In the play Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling, the main characters are a group of women who have been friends for almost a lifetime. Each of them has their style of friendship; they all strive to help and support each other. While they are all good in their way, the only person who stands out is Clairee Belcher, who can rightly be called Friend of the Year. At first glance, Clairee seems only interested in herself and her wealth, but she shows her real feelings in serious situations. Clairee is attentive, supportive, and very cherishing of her close friends.
First of all, when reading, Clairee is presented as a woman who wants to know everything about everyone, most likely so that she can gossip, but it turns out that she is a very attentive friend. When Shelby announces her pregnancy to her mother’s friends, Clairee is the first to notice that M’Lynn doesn’t share her daughter’s joy. She understands everything without words and only says: “Oh boy…”, but puts all the regret into this phrase (Harling 63). At first, Clairee also seems to have a strained relationship with Ouiser, as they seem to pick on each other the most, and the phrase “Shut up!” sounds between them more often than a greeting. However, this is not the case: Ouiser and Clairee have been friends for a long time and know everything about each other. Although Ouiser hides her genuine emotions, she still shows remorse around her friend when she says she is “I’m a terrible person” (Harling 94). Clairee immediately shows how aware she is of the real identity of the “terrible” Ouiser, reassuring her that “You’d give your dog a kidney if he needed one” (Harling 94). Each of these moments shows Clairee’s attentiveness to the people around her.
Clairee is not only attentive but also a supportive and progressive woman. As you know, Clairee in the late mayor’s wife, so she occupies a significant position in the city. Despite this, she does not care what others might think of her if they are not people dear to her. She humorously informs her friends that her nephew is gay, and seems utterly unconcerned about how scandalous it is, thus showing her progressiveness in this matter (Harling 72). Clairee supports her friends and always finds a way to rid them of negative emotions. In a difficult period for M’Lynn, at a funeral, when M’Lynn has a tantrum, Clairee finds a way to help her friend deal with it. She suggests that M’Lynn hit Ouiser to get rid of her overwhelmed feelings: “Here. Hit this! Go ahead, slap her!” (Harling 108). It may seem strange at first, but if you understand the character, it becomes clear that with the help of humor, she is trying to heal the wounds of a close friend. She even adds, “We can sell T-shirts saying, “I Slapped Ouiser Boudreaux!” Hit her!” and that M’Lynn missed an ample opportunity because so many people wanted to hit Ouiser (Harling 108). Clairee strives to help and support everyone she cares about.
Even though Clairee offers to hit her close friends, she still treasures them all very much. First, she does it to put M’Lynn out of her misery because it’s hard for her to watch. After this situation, Clairee casually explains, “Things were getting entirely too serious there for a moment” (Harling 109). She tries to make sure that there are no misunderstandings between her and Ouiser, so she suddenly inserts the appeal to her into her speech, “Ouiser? You know I love you more than mu luggage,” and does so again with humor (Harling 110). Clairee will do her best for those she cares about.
Work Cited
Harling, Robert. Steel Magnolias. Langara College, 2007.