What exactly was the relationship between facial physiognomy and character and how can a doctrine concerned with aesthetics have such socio-cultural ramifications? These are some of the questions which will be investigated in this paper, along with how physiognomy has had a significant impact on eighteenth-century culture and literature. In this context, the works of prose fiction "Oroonoko" (1688) and "A Simple Story" (1791) serve as examples to illustrate the far-reaching implications of physiognomy.
In order to grasp the complexity of the dynamic relation between facial physiognomy and character, it is important to first explore the meaning and controversies that are attached to this concept. Next, the role of physiognomy in the manifestation of European beauty standards and in the creation of racial difference facilitates a broader understanding of the repercussions associated with physiognomy. Finally, the ramifications on gender discrimination are also taken into consideration and the approaches that resulted from these dynamics, such as the vogue for masquerade. Overall, the relationship between facial physiognomy and character proves to be an obscure but very relevant socio-cultural force in Early Modern and Late Modern English culture that contributed to the formation and shaping of societal norms and concepts, which is reflected in these centuries’ literary works.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Physiognomy: Early Modern and Late Modern English Culture and Literature
The Ambivalence ofPhysiognomy
European Beauty Standards and Racial Difference
Gender Discrimination and Masquerade
Conclusion
Works Cited
The Relationship between Facial Physiognomy and Character
Introduction
Salem Press Encyclopedia defines physiognomy as “the study of the face and body and the belief that physical features indicate human traits, such as character and personality”. It also remarks that it “is regarded as a pseudoscience” and also notes that it “has been used in the past to justify discrimination against certain races and cultures” (Campbell 2). But what exactly was the relationship between facial physiognomy and character and how can a doctrine concerned with aesthetics have such socio-cultural ramifications? These are some of the questions which will be investigated below, along with how physiognomy has had a significant impact on eighteenth-century culture and literature. In this context, the works of prose fiction Oroonoko (1688) and A Simple Story (1791) serve as examples to illustrate the far-reaching implications of physiognomy. In order to grasp the complexity of the dynamic relation between facial physiognomy and character, it is important to first explore the meaning and controversies that are attached to this concept. Next, the role of physiognomy in the manifestation of European beauty standards and in the creation of racial difference facilitates a broader understanding for the repercussions associated with physiognomy. Finally, the ramifications on gender discrimination are also taken into consideration and the approaches that resulted from these dynamics such as the vogue for masquerade. Overall, the relationship between facial physiognomy and character proves to be an obscure but very relevant socio-cultural force in Early Modern and Late Modern English culture that contributed to the formation and shaping of societal norms and concepts, which is reflected in these centuries’ literary works.
Physiognomy: Early Modern and Late Modern English Culture and Literature
The Ambivalence of Physiognomy
The complexities arising from the relationship between facial physiognomy and character should not be underestimated. This subject is relative and broad and leaves ample room for interpretation. Moreover, these perspectives and debates are reflected in seventeen- and eighteen-century discourses about physiognomy.
The classical study of physiognomy originates the belief that facial features reflect internal traits of character. Greek culture embraced the idea that distinct facial features indicate the true nature of the soul and mind. Moreover, comparisons between human and animal features further played into the study of physiognomy (Porter 245). Association between physique and soul was frequently linked with divine interference and said to be a reflection of nature’s order. The doctrine that God made man in his own image supports the belief that the face is the index of the mind (McMaster 45) which promotes a pantheistic mode of thinking. In this respect, the principles of nature and faith reinforce the notion that external physical traits and facial expressions are a natural reflection of personality (Porter 249). The basic principle, that facial and bodily features reflect internal traits, remains at the centre of physiognomy. However, there is much disagreement over the correct way to read the signs (McMaster 45). Most eighteenth-century physiognomists endorsed Johann Caspar Lavater’s revised doctrines of physiognomy, which uphold the importance of permanent facial characteristics (Porter 255). Other perspectives perceived reading faces more pejoratively. They also understood facial expressions as instrument to form judgements and expose hidden hypocrisy (McMaster 50). Despite the popularity of this subject and the growing claim that physiognomy was a science (McMaster), physiognomy was being intellectually questioned and challenged by opposing positions such as the Cartesian mind-body dualism (Porter 249). On the one hand, physiognomy posits that the visible is true and embraces expressions such as ‘seeing is believing’ or ‘the eye is the window to the soul’. On the other hand, teachings about the superficiality associated with physical appearance and the deceiving nature of looks, argued against the doctrine of physiognomy. Here, expressions such as ‘fronti nulla fides’, ‘beauty is only skin-deep’ or from Shakespeare’s Macbeth “There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face” caution against the delusive force of appearances (McMaster 60). These polarizing views created a space in eighteenth-century literature that enabled novelists to participate in the ongoing debate on the relationship between appearance and character. Readers, being aware of the different conventions and signals, could interpret the rhetorical signs and switch from one convention to another (McMaster 51). For novelists favouring the idea of physiognomy, the concept of body-personality consonance offered the possibility to portray internal character traits through the description of outward appearance (McMaster 45). Keeping the contested nature and definition of physiognomy in mind, it is of no surprise that this discourse is spread across the literary space of that time. Many eighteenth-century novels can be read as documents in the ongoing debate on physiognomy (McMaster 45) by either signifying a correspondence between appearance and soul or indicating the underlying hypocrisy of beauty (Porter 249).
In summary, it can be said that since the eighteenth century, physiognomy proved to be a highly controversial topic that caused much debate, not only in terms of its origins but also in terms of its legitimacy, credibility and definition. Moreover, these controversies are reflected in the dimension of literature and in the way writers implemented rhetorical signs into their works. Either way, the topic of reading faces has been a major source of debate and reveals the true dynamic nature of physiognomy.
European Beauty Standards and Racial Difference
The relationship between physiognomy and character played a significant role in the manifestation of European beauty standards and in the creation of racial difference.
As discussed above, the belief that beauty, especially facial beauty, reflects goodness of soul is directly related to the doctrine of physiognomy. This narrative praises beauty and demonizes ugliness and plays into the construct that appearance reveals character and justifies one’s place in society. With such a deterministic reasoning a multiplicity of social realities and inequalities were justified and rationalized such as social rank (Porter 246) and later even slavery (249). Moreover, the aesthetic convention that beauty expresses goodness of soul is reflected in eighteenth-century literature. While superior characters were given rather classic attractive features, inferior characters were portrayed with grotesque and ugly characteristics. Increasing diversity and the confrontation of Europeans with nonEuropeans facilitated the belief that appearance reveals nature. This viewpoint paved the way for classifying skin colour and appearance on the basis of hierarchical structures such as the Chain of Being (Porter 247). The royal Prince in Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko (1988) provides an insight into seventeenth- and eighteenth-century beauty standards in Britain. Oroonoko’s physique and his features, which are described as “Roman, instead of Africana”, stand in stark contrast to common facial features of Africans such as “great turn’d Lips, which are so natural to the rest of the Negroes”. Behn highlights that his “whole Proportion and Air of his Face was so noble, and exactly form’d that, bating his Colour, there cou’d be nothing in Nature more beautiful, agreeable and handsome” (Oroonoko 13) and thereby glorifies European features and associates them with nobility and superiority. Thus, Behn clearly depicts the African prince through the lens of European beauty standards which was not uncommon for travel writers. George Boulukos labels this phenomenon “Oroonoko effect” (38) and links the worship of European facial features to the belief that it reflects nobility and royal heritage (45). Furthermore, Boulukos criticizes the Europeanization of Oroonoko since such inaccurate descriptions of African features not only denigrate the African phenotype (52), but also promote the dehumanization of Blacks by creating a binary perspective within the category of human (40).
Facial physiognomy can be considered to have played a role in creating racial differences. The question of why racial diversity existed became more controversial and debated in the eighteenth century. Theories such as the Chain of Being or animal physiognomy, which suggested a direct relation between Africans and primates, provided one answer (Porter 248). Ugliness was believed to reflect an inner evil (Nussbaum 27) and characteristics not corresponding to European norms of aesthetics were considered to be inferior. This reasoning denotes a narrative that links otherness to inferiority and lays the foundation for racial discrimination and the rationalization of racism. In this context, physiognomy plays a significant role in the manifestation of European beauty standards which in turn created a basis on which the exclusion of a race appeared more legitimate. This problematic idea of European beauty standards and its effect on racial thinking can be illustrated with the phenomenon of Imoinda turning white. Although Imoinda is possessed of Roman features as well, she is clearly intended to be the “beautiful Black Venus to our young Mars” (Oroonoko 14) in Behn’s original text. However, many eighteenth-century dramatists, such as Thomas Southerne, turned her from a black African into a white European female (Nussbaum 151). Women were affected more severely by the effects of physiognomy and eighteenth-century beauty norms. The conversion from black to white corresponds to the increasing classification and grading of people on the basis of their physical appearance. And although “certainly nothing like the nineteenth-century “scientific” view of polygenesis yet existed” (Boulukus 41), the foundation for racial thinking was already established through the praising and promotion of European beauty standards. Subsequently, beauty standards that reinforce European female aesthetics, such as a woman’s capability to blush, complicated the representation of a “decorous and heroic femininity on stage” (Nussbaum 158) through a black Imoinda.
Consequently, the ramifications of physiognomy are quite complex and influenced the dynamics within society as well as literature significantly. It is argued, that the relationship between facial physiognomy and character along with the norms that were attached to them, took part in the shaping and reinforcement of European beauty standards. Moreover, the internalization of physiognomic attitudes towards the relationship of appearance and personality promoted the adaptation of a perspective that demonized otherness and thus took participated in the creation of racial difference. Therefore, physiognomy can be considered fundamental to these beliefs, even though once put in motion they developed a life of their own.
Gender Discrimination and Masquerade
The relationship of physiognomy and character and the internalization of beauty standards entail a double standard that led to gender discrimination and further influenced the construction of counterphysiognomic forces such as the vogue for masquerade.
The automatic tendency to moralize the physical and marked the preconception that ugliness reflects a bad nature, while beauty reflects a good one, unfolded its impact particularly to the disadvantage of female aesthetics. Gender discrimination is endemic to physiognomy and reveals a double standard that woman have to face. The expectation that a person has to be truthful in their countenance is generally more strictly applied to females. In fact, women were required to meet the impression that their appearance induces (McMaster 65). In addition, a women’s worth in the sexual economy derived from her beauty. Consequently, flaws and blemishes opposed the idealized image of female beauty and were seen as outward manifestation of inner imperfection (Nussbaum 24). The objectification and sexualization of female beauty led to the normalisation of make-up, used to manipulate and mask nature’s true face. The trend to wear blush in order to appear modest and innocent, is only one result from this norm (Porter 252). In this respect, the vogue for masquerade offered an alternative to physiognomy. In the staged world of masked faces and ambiguous identities, a person is merely an actor who hides their true identity and keeps up appearances (Porter 254). In her novel A Simple Story (1791) Elizabeth Inchbald touches on this subject and criticizes the effects of gender discrimination and masquerade on society. Despite the novel’s quintessence, which basically prioritizes the call for a rethinking of the body, sense and sensibility, gender, education as well as institutions (Decker 59), the close references to physiognomy and its effects become apparent on a closer look. Eighteenth-century society instructs females to neglect their minds and focus on their bodies and simultaneously teaches men to read females only as bodies. Inchbald addresses this systematic throughout her novel (Decker 59) and thereby exposes one effect of internalized physiognomy inherent in Western culture. Moreover, the characters in the novel are very fond of expressing themselves theatrically, through either facial or bodily gestures and expressions. While Dorriforth is suspicious of the body and its expressions and puts his trust in reason and mind (Decker 68), Miss Milner can be compared to an actress because she deliberately makes use of her body and beauty in order to keep up appearances (Decker 70). In doing so, she embodies the concept of masquerade in contrast to Dorriforth, whose philosophy and commitment to reason and speech reminds of Cartesian mind-body dualism. The severity of their contradicting worldviews is reflected in the misunderstandings and confusion that their interactions sow. For instance, when Dorriforth tells Miss Milner “your words tell me one thing, while your looks declare another - which am I to trust?” (A Simple Story 52) it reveals the dichotomy between their worldviews and indicates that each of their positions is flawed. One relies too much on the body and its expressions and the other focuses too strictly on mind and reason (Decker 68).
Gender discrimination unfolded its impact on female beauty and marked the beginning of a number of developments revolving around the correlation between facial physiognomy and personality. The need to comply to idealized beauty standards erected by society, brought realities into being such as the vogue for masquerade. These mechanisms paradoxically can be traced back to the ramifications of physiognomy, even though in their meanings diverge severely and masquerade contradicts the notion that appearance reveals nature.
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- Quote paper
- M. Amira (Author), 2021, The Relationship between Facial Physiognomy and Character, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/1330380