Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads)
Séverine, a young university student leads a banal, unnoticed life, largely ignored—even by her boyfriend—until she borrows a white silk blouse, which changes the way men perceive her. Another way to synopsize ‘The Blouse’ by French creator Bastien Vives – woman wears a boring shirt, nobody notices, but once she puts on an expensive, form fitting, cleavage revealing blouse, and boom! – every man wants her. Of course.
Séverine becomes obsessed with ‘The Blouse’, wearing it everywhere, especially where the attention would matter – like college presentations, or parties. If the reader must take-away some meaning from this graphic novel, then perhaps it’s about how like power corrupts the kindest individuals, beauty corrupts people too. We don’t know if the blouse is magical or not, but it sure makes Séverine feel a lot more confident, beautiful, sexy, and immediately transforms her into a more reckless, sex-starved, degenerate. For instance, before the blouse, Séverine could not stand being in the same room as someone smoking, but later, she turns to smoking herself and starts cheating on her boyfriend. Interestingly, the boyfriend continues to behave the same way with her, not noticing any difference, so the blouse’s effect could just be placebo.
Maybe Bastien Vives’ message is simpler – those who are aware of the hold their good looks have on the beholder, tend to be jerks. Either way, this graphic novel was made engaging only due to Bastien’s artwork. Séverine and the other characters who have limited space in the book, never make a strong impression, their personalities feel hollow. You should read the graphic novel “Beauty” by Hubert and artist duo Kerascoët, for a more fun, and absolutely fantastic exploration of how someone’s superficial allure can be life-changing. Or there’s the classic ‘Picture of Dorian Gray’.
In the second half of The Blouse, a sudden act of violence feels like an unnecessary, racially charged jab at a minority community. The scene could have been altered in countless ways to convey the same predictable message— that even as things spiral, all Séverine can focus on is the blouse. In fact, several scenes are there just to shock readers a bit; instead more story development would have been far more satisfying.
Rating: 2 on 5 stars.
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