Text Introduction|Culture Notes Author Structure Part 1 (1-3)contrasts the ancient notion of "beauty"with the modern concept to introduce the topic. Part 2 (4-7)illustrates how women and men are viewed/treated differently to support the argument:the oppression of women. Part 3 (8-9)points out how society's gender stereotypes have affected adversely the development of women. Part 4 (10)calls on women and the whole society to get out of the trap created by the "myth of beauty"and the resulting oppression of women
Text Introduction | Culture Notes | Author | Structure Part 1 (1-3) contrasts the ancient notion of “beauty” with the modern concept to introduce the topic. Part 2 (4-7) illustrates how women and men are viewed/treated differently to support the argument: the oppression of women. Part 3 (8-9) points out how society’s gender stereotypes have affected adversely the development of women. Part 4 (10) calls on women and the whole society to get out of the trap created by the “myth of beauty” and the resulting oppression of women
Detailed Reading BEAUTY Susan Sontag 1.For the Greeks,beauty was a virtue:a kind of excellence.Persons then were assumed to be what we now have to call-lamely,enviously-whole persons2. If it did occur to the Greeks to distinguish between a person's "inside"and "outside",they still expected that inner beauty would be matched by beauty of the other kind. Question Translation
BEAUTY Susan Sontag 1. For the Greeks, beauty was a virtue: a kind of excellence. Persons then were assumed to be what we now have to call — lamely, enviously — whole persons2. If it did occur to the Greeks to distinguish between a person's "inside" and "outside", they still expected that inner beauty would be matched by beauty of the other kind. Detailed Reading
Detailed Reading The well-born young Athenians who gathered around Socrates found it quite paradoxical that their hero was so intelligent,so brave,so honorable,so seductive -and so ugly.One of Socrates'main pedagogical acts was to be ugly -and teach those innocent,no doubt splendid- looking disciples of his how full of paradoxes life really was. Translation
The well-born young Athenians who gathered around Socrates found it quite paradoxical that their hero was so intelligent, so brave, so honorable, so seductive — and so ugly. One of Socrates' main pedagogical acts was to be ugly — and teach those innocent, no doubt splendidlooking disciples of his how full of paradoxes life really was. Detailed Reading
Detailed Reading 2.They may have resisted Socrates'lesson.We do not.Several thousand years later,we are more wary of the enchantments of beauty.We not only split off- with the greatest facility -the "inside"(character, intellect)from the "outside"(looks);but we are actually surprised when someone who is beautiful is also intelligent,talented,good. Question Translation
2. They may have resisted Socrates' lesson. We do not. Several thousand years later, we are more wary of the enchantments of beauty. We not only split off — with the greatest facility — the "inside" (character, intellect) from the "outside" (looks); but we are actually surprised when someone who is beautiful is also intelligent, talented, good. Detailed Reading
Detailed Reading 3.It was principally the influence of Christianity that deprived beauty of the central place it had in classical ideals of human excellence.By limiting excellence (virtus in Latin)to moral virtue only,Christianity set beauty adrift -as an alienated,arbitrary,superficial enchantment.And beauty has continued to lose prestige.For close to two centuries it has become a convention to attribute beauty to only one of the two sexes:the sex which,however Fair,is always Second Associating beauty with women has put beauty even further on the defensive,morally Ouestion Translation
3. It was principally the influence of Christianity that deprived beauty of the central place it had in classical ideals of human excellence. By limiting excellence (virtus in Latin) to moral virtue only, Christianity set beauty adrift — as an alienated, arbitrary, superficial enchantment. And beauty has continued to lose prestige. For close to two centuries it has become a convention to attribute beauty to only one of the two sexes: the sex which, however Fair, is always Second. Associating beauty with women has put beauty even further on the defensive, morally. Detailed Reading