In A Streetcar Named Desire, who was the tragic character and why?

It is clear that the tragic character in this excellent
play is Blanche DuBois. From the first moment that she enters the stage, Blanche is a
character who acts as a kind of catalyst to the other characters - she is met with
strong reactions. Yet she is also a character who is dogged by her past which she can't
ever seem to escape. We find out that she had to leave her last job in Mississippi
because of an inappropriate relationship with one of her pupils and that also she used
to be a Southern belle from a well-to-do family and other issues in her past that she
tries to flee from.

However, as the play develops, we see
that there are serious issues within the character of Blanche revealing important
inconsistencies. She appears at once a kind of predatory femme fatale, flirting with
Stanley and the young man at the door, but then at the same time wanting to appear
fragile and wanting someone to dominate her and take care of her. In addition to this
confusion, we can argue that she is obsessed with her own beauty and her past as a
belle, and that being desired is incredibly important to her. She still lives in the
past, thinking that she is just as beautiful now as she was then. Blanche is a paradox -
the smartly dressed and cultured lady who enters the stage at the beginning is gradually
shown to be a character riven by neuroses and insecurities that threaten to overwhelm
her.

We cannot help but think in spite of these qualities
that she is a tragic character. She seems unable to face up to the past, and all we are
left with are tantalising glimpses as to what has happened. Clearly her need to
constantly have baths indicates some desire to wash away the past and cleanse herself
from what she has done, and yet she also finds herself unable to repeat the same
mistakes. In the line that gives the play its title, she reveals indirectly her sexual
indiscretion:

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Haven't you ever ridden on that streetcar Desire?
... It brought me here.

We
are left with a tragic character precisely because she is never able to accept herself
for who she is and is split apart by her inconsistencies.