June, Melanie, and Eva all see themselves as victims in some way. Do you agree that they are victims? Who do you think is and who do you think isn’t, and why?
They were all victims, to a degree. But not to the same degree at all.
This really overlaps with the question about choices vs. circumstances.
Melanie and Eva were victims to a much greater degree than June. Melanie was unfairly accused simply because of her association with others in the entertainment industry. Eva was a victim of war and the aftermath, as well as a brutal man who abused his wife on a regular basis & Eva coming to her rescue, putting herself in harm’s way.
June was a victim of Elwood, to a lesser degree. She chose to stay with him, even though she knew he would never love her and have the type of relationship with her that she wanted. She let him use her (which he did, admittedly quite selfishly) and covered for him by writing scripts in his name. She was really paralyzed from taking asserted action to establish a life for herself apart from Elwood because of her emotional neediness which was never assuaged. She was really a pathetic character, but a true victim in the sense that she was subjected to circumstances/events/conditions not of her own making that she didn’t deserve? Not in my estimation.
Absolutely-they are all victims, but of very different circumstances. Eva was the most tragic of them all. The war had taken everything from her and she was fighting for survival. Melanie got caught up in her career and as a result made some very poor decisions that resulted in her becoming an innocent victim. She didn’t understand how Hollywood operated and how innocent decisions could totally backfire. Plus, she was young and naive. It was easy to take advantage of someone willing to do just about anything to further their career. June was probably the lesser of the three in terms of being a victim, but she had given into her circumstances and Elwood had let her when he should have forced her to find her own way in the world.