The Rape of the Lock makes beauty a strange, horrible, awful thing. A young girl’s hair was cut and these men act like life itself has been shaken, stirred and poured out. In this poem for women beauty is value. You pour effort and time into presenting yourself as a beautiful thing for men to admire. Belinda’s only sense of power was being beautiful, and being chaste while being beautiful, which I find very interesting. It’s such a vain concept though- for a woman to only be powerful because she’s attractive, not because she’s quick witted or insanely charismatic or brilliant. I especially liked where it said that even her curls would be gray one day. It reminded me of the scripture Psalms 31:30 “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised” I don’t know if Belinda ever considered that her beauty is not eternal. Before her hair was cut she was seemingly sweet, but once that “honor” was taken from her she flipped, her personality shifted and she wasn’t that sweet, nice-girl character. It’s easy to be nice when you’re pretty. But when you rely on qualities other that simplistic beauty it’s different. People don’t adore you at first glance, they don’t dismiss your faults because you’re aesthetically appealing. I think part of the reason Belinda’s personality shifted is because she was taught to value her beauty above anything else. If she were to be one of those cheesy yearbook Who’s Whos she would be something along the lines of Most Beautiful. That’s what she was subliminally, not to be confused with subtly, taught to value in herself. Men adored her. They fawned after her and it’s because when they looked at her they saw those curls, but once those are gone what’s left of her?
P.S I attempted to comment on Joy's post
buuuuut couldn't... so here it is:
"We make so many things around us seem important. But here is my question, why would we want what we do to “seem” important when we can do something that really is important?"
I love that question. It legitimately made me think, what is the point of being so completely consumed in trivial things when there are important things to be done? I can't help but wonder if under Belinda's beauty there was a mind that was actually worth something.
Yes, They were very, very shallow in the story. The point of the satire was to highlight the vanity of their society in Pope's day. They were very frivolous. It was all about what your wig looked like, what kind of luxurious food you ate and how rich of a husband you could land by your charm. It's really kind of sad. What makes me even more sad is how relevant the story is to our generation. Even among christians it's all about what kind of phone you have, what Toms you are wearing, etc. You can also see how a girl's looks can persuade people even in modern day business and professionalism. What trivial things do we value that don't really matter? Sorry.. I think I sound a little preachy. Your blog got me on a role. : )
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ReplyDeleteThe story showed me through that part that even though someone is "beautiful on the outside," they are not necessarily so "beautiful on the inside." This story just goes to show that you may not truly know a person that you think you know. Who is said person when life is not all that they think it should be?? Great post... :)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you Kaylie! The characters in the story, Belinda and the men were indeed very shallow. It was annoying reading how her beauty and especially her hair were her status symbols. This is reality that I know our society still faces today. Anyone can look around at magazines, t.v. adds, etc. and see that 'Beauty' is what can make or break a person. Even I have fallen into chasing after beauty to have self-worth. I love how Pope exposes the sheer vanity of it all. I'm so glad that God judges the heart not through the eyes of man!
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