Physical descriptions of character in Lady Audley’s Secret mix together physiognomy and narratorial information on personality. The physical description of one of the main characters, Robert Audley, is simply, “He was a handsome, lazy, care-for-nothing fellow, of about seven and twenty,” while that of George Talboys consists, for the most part, of: “He was a young man of about five-and-twenty, with a dark face, bronzed by exposure to the sun; he had handsome brown eyes, with a feminine smile in them, that sparkled through his black lashes, and a bushy beard and moustache that covered the whole of the lower part of his face. He was tall, and powerfully built; he wore a loose grey suit, and a felt hat, thrown carelessly upon his black hair.” …show more content…
The plot revolves around the major theme of actual versus assumed truth, especially when applied to physical appearance. Lady Audley herself admits on page 252 that her own discovery of her beauty was the beginning of her downfall, and that she learned to use it to her advantage at a quite early age. From that early age, Lady Audley learned to cultivate a certain appearance that she used to take advantage of other’s assumptions that her childish features and almost angelic beauty correlated directly with her personality. Special attention is given to her hair, the “most wonderful curls in the world--soft and feathery, always floating away from her face, and making a pale halo round her head when the sunlight shone through them” (Braddon 13). Lady Audley’s golden hair and clear blue eyes are incredibly feminine, as Lavater points out that “people with light hair, if not effeminate, are yet, it is well known, of tender formation and constitution” and that “Blue eyes are. generally, more significant of weakness, effeminacy, and yielding, than brown and black” (Lavater 223, 384). Sir Michael could not “resist the tender fascination of those soft and melting blue eyes; the graceful beauty of that slender throat and drooping head, with its wealth of showering flaxen curls,” and is instantly beguiled by Lady Audley’s beauty--a …show more content…
However, it embodies the spirit of physiognomy, in that representations of a face can truthfully show characteristics of the person that may not be immediately clear otherwise. This is especially true for the portrait, because it is the first obvious hint that there might be a dark side to Lady Audley. It is also an important moment because it subverts the concept that every small characteristic can be divined from external features; only through a painting and metaphorical language is it clear that perceived appearance may not correspond with actual
Sir Michael Audley believes that Robert Audley is a good fellow and was very fond of him until Lady Audley had told him about her suspicions of Robert Audley going mad. He is madly in love with his wife, therefore, he sided with her. He believes that after the disappearance of George Talboys, that Robert has not been the same. He is s...
“Long days. Open country with ash blowing over the road. The boy sat by the fire at night with the pieces of the map across his knees. He had the names of towns and rivers by heart and he measured their progress daily”
Although the clothes and facial features are different and present images of the Motley’s view of the different individuals in the painting, the definition of the individual body masses also tell a story. According to Brown (2014), Motley believed that hands tell a story about a person. Portrait of My Grandmother is a painting that shows the difficulty of hard labor in the grandmother’s hands. The hands are thin with veins protruding through the skin. The fingers are long with knuckles raised from the skin. The physical appearance of the people in Hot
The man was a human tree, his height, towering high above Papa’s six feet two inches. The long trunk of his massive body bulged with muscles, and his skin, of the deepest ebony, was partially scattered upon his face and neck, as if by fire. Deep life lines were cut in his face and his hair was splotched with grey, but his eyes were clear and penetrating. (34-35)
By using the elements of both melodrama and mystery fiction, Mary Elizabeth Braddon was able to create her most famous work of her long lasted career, Lady Audley’s Secret. Her ability to construe a mystery and keep the reader involved in her work shows the talent she had for writing. Mary Braddon would not have been a popular Victorian novelist if she had not engaged in a certain amount of sentimentality (melodrama) in her fiction (Peterson, 165-166). Her choice of the mystery made her famous and revered by many of her colleagues. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote to her once that he wished his “days to be bound each to each by Miss Braddon’s novels';, and Tennyson declared that he was “simply steeped in Miss Braddon'; (Peterson, 161). By exploring the elements of both melodrama and mystery, it becomes clear that Lady Audley’s Secret fits into both. Using these genres, Braddon was able to create a successful novel of her time that incorporated both reader emotion and Victorian culture.
...ause the look of curiosity of the girl extends beyond the frame. This gives the painting a sense of curiosity.
Women in the time of Jane Austen dedicated their lives to being good-looking (seen in the vanity of Lydia and Kitty especially) and accomplished to ensure they were marriage material, just as the maiden tried to be enchanting and desirable for The Prince. Both texts illustrate an imbalance and struggle for equality within the oppressive rules and expectations that revolve around women’s lives, and so, their relationships.
I noticed how white and well-shaped his own hands were. They looked calm, somehow, and skilled. His eyes were melancholy, and were set back deep under his brow. His face was ruggedly formed, but it looked like ashes – like something from which all the warmth and light had dried out. Everything about this old man was in keeping with his dignified manner (24)
features”. Drehle descriptions of this man present him to be very old. Drehle uses imagery
“Within, stood a tall old man, clean shaven save for a long white moustache, and clad in black from head to foot, without a single speck of colour about him anywhere. He held in his hand an antique silver lamp, in which the flame burned without a chimney or globe of any kind,
“It was a testimony to the romantic speculation that he inspired that there were whispers about him from those who had found little that is was necessary to whisper about in this world.” (48)
Unlike Elizabeth, Charlotte is not so fortunate in her physical appearance. She is referred to as plain by Mrs. Bennet and even her own mother views her as such, which can be seen when Mrs. Bennet states, ‘she is very plain. Lady Lucas herself has often said so, and envied me Jane’s beauty. ’ Charlotte is aware that she is not the most beautiful woman, and she states this when she describes herself as having never been handsome . These physical attributes of ...
The two adaptations after the controversial novel “The Other Boleyn Girl” by Philippa Gregory present a historical fictional story of the Boleyn sisters, Anne and Mary. This is a ravishing, emotionally intense story of love, loyalty and betrayal in the chase for power and social position, portraying the human desires and flaws in a beautifully described historical background at the English court. The private life of the historical figures from the XVIth century and the intrigues hidden behind the official documents is quite an ambiguous, curiously challenging segment of time, from the historical point of view. The book, and the two film adaptations after – “The Other Boleyn Girl” explore the uncertain times in the life of Henry the VIIIth, before deciding to divorce Katherine of Aragorn, remarry Anne Boleyn and start the Church of England.
...e ability to achieve anything in life. Hopefully, readers would learn from this novel that beauty is not the most important aspect in life. Society today emphasizes the beauty of one's outer facade. The external appearance of a person is the first thing that is noticed. People should look for a person's inner beauty and love the person for the beauty inside. Beauty, a powerful aspect of life, can draw attention but at the same time it can hide things that one does not want disclosed. Beauty can be used in a variety of ways to affect one's status in culture, politics, and society. Beauty most certainly should not be used to excuse punishment for bad deeds. Beauty is associated with goodness, but that it is not always the case. This story describes how the external attractiveness of a person can influence people's behavior and can corrupt their inner beauty.
every respect different from all the others, was entirely himself, with a personality all his own which made him noticeable even though he did his best not to be noticed; his manner and bearing was that of a prince disguised among farm boys, taking great pains to appear one of them.