The Confusion of Beauty and Purity
One of the first things
that struck me in reading this novel was the conflation of beauty and purity in
Virginia in the first chapters. Her beauty is described as both virginal and
almost impossible. For instance, she had “a countenance as beautiful as the
utmost perfection of features could render it,” a “complexion so dazzlingly
fair,” perfectly formed hands, feet, and ankles, “an appearance of virginal
artlessness,” and her eyes were “twin lamps of celestial glory” (Reynolds 5).
However Virginia, whose beauty and chastity are perfect, dazzle, and
practically shoot darts of aesthetic morality, somehow is not “one of those beings whose beauty
blazes upon the eye all in a moment” (Reynolds 5). The contrariness of these
descriptions strikes me as both confusing and necessary for Reynolds. It is necessary for Virginia’s beauty to be
virginal for her tragic life and death to take on a Christ-like sacrificial symbol.
Part of the chastity of her beauty is the slowness with which it comes on
people. If her beauty was one that was immediately apparent (although it seems
to be despite the narrator’s dictation otherwise), it would perhaps lead
Virginia quickly into a life of sin because of the passion that would overcome
others at the sight of her beauty. While Charles does find himself in a passion
to follow the young seamstress all over town, he declares his intention not to
insult Virginia by his first words being first a series of pardons and then a
declaration of meaning only to approach Virginia “with becoming respect” (Reynolds
14). Charles’ recognition of Virginia’s beauty through a series of apologies
demonstrates how Virginia’s beauty and Virginia’s chastity are both impossible
to ignore. Additionally and contrarily,
the conflation of beauty and purity show how precarious beauty and morality are
to a young seamstress whose options are limited to grueling work and
prostitution.
Hannah, I think you bring up a good point here about the ways in which Virginia’s purity and beauty are almost interchangeable in her character and the way in which her purity is visible in her features. It’s particularly interesting because the beauties described that are not also pure (the Duchess, Julia, etc.) always have some sort of modifier attached to their beauty, particularly Julia. This likely links to the idea of strangers in the city and the necessity for there being some way to differentiate between “good” and “bad” people. If we can look at these strangers and know, based off their type of attractiveness, whether it would be good to get involved with them or not, it would save everyone a lot of anxiety and heartache (or money-ache).
ReplyDeleteExcellent point about strangers in the city.
DeleteHannah, I like that you point out that “the conflation of beauty and purity show how precarious beauty and morality are to a young seamstress whose options are limited to grueling work and prostitution.” I would, however, add the option of taking her own life to the list, as Virginia fears after the conversation you mentioned with Julia Barnet: “She dreaded lest she should sooner or later find herself placed betwixt the dread alternatives—suicide or loss of innocence!” (8.40). As you noted, the possibility of maintaining purity is an impossibility for a poor woman if she lives, because hard work will strip Virginia of her beauty (read purity) just as prostitution will deprive her of her look of innocence. Relatedly, the novel keeps circling around to the idea that it is better to die at the hands of another or at one’s own hands (in spite of the fact that both murder and suicide are traditionally thought of as sins within Christian thought) than to lose one’s virtue. As much as enjoyed the soap opera-esqueness of the novel, I find this idea that it is better to be sacrificed than to fall almost unbearably troubling, even if it is meant to be interpreted symbolically rather than literally within the novel, because it absolutely has real world implications with regards to violence committed against women’s bodies.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point, especially the real-world implications. I hope you'll bring it up in class.
DeleteExcellent observations about how virtue and beauty are conflated, and how this conflation implicitly reminds us that Virginia's other realistic option is prostitution. The idea of loss of virtue is always hovering around her purity.
ReplyDelete