Detailed Reading 8."The privileges of beauty are immense,"said Cocteau.To be sure.beauty is a form of power.And deservedly so.What is lamentable is that it is the only form of power that most women are encouraged to seek. This power is always conceived in relation to men;it is not the power to do but the power to attract.It is a power that negates itself.For this power is not one that can be chosen freely-or renounced without social censure. Question Translation
8. "The privileges of beauty are immense," said Cocteau. To be sure, beauty is a form of power. And deservedly so. What is lamentable is that it is the only form of power that most women are encouraged to seek. This power is always conceived in relation to men; it is not the power to do but the power to attract. It is a power that negates itself. For this power is not one that can be chosen freely — or renounced without social censure. Detailed Reading
Text Introduction Culture Notes Author Structure Cocteau,Jean (Paragraph 8) (1889-1963),a French poet, novelist,dramatist,designer, and filmmaker,who was internationally famous for his versatility,unconventionality, and enormous output
Cocteau, Jean (Paragraph 8) (1889-1963), a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, and filmmaker, who was internationally famous for his versatility, unconventionality, and enormous output Text Introduction | Culture Notes | Author | Structure
Detailed Reading 9.To preen,for a woman,can never be just a pleasure. It is also a duty.It is her work.If a woman does real work -and even if she has clambered up to a leading position in politics,law,medicine,business,or whatever -she is always under pressure to confess that she still works at being attractive.But insofar as she is keeping up as one of the Fair Sex,she brings under suspicion her very capacity to be objective,professional, authoritative,and thoughtful.Damned if they do women are.And damned if they don't. Question Translation
9. To preen, for a woman, can never be just a pleasure. It is also a duty. It is her work. If a woman does real work — and even if she has clambered up to a leading position in politics, law, medicine, business, or whatever — she is always under pressure to confess that she still works at being attractive. But insofar as she is keeping up as one of the Fair Sex, she brings under suspicion her very capacity to be objective, professional, authoritative, and thoughtful. Damned if they do - women are. And damned if they don't. Detailed Reading
Detailed Reading 10.One could hardly ask for more important evidence of the dangers of considering persons as split between what is "inside"and what is "outside"than that interminable half-comic half-tragic tale,the oppression of women.How easy it is to start off by defining women as caretakers of their surfaces,and then to disparage them (or find them adorable)for being "superficial".It is a crude trap,and it has worked for too long. Ouestion Translation
10. One could hardly ask for more important evidence of the dangers of considering persons as split between what is "inside" and what is "outside" than that interminable half-comic half-tragic tale, the oppression of women. How easy it is to start off by defining women as caretakers of their surfaces, and then to disparage them (or find them adorable) for being "superficial". It is a crude trap, and it has worked for too long. Detailed Reading