't know for sure but the author seems to hint us to make that conclusion, in my mind at least.
But with that said, does Blanche actually ever say to anyone that Stanley did rape her? I can't recall that she did either in the movie or the play. I thought that was something left unsaid and up to our imagination to decide whether she did or not.
I don't doubt that he raped her, the point I was trying to make is that why does everybody suddenly believe her claim that Stanley raped her when they know she spends the entire movie up until that point lying about her past.
shareAnd the point I was trying to make was; does she ever actually claim to anyone that Stanley raped her? But now in retrospect I can see that she probably did... so nevermind!
shareFrom the original play's last scene, which takes place a few weeks after the rape:
Stella: I couldn't believe her story and go on living with Stanley.
Eunice: Don't ever believe it. Life has got to go on. No matter what happens, you've got to keep going.
Blanche talked. From Eunice's line I think she may be giving some credence to it based on having been Stella's sounding board whenever Stanley would lose control.
The Fabio Principle: Puffy shirts look best on men who look even better without them.
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I love Stanley as a character so it's probably the simple fact of denial that I don't believe he raped Blanche.
I happen to know multiple people exactly like Blanche and I can't stand them, I could connect with his drunken hatred of Blanche (although not the physical abusiveness towards Stella and Blanche obviously).
In all honesty I think it's just another man-hating woman-worshipping piece of writing (albeit great writing, I just happen to disagree with the premise).
I never met a dame yet that didn't know if she was good-looking or not without being told.
There is nothing female-worshipping about any of Williams' plays; many of his female characters are just as pathetic as Blanche. They all are in some denial of reality.
In Williams' bio info online it is said that Blanche was inspired by his sister, who suffered from mental illness and was later lobotomized.
The Fabio Principle: Puffy shirts look best on men who look even better without them.
I love Stanley as a character so it's probably the simple fact of denial that I don't believe he raped Blanche.
I happen to know multiple people exactly like Blanche and I can't stand them, I could connect with his drunken hatred of Blanche (although not the physical abusiveness towards Stella and Blanche obviously).
Because the author obviously though that Blanche is a likable character.
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Applied Science? All science is applied. Eventually.
Because the author obviously though that Blanche is a likable character.
I haven't read the play but in the movie Blanche isn't made to be likable at all. It's just the opposite actually. There is some empathy for her character but it's obvious she's using other people and is completely and utterly self-centered.
shareStanley rapes Blanche psychologically, socially and personally. He destroys her defenses and whether he physically rapes her is ambiguous in the story to emphasize the emotional assault.
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Everything about Blanche is taboo--the "whore" of the family reunion. Stanley's response to her is similar to an "honor killing" in Islam. That's why the story is so horrific.
Stanley rapes Blanche psychologically, socially and personally. He destroys her defenses and whether he physically rapes her is ambiguous in the story to emphasize the emotional assault.
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Everything about Blanche is taboo--the "whore" of the family reunion. Stanley's response to her is similar to an "honor killing" in Islam. That's why the story is so horrific.
You know, when I see you self-righteous, pretentious a$$holes on these sites or in Hollywood judging smaller, weaker people who are struggling to make ends meet every day, I keep thinking that who the hell are you? What gives you the right to cast judgment on people and situations you've never seen, met or experienced??
Believe it or not, most rapists have horrible backgrounds where they too were abused. They learned very early not to respect women as people because they were not respected as people.
I bet none of you people have every real had to struggle a day in your lives.
However not all people who were abused, molested, and/or criminally neglected while growing up well below the poverty line become rapists, abusers, or even self-abusers like cutters, addicts, or prostitutes, so it IS within the power of 98% of those who do to choose not to.
You sound as self-absorbed and arrogant as those you are criticizing. That does not make for a persuasive argument. Try tempering the truth with a little tenderness (empathy). That allows those you are blaming room to see any errors of perception they may have made without having to publicly admit to being thoughtless arse hats. THAT is how successful change, whether societal or individual, happens.
Everything about Blanche is taboo--the "whore" of the family reunion. Stanley's response to her is similar to an "honor killing" in Islam. That's why the story is so horrific.
I don't entirely disagree with you, but so-called honor killings also occur in cities among people who've become urbanized within the past generation or two. Like Paris. And there are small factions of people who would like to make them the law of the land.
What the West fails to appreciate is that large areas (but not all) of the Near East are still dominated by feudal culture and mode of production. One can't shove (what we call) 'democracy' down feudal throats and expect them to swallow gladly and reach for more. Other institutions must be assisted out of the dark ages first or it simply turns into the equivalent of European serfs selling their vote for bread (or 19th century Chicago). Considering the preservation of Greek and Roman culture by Arabs during Europe's Dark Ages when crazed fundamentalist monks were destroying everything not Judeo-Christian, in addition to the creation of ARABic numerals, algebra, and sociology, it seems like the least we should offer to help with.