English Literature
Twentieth Century Drama Coursework
How does Alan Bennett create sympathy for Doris in ‘A cream cracker under the Settee’.
Alan Bennett’s monologue ‘A Cream Cracker Under the Settee’ is an interior monologue in which Bennet uses to make his audience sympathise and understand the fears and challenges old people face in modern society. Bennett’s character, Doris, helps his audience to understand and perhaps sympathise with her challenges. The whole play is set in Doris’s living room and her corridors because she has fallen trying to dust. Like many elderly people, Doris thinks about the horrors of living in a care home and the loss of independence, the loneliness of living by her self and the pain and grief of remembering loved ones. Bennett creates sympathy to question the stereotypes of elderly people through the struggles that Doris has gone through, through the miscarriage of her baby and the loss of her husband; we sympathise with Doris as we see the damaging effects it has left on her. Although having gone through what she has gone through, Doris still manages to live her life with a bit of humour, we see this especially through her attitude about Stafford house and her fears of losing her independence. Bennett creates sympathy for elderly people as it seems that they don’t seem to have a lot of choice/ respect in today’s society, whereas in the past elderly people still had a sense of community and belonging.
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Bennett creates sympathy through Doris’s home help Zulema who she comically refers to as “home hindrance”. Doris, who still thinks herself capable, does not like relying on Zulema and thinks she doesn’t reach her standards “she half dust”. Bennet uses short sentences to reflect the natural speech in which Doris is mimicking Zulema. Bennet uses threatening language “you can’t run anywhere” this makes Doris resent Zulema because she has all the power which makes Doris feel powerless and incapable. Sympathy is created in the way Doris is treated as if she has never worked a day in her life but this is untrue as she is from a generation where they kept pride in their home appearances. The audience also see that Doris has an issue with cleanliness. Bennet uses the dirt to show the context of today’s society “let the dirt waits”. This creates more sympathy as Doris feels like she doesn’t belong in this new society. We can tell Doris is lonely because she doesn’t have anyone else to visit her; Zulema is the only person Doris ever sees in the week, she never gets a “bona fide caller”. This creates sympathy as she has no family and she has no friends; the least people expect is to be missed by loved ones but Doris doesn’t have anybody who will miss her. Her husband Wilfred is dead which emphasises her loneliness; we see her talking to their wedding picture as if he is still alive “we’re cracked”. This metaphor shows audiences how their lives are broken apart. She addresses him as “we” this use of the present tense shows how even though he is dead, she keeps him alive in her mind for comfort. Sympathy is created because the one person who she loved and cherished is no longer there and now she has fallen on the floor and she is on her own.
Bennett uses the dramatic device of pauses throughout the monologue to emphasize Doris’s random memory which jumps from present to past. Bennett’s monologue is all in one day. This contrasts with the opening of the play which creates sympathy because she has spent her whole day stranded on the floor on her own. Bennett increases sympathy through flash backs “proper prams then”. This helps to set the historical context in the monologue.
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Bennet creates further sympathy through Doris dependency on other people, when she spots someone she calls him her “salvation” this shows her reliance in other people.. Bennet continues to create sympathy through the use of the context of today’s society, “spending a penny” Bennet reflects back to the historical context of the novel through Doris colloquial language. Bennett also highlights the lack of respect in today’s society “broad daylight” no respect for other people’s property.
Bennet increases sympathy with Doris and Wilfred’s relationship was one of reliance; they relied on each other as they didn’t have anybody else, “just the two of us”. They both didn’t want to socialise with other people, they were happy on their own. They called each other ‘mother’ and ‘father’ which is an old fashioned term, there’s a sad irony as they never got to be parents. Sympathy is created as we see how forlorn she must have been when Wilfred passed away. Doris was always the responsible one, “he’d no system at all” she criticised Wilfred with a fondness, “bless him”. This shows her affection and love for him. We sympathise with Doris as she has no one to look after; instead she’s been made to be looked after. Bennett is showing how old people feel helpless in today’s society, they are made to feel incapable and a burden. This would increase the audience’s sympathy for Doris. The loss of her baby never forgotten “proud of your pram” the pram is a constant reminder of the baby she never had. Bennet add a pause which shows a moment of sad reflection, this creates more compassion for Doris as the baby would have been “chance of a life time” Doris saw the baby as her chance for a family, but Wilfred saw it as just another “craze” he didn’t understand Doris’s loss.
This insensitive reaction would make the audiences feel for Doris because even in the past she felt that nobody really understood her. On the other side this could show the love Wilfred had for her that he just wanted it to be just them. Bennett uses this to highlight the effect it had on Doris. Doris felt misunderstood and all the more lonely “she saves newspapers”. This is a cruel response which shows Wilfred’s lack of responsibilities and Doris’s isolation. The midwife’s reaction was also one of cruelty; she wrapped him in newspaper and said he “wasn’t fit to be called anything”. This callous reaction highlights the way still born babies were treated like objects “ all its little coats” even she addresses it as ‘it’ still born babies weren’t treated as real humans this shows the historical context and creates sympathy as she never got to see her own baby, instead she was told how ‘dirty’ it was which this later sparked into a cleaning obsession where Doris used dusting and vacuuming to replaced the longing for her baby with hygiene for Doris as audiences start to see the reason Doris is who she is, we start to see what she has faced in her lifetime and how that has made her into the person she is now.
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Bennets use of stage directions help the audience see the time passing “go to black” which creates sympathy for Doris as she has been the on the floor all day. Out of boredom and hunger Doris results to eating a cream cracker from under the settee. This highlights her desperation and her incapability to get food. Bennet creates sympathy as it doesn’t seem she is going to be rescued.
Like many elderly people, Doris is frightened of being put away in a care home. Doris is frightened of Stafford house as she has pride in her independence and she fears she will lose her independence, she doesn’t want to ‘mix’ with all the other old people. Bennett’s main messages of stereotypes are shown through Doris’s critical views of old people “they all smell of pee”. Again audience witness her obsession with hygiene and notice how unusual it is to see an old person who is prejudiced against old people. Sympathy is created as Doris doesn’t recognise that she herself is old and that people may think that about her. Here Bennett’s main theme of stereotypes is highlighted and questions readers on their own stereotypes of the elderly. Doris mentions that she is not “gregarious” she doesn’t like to “mix” with other people and she doesn’t want to be made to change she just want freedom to do her own things. This creates sympathy for Doris because as a result of her being “gregarious” she doesn’t have any friends.
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Bennett maintains the sympathy towards the end of the monologue in the climax of her memory, “when people were clean” the audience feel sympathetic towards Doris as she longs to be back in the past where she felt safest. Bennett creates sympathy for the audience as we finally see Doris recognising that she is not a part of this new world “keep them under lock and key” she recognises that like her name she is outdated. Bennet creates sympathy for audiences as Doris finally gives up “I’m all right”. She doesn’t want the police man to see her like that and take her to Stafford house, she still wants her independence. This is a sad moment in the monologue as audiences see Doris give up. “It’s done with now” bennet uses this metaphor to symbolise that she is ready to die. Bennett creates sympathy for Doris as audiences see her retaliate against modern society; she would rather spend her last day in her house. Bennett’s use of dramatic device of ‘fade out’ this could be interpreted as the screen becomes weaker just like Doris at the end.
Doris appeals to the audience because of her amusing personality throughout her ordeal. After being stranded on the floor, Doris still finds laughter in the chance to report her home help Zulema “destroyed the evidence”; she has retained her sense of humour throughout the monologue. We admire Doris for this because we see how tough of a woman she really is and makes us sympathise with her loss. What makes Doris a likeable character is that she not what readers would expect, she is not grumpy and always moaning which is what Bennet is trying to get across to his audience. With Doris, Bennett shows how so many of the stereotypes are false. Audiences feel closer to Doris and through this closeness Bennet is able to trigger emotion on a lot of the pain and grief that Doris has went through.
Bennet’s message throughout the monologue is society’s stereotypes of old people, he wants to highlight how difficult it is for the elderly in modern society. Bennett makes us aware of how elderly people feel and what they go through, Doris is just a character which Bennet uses to get his message across. The first message is one of loneliness, many old people have lost loved ones and find them self in a society where they can’t communicate with others. Bennet also makes us aware through their past, Doris came from a past where “folks smiled”. Here Bennet is suggesting that in modern day no one cares about anyone else. Bennet also highlights the lack of community “don’t know nobody”, highlighting the lack of community, the era where nobody knows their own neighbour.
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At the end of the play I feel as like as a society we have forgotten how to treasure all that the elderly has to offer to our community, they come from a totally different era which we can all learn from. Doris is a prime example of a time where they all took pride in appearances “not my leaves” she cares about what other people think. I feel sympathy for Doris at the fact that she doesn’t have friends or family to look after her. It is a growing culture that people are always busy, no body takes time out to look after people like in the past where everyone looked after each other. I feel sorry at the fact she feels apart of the old world “Don’t get called Doris” this shows how elderly people are not considered to be apart of society. Through out the drama Bennet has highlighted the stereotypes and injustice the elderly people face, he has shown his viewers through the characterisation of Doris and creating sympathy among viewers. By choosing a monologue viewers feel closer to the character because through the flashbacks audiences feel like they have lived through Doris tragedies and memories. This makes it easier for audiences to sympathise with Doris.
