I was shocked when I read recently that Blanche was a child molester.I read the play and watched the film more than 10 years ago and I don't remember anything related to child molestation. The only thing I remember is Blanche flirting with a young man. He looked around 18-20 though so he wasn't child.
shareI wouldnt say sleeping with a 17 year old guy is "child molesting".Still wrong, and she should have had her teachers license revoked, but I dont even think that constitutes statutory rape.
shareI don't think so either, people are so obsessed with calling everyone a child molester these days,it's crazy
shareI don't think so either, people are so obsessed with calling everyone a child molester these days,it's crazy
I wouldn't say sleeping with a 17 year old guy is "child molesting".Still wrong, and she should have had her teachers license revoked, but I don't even think that constitutes statutory rape.
How old was Blanche when she slept with the 17 year old boy?
Really?A shrink?I don't know I think thaat's too much
Blanche is in her early 30s and the incident would have been within the last few months before the curtain went up.
Blanche does need a shrink. In fact, she probably needed one years before the opening scene.
The Fabio Principle: Puffy shirts look best on men who look even better without them.
She was in her early 30's?
Geez, and everyone in the movie talks like she's an old woman!
I'm 32 and I'm certainly not an old woman.
I guess they thought she was past her prime :P.
-Amanda
"You know that place between sleep and awake?...That's where I'll always love you." - Tinkerbell
It's definitely an outdated concept, the idea that a single woman past the age of 30 was 'past her expiration date', but it was a common idea of the time. People married or settled down at a younger age back then.
There was a definite double-standard, since I think Mitch is supposed to be around the same age as Blanche, but it's apparently alright for him to be 30 even if it's not for her ;)
The play was written in the 40s. You would have been "older" at 30 than you would have been in the 80s or now, mostly because people didn't live as long then.
The Fabio Principle: Puffy shirts look best on men who look even better without them.
People in the 1940s and before that lived well into their 80s and 90s - the average AGE and average DEATH is not the same thing. Back then, if people lived past their 5-6 birthday, they lived until they were quite elderly.
So I don't think it is accurate to suggest that at 30, she was going live much longer.
You have just contradicted yourself.
The concept of age was certainly different then. 30 was perceived as being "over the hill" and this is no longer the case. This has a lot to do with Blanche's motivations.
The Fabio Principle: Puffy shirts look best on men who look even better without them.
As far as age, age conceptions have changed. Blanche was supposed to be in her early 30s. Norma Desmond was supposed to be 50. Now, had Blanche not been in her early thirties really, there would have been a big gap between her and Stella.
shareIKR? I saw a local production of Streetcar this afternoon, and all I could think of was, "I'm 42 and still feel pretty young and vibrant, and everyone's going on about how Blanche is 'fading' and 'aging' when she's only thirty-and-change!"
And all this about how Blanche's looks are going...when everyone I've ever seen play her is still perfectly attractive!
Blanche was older than early 30s because Vivienne Leigh was 36 at the time of making the film and they had to age her using make up to make her the right age for Blanche
shareNo, in the play she really was about 30. Stella was to be 25 and five years younger than Blanche,
Yes, Leigh was about 36 when this was filmed and aged to look older, but that doesn't mean Blanche was to be older than 36. It can be inferred that the early-30s Blanche was to look older than even a typical woman her age back then because of the hard life she lived, her mental instability and drinking "aged" her.
So Leigh's real age and having make-up to age her has nothing to do with Blanche's age. Not only was past 30 considered older back then, but for a Southern Belle who even looked older than her real age is much of Blanche's hang-up. I don't think she was just obsessed with her chronological age because of her personality and background, but she also knew she "looked older." Just my take.
While I wouldn't go as far as to say she was a child molester, she did have sex with a student, which is a huge abuse of power. It gives a greater dimension to her character, showing that she isn't nearly as innocent as she presents herself. I actually think it's pretty great writing from Tennessee Williams--creating such a character and still having her come across as sympathetic overall.
shareShe slept with a 17 year old student and lost her teaching license, but people tend to think more harshly of male teachers doing that. However, I think there is a difference between seducing a 17 year old and seducing a child, but both are wrong. Both are an abuse of authority with individuals whose brains are not developed enough to complete understand the ramifications of what they are doing. But I think they should be punished differently from those who sexually abuse children.
shareShe wasn't a "child molester". I had a few female teachers in jr. high school and high school who I wish had given me private sex lessons.
share