블랑쉬의 외상후 스트레스 장애 증후군에 관한 소고

Abstract

Blanche Dubois, the heroine of A Streetcar Named Desire, written by Tennessee Williams, has been interpreted as the most typical character of his dramatic world, with her neurotic, helpless, and sensitive personality that drives her out of society and keeps her wandering as a fugitive victim. Within this perspective, Blanche is not entitled to be regarded as a tragic heroine who braves the ordeals cast upon her and finally achieves the integrity of any decent human being. However, if Blanche is understood as a case of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), one finds that she tries her best to overcome the series of traumatic events that plague her and to obtain a spiritual peace and physical calmness. During the process of fighting against the typical symptoms of PTSD such as hyper-arousal, intrusion and constriction, Blanche shows that she is not merely a helpless victim of neurosis, but a desperate warrior who fights against terror and guilty feelings and tries to reenter the sphere of normal life. In that sense, she is somewhat a qualified heroine of tragedy who makes efforts to find meaning and integrity in life.

Blanche Dubois, the heroine of A Streetcar Named Desire, written by Tennessee Williams, has been interpreted as the most typical character of his dramatic world, with her neurotic, helpless, and sensitive personality that drives her out of society and keeps her wandering as a fugitive victim. Within this perspective, Blanche is not entitled to be regarded as a tragic heroine who braves the ordeals cast upon her and finally achieves the integrity of any decent human being. However, if Blanche is understood as a case of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), one finds that she tries her best to overcome the series of traumatic events that plague her and to obtain a spiritual peace and physical calmness. During the process of fighting against the typical symptoms of PTSD such as hyper-arousal, intrusion and constriction, Blanche shows that she is not merely a helpless victim of neurosis, but a desperate warrior who fights against terror and guilty feelings and tries to reenter the sphere of normal life. In that sense, she is somewhat a qualified heroine of tragedy who makes efforts to find meaning and integrity in life.