Beauty

The true definition of beauty has eluded mankind from the dawn of time. Unofficially, it is one of the top 10 subjects most conversed upon, and undoubtedly has one of the highest numbers of remarkable quotations of any topic. We all know the old clichés; ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’, ‘beauty is only skin-deep’. But as with every time-told saying, the authors of which having long been forgotten, there is a certain amount of truth upon which the initial idea was made. In the world today, beauty has taken an alarmingly bold position in the forefront of every society, especially America. Every culture looks at beauty in a different way, and every culture recognizes different features and attributes as beautiful. However, in America, beauty has become petty. Beauty has become the bastard child of Hollywood and a walking skeleton. According to the media, to be beautiful one must have the body of an Olympic athlete and the bank account of the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, and Carnegies combined. However, it must be acknowledged that improvements in America’s perception of beauty have been made in the last five to ten years. Skeletal models are no longer seen on runways, and carbohydrates, the body’s main source of energy, are making a slow but steady comeback. But as with a beautifully cut diamond, every facet provides a new and interesting view. Everyone worth talking about has had something to say about beauty, and many more not worth talking about have listened. What is the true mystery behind beauty? We may never know. But the subject can be explored and expounded upon, for the purpose of further understanding.

Beauty and Perspective

“What would be ugly in a garden constitutes beauty in a mountain.” This quote by The Hunchback of Notre Dame author Victor Hugo is a picturesque spinoff of ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’. Hugo can be accredited with great expertise on the subject of non-blatant beauty, thanks to his character Quasimodo; the deformed hunchback whose beauty lies below the surface of his abhorrent countenance. From Quasimodo’s story we learn that beauty is not everything, but it is also the way one looks at beauty that determines its measure. From a physical standpoint, the hunchback was a thing to be pitied, never to be considered as a being worth looking at. But as the gypsy woman Esmerelda realizes when she begins to look at him through a different facet, Quasimodo’s beauty is deeper and more meaningful than her exquisite loveliness. Of course, the different varieties of beauty must be realized, as well as the fact that every person feels beautiful in a different way. A much different perspective comes from the mainstream, from model Heather Kozar, wife of former quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, Tim Couch. After appearing on the cover of the January 1998 issue of Playboy magazine, she said “I feel by posing for Playboy I’ve discovered my own sexuality and beauty, and I feel more confident than ever.” While there is a bias against the Playboy magazine as a sex-selling smut publication whose audience reclines sordidly in a crumb-infested lazyboy, clad in a grungy wifebeater and ratty jeans, upon reading an issue or two it soon becomes clear that there is more to the scantily clad cover than meets the eye. The articles are often of great relevance and substance to current events, and it is soon realized that naked women are simply a bonus added on; an enticement perhaps, to encourage a greater audience. However, from a much different point of view, actress Gwyneth Paltrow best known for ‘Shakespeare In Love’ and ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’, expresses her opinion in plain terms, articulating that “Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a kick-ass red lipstick.” While Ms. Kozar’s words are pleasantly surprising considering her evident stereotype and the biases that accompany it, Gwyneth’s remark is much more approachable to the average woman. While she is an internationally-known film actress, she is one of the dazzlingly beautiful celebrities who does not come across as petty, spoiled, or lacking of common sense, despite the jokes her daughter Apple will have to live down for the rest of her life. Ms. Paltrow’s statement leads into the next pseudo-myth of beauty that defies the saying ‘beauty is only skin deep’.

Beauty from Within

Actress Liv Tyler, daughter of Aerosmith singer Stephen Tyler and best known for her role as the ethereal elven princess Arwen from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy has an opinion on beauty nearly as eloquent as Tolkien himself. She says, “There is no definition of beauty, but when you can see someone's spirit coming through, something unexplainable, that's beautiful to me.” Ms. Tyler evokes a truth that we all want desperately to believe. That beauty is not skin deep, but that outward beauty is a reflection of a person’s inward character. Relevantly, Ms. Paltrow, as previously mentioned, co-starred with Jack Black in the 2001 movie “Shallow Hal” as a severely obese but kind and wonderful young woman. Through a mind-altering elevator experience, Hal, the shallow title character, begins to see people for their inner beauty instead of their physical appearance. In Hal’s altered eyes, Gwyneth’s corpulent character becomes a svelte, seductive beauty whom he falls head-over-heels for, not realizing she is actually morbidly obese. Alternately, Hal perceives a beautiful supermodel with the personality and kindness of a PMSing porcupine as a horridly ugly hag; accurately reflecting her inner self. The sweet story has a beautiful message of the importance of personality in determining a person’s attractiveness, and the end is appropriately short and sweet. It is undeniable that when a person feels good and is confident there is a marked positive change in their physical appearance. True to this and subtly negating physical attractiveness as a factor of beauty, Italian actress and sex symbol Sophia Loren states “Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical.” The notion that beauty comes from within is a wonderful idea, but in today’s society it is not enough to be inwardly good and beautiful. Your pleasing and attractive character must be paired with the minimum of acceptably comely features; enough to pass the test of first-glance approval by the largely one-dimensional minded population. Psychiatrist and author of groundbreaking book Death and Dying Elisabeth Kubler-Ross describes this necessity for both inner and outward beauty in a beautifully-worded and colorful metaphor. “People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”

Beauty and Grace

Yet beauty is not all about attractiveness of character and pleasant features. Long associated with beauty is the elusive trait of grace. Poet and author Ralph Waldo Emerson simply and plainly remarked that “Beauty without grace is the hook without the bait”. This somewhat humorous but truthful simile resounds with those who are physically attractive, but are rather like a newly-born giraffe; elegant and beautiful thanks to nature, and awkward to the point of severe adorableness. Proving this belief is the common consensus that ballerinas, the epitome of grace, are some of the most beautiful creatures in the world. Their lean, elegant appearance is augmented by their nimble poise and lithe movements, with which we lesser, stouter beings are constantly in awe of. Truth be told, there are some ballerinas whose physical appearance is not especially beautiful, due to a gaunt figure and not especially pleasing features. However, as author and humanitarian William Hazlitt points out, “Grace in women has more effect than beauty”, therefore a not particularly handsome ballerina appears more stunning than, say, sex-icon Marilyn Monroe. Similarly to the ill-fated actress and singer of the 60s, young Lindsay Lohan, whose recent infamy has perhaps permanently ruined her chances of becoming a distinguished actress, is quoted as saying “Beauty is grace and confidence”. Whether Ms. Lohan is simply parroting a wiser person than she such as Mr. Emerson or she actually fully believes in these words is known only to her. But such a proclamation provides a ray of hope for the misguided young woman, and partially redeems her foolish generation of ill-advised child actors. However, this batch of young women who delight in all-night partying and stints in prison have learned that their beauty is a selling point. They could go through life without a scrap of sense or talent, and while they would not be particularly happy, they would benefit from their physical appearance alone.

Beauty as an Asset

“A woman's beauty is one of her great missions.” This statement by 19^th and 20^th century French writer Richard Le Gallienne associates beauty with ambition, requiring a woman to be focused on becoming exceedingly attractive. However, there is truth to what Le Gallienne says, not only due to the social pressures for women to be beautiful, but for the inherent desire of the female to be beautiful. Women have always loved to adorn themselves for the purpose of enhancing their appearance, as evidenced by the Egyptian use of kohl for dramatically lining eyes, while the Romans are accredited with further exploring the concept of ‘makeup’, using such substances as crushed minerals for powder, crushed beetle eggs for eyeliner, and organic dyes for rouge and sometimes hair color. The much debated Greek philosopher Aristotle appropriately said that “Personal beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of reference.” While the modern inclination to interpret ‘beauty’ as physical appearance reigns, Aristotle no doubt was considering the wide range of beauties that are possible, such as the formerly mentioned inner beauty of character and personality. His words are true today, sharply evident in the importance of appearance during an interview of any sort. Every young interviewee just out of high school or college is told numerous times to dress in business clothes, to look put-together and professional. Young men shave and comb their hair, careful not to apply too much cologne. Young women iron their clothes and lint-roll their suits, wash and blow-dry their hair, and apply the perfect shade of lipstick; powerful yet sexy. As first impressions are the lasting ones, it can be said that appearance truly is more important than a résumé or glowing recommendation. As Florenz Ziegfeld, well-known Broadway impresario and producer says, “Beauty, of course, is the most important requirement and the paramount asset of the applicant.”  

Beauty as a Bad Thing

Of course, such an ambiguous thing as beauty has been subject to negativity and disdain. Thomas Jefferson, President of Louisiana Purchase fame, cynically states “Wisdom I know is social. She seeks her fellows. But Beauty is jealous, and illy bears the presence of a rival.” While this negative view of beauty seems a stuffy politician’s bitter proclamation, as with every other testimony to beauty referenced here, there is an element of truth; in this case, a rather large one. Vanity is often associated with beauty, but narcissism is not the only negative side affect of lovliness. As evidenced by the magnificent Helen of Troy of Homerian fame, beauty can cause a decade-long war and result in the deaths of brothers, princes, heroes; indirectly cause wives to murder their husbands and then vengeful sons to slaughter their murderous mothers. Of course, this tragedy was set in motion by a golden apple and jealous goddesses, namely the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite. In today’s society, children both male and female are bombarded with images of beauty, urged and practically forced by the media and pop culture to place the attainment of beauty next to the importance of education. The ultimate message sent, concerning the future, is that to be successful, you must also be beautiful. 18^th century writer and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft shrewdly and wisely observes that “Taught from infancy that beauty is woman’s sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison.” The undeniable truth of this observation is saddening yet paradoxical. Ms. Wollstonecraft acknowledges accurately that a woman’s beauty is sometimes the most powerful weapon she wields, yet educated from a young age that beauty is all-important, attaining loveliness threatens to overpower other ambitions and become a depressing obsession, constantly adding to a beautiful cage from which there is no escape.

Beauty and Age

Last, but certainly not least and perhaps most important, the affect of age upon beauty must be explored. For centuries the source of eternal life and eternal youth has been sought after by generations of men, but so far no source has been found. This is, undoubtedly, a good thing. Even the devious and handsome Dorian Gray discovered that mortality sooner or later catches up with you, and it can be concluded that aging is a more pleasing alternative to Gray’s fate, or even that of Voldemort after his search for the Philosopher’s Stone. Award winning French actress Anouk Aimee knowledgeably said that “You can only perceive real beauty in a person as they get older.” This reflection upon the positive effect age has upon beauty relates back to the importance to beauty of perception. To some, beauty withers with age as hair turns grey and skin goes slack. But thanks to different points of view, even the most wizened of old women can be considered beautiful. Appropriately, Uncle Tom’s Cabin author Harriet Beecher Stowe quipped “So much has been said and sung of beautiful young girls, why doesn’t somebody wake up to the beauty of old women?” Her petition for acknowledgement of mature beauty is valid, for it is to these women that we younger generations owe not only our fashions and social norms, but our very appearances. Our hair color, whether we have straight hair or curly, and whether we are blessed with a slim figure, or must deal with a more ample and comfortable form.

The Globalization of Beauty

Blissfully, the perception of beauty is taking a turn for the better. While the assumption that beauty requires perfect bodies will last for many years to come, the mainstream culture of the world and America has become more accepting and open-minded of the ideal ‘beauty’. Women with curves like Catherine Zeta-Jones and America Ferrera are considered two of the most beautiful and desirable women in Hollywood. Age seems to make no difference either, as evidenced by the lasting appreciation of seasoned actors such as Sean Connery and Harrison Ford, or Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Pfeiffer. The truth of beauty, and the beauty of it all is that perspective reigns supreme as the deciding factor in determining what is beautiful.