"When you think the night has seen your mind; That inside you're twisted and unkind; Let me stand to show that you are blind; Please put down your hands; Cause I see you" is the chorus to the Velvet Underground's "I'll Be Your Mirror." Although Katniss has two prospective lovers for the duration of The Hunger Games, I do not believe either of them, nor any other character, truly "sees" her as the Velvet Underground puts it. Every character, especially Peeta, "sees" what they want to in her.
At the conclusion of the novel, when Katniss announces to Peeta that the two of them are in danger as a result of their spur-of-the-moment suicide pact, Peeta is shocked she needs to be "'coach[ed]'" in order to keep up her end of the romance (Collins 372). Peeta asks her "'what's going to be left when we get home?" (Collins 372). Peeta's shock reveals that he never really understood how Katniss felt in the arena, nor does he truly "see" her - he has no idea who Katniss is outside of the Games. In fact, he barely knows who she was in the Games. As he reveals in the Arena, the main thing he knows about Katniss, the thing that caused him to allegedly fall in love with her, is that she sang well in their early school days (Collins 301). He knows nothing of Katniss in the woods, where she feels most comfortable. Simultaneously, Gale cannot truly "see" her because he knows nothing of her trauma in the Arena.
For Katniss, the saddest part of Collins' love triangle is that neither of her options "see" her in the way that the songwriter for the Velvet Underground "sees" his or her inspiration. At the same time, the lyrics apply to Katniss. She believes she is "twisted and unkind." At the conclusion of the novel, Peeta's sadness that she is unable to immediately sort out her feelings following an unimaginable trauma causes Katniss guilt for feeling anything. She says she "want[s] to tell him how much [she] already miss[es] him" but cannot because it would not be "fair" (Collins 373). Katniss is strong enough that she does not need someone to "see" her, to tell her that she is not as hardened as she believes, that she is allowed to have feelings, but it certainly would not hurt her.
I believe that the depiction of romance in The Hunger Games, especially in the famous love triangle of Katniss, Peeta, and Gale, makes little sense in the concept of the novel. Katniss doesn’t look at love as an option for herself at this point in her life; since the age of 11, she has been providing for her family, trying her very best to make sure they always have a meal on the table. It was mentioned in class, but Maslow’s theory of development plays a critical role in this scenario: the items at the bottom of the pyramid of development (food, safety, etc.) must come before the higher items (love, self-actualization, etc.). Katniss doesn’t have the capability to love because she doesn’t have other necessary aspects of her life fulfilled. Therefore, she would never be looking at Gale or Peeta in a romantic sense, she would only look at them and attempt to ascertain a way to use them for her survival in the world. Since she doesn’t attempt to seek out this romantic relationship, she doesn’t display herself in an affectionate way to Peeta or Gale. She continually hides her true character and feelings from others because she doesn’t want to be seen as weak or incapable. Therefore, Katniss can’t be someone’s ‘mirror’ as Velvet Underground describes, because she doesn’t attempt to take on anyone else’s feelings.
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