Temple Drake is the central character at the center of William Faulkner's controversial 1931 novel, Sanctuary. In Sanctuary, Temple's responses to the crimes committed against her raise an important question: Is Temple herself responsible for the rape and sexual corruption she suffered? Literary critics called Temple a "nymphomaniac" who "deserves to be raped." However, a careful examination of the text reveals that the Temple was not a willing victim who wished to be attacked. Temple tries to escape, both physically and emotionally, and resists what is happening to her as much as she can. His ability to fight back has been altered due to how Temple was raised. In a culture that is quick to dismiss victims of sexual assault, we must take a critical look at how it rejects the actions taken against it. Temple Drake can be seen as a victim who does not want or deserve the treatment she receives. When looking at Temple's actions in the novel, one must consider that she was raised in a male-dominated household. These men, her father and four brothers, used, dominated and controlled her in a place where there was no maternal influence to teach her how to be a woman. The men in her life offered inadequate protection on their own terms. Even in college, Temple came and went solely at the whims of the men who took her on dates in their cars. She doesn't know how to operate without the influence of a male, and this is reflected in her actions. While Temple is at the plantation, she is constantly on the run, running and hiding whenever she can. She is terrorized in particular by Lee Goodwin, but also Van and Popeye. She has never depended on herself, so she looks at others, e...... middle of paper ......In Temple's final scenes towards the end of the novel, we see that she is well and truly freed from Popeye's control. Unfortunately, she is once again under the control of her father and brothers. At this time, Temple is characterized as a girl, a “ruined and helpless child” (288). As her father takes her out of the courtroom, her brothers surround her and she begins to move again; neither with the carefreeness she had as a student, nor with the terror she had at the plantation, nor with the anger she sometimes had towards Miss Reba's house. Instead, she evolves in a “shrinking and rapt abasement” (288). Looking once again at the results of the traumatic event Temple experienced at the hands of the men around him, one can have sympathy and not blame what was done to him. Temple Drake was truly a victim in Faulkner's sanctuary and did not deserve what she endured at the hands of men..