BEAUTY AN ELEGANT WOMAN

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 136, 5 December 1935, Page 19

BEAUTY

AN ELEGANT WOMAN

ITS DEBITS AND CREDITS

"A HARVEST OF DISCONTENT"

Contrary to the belief of the unthinking, beauty—at least in a woman —entails more debits than credits, writes Miss Ursula Bloom in the Londo*n "Daily Telegraph." I say emphatically that it-is not the Open Sesame that the-^ world- imagines. Instead of opening all" doors and all hearts, .it can quite often prove to be an antagonising force. On the;'credit side a few points are prominent. .It is a good beginning for a friendship, seeing that it attracts on sight. People are more anxious to knbw<a pretty, woman than a plain one. This in particular applies to men. In their; dealings with her, men will be more'considerate of her feelings and more sympathetic, for she appeals to the emotional side of their natures. 1 AN. ENCOURAGEMENT. Beauty.is; an encouragement; to a woman fp; make the most of herself.

She will usually goto great pains to appear ;at Her best. She carries on' carefully with the good -work; that Nature.bountifully started for her; She provides pleasure lor those who look ather. A thirig of beauty is a joy for ever, and she abides by this. Her attractions ■ widen her " sphere. This"is the-.strongest point in the fay? our of "beauty; In marriage it is obvious that she.has a wider choice. From this wider;"choice one imagines that the "beauty"' I for whom most people "fall 'on sighP1-should -make a happier marriage ..than the woman whose world is limited by her looks. On-theVface of.it, it appears that beauty has, more- opportunities and should be able; to make more of her life iri consequence. I dare to doubt! it. '.■■:...■' :;,; :,/-.V.: ■-.•.'• j THE DEBIT SIDE. On the debit side it is an unfortunate fact that, she; too: often attracts .the wrong -kind of men. The: lovely j woman has:so; many admirers that often she'is'inclined to get her head turned, with- the. result that she becomes fiirtatioxis:. and exacting. It is easy for her. to spoil herself by conceit; not so(easy for her to keep her head and;so':save; her face. Because; she believes that she has so many lovers tb-choose from, she too often .make's the. mistake of "going thrdygh-'the wood again and again, and picking up a crobked stick in the end." For- thisreason so many of the jWorld's famous beauties have not mpde-happy marriages. .They have set toe'high a value on their'heads, and have often made what seemed to be a prosperous marriage, rather than a happy one. There is a shattering but persistent belief that beauty, and brains are not twins. In: a career where higher mentality is desirable beauty meets a check, its-ability is immediately questioned. Even in " smaller jobs the favoured-woman finis more hindrances than- assets' if she is to get the right type of work. The head of the firm glances askance at- the too attractive typist. . ■ -■ In everyday life beauty is continually up against..the jealousy of her own sex, which is a most disturbing force. Married'women eye heir doubtfully. Mothers-of unmarried daughters think of her iruthe light of a competitor in the.race in. which she has been given too big a : start. • She comes in for much criticism which the plain girl misses. JUDGMENT HANDICAPPED. Her judgment of other people is seriously handicapped by her outlook, which is the outcome of her looks. Too often she is loved for her face rather than-'for'herself:.' She finds it difficult to recognise her real friends. She misjudges people badly. Those who she believed liked her because she was "easy to look at" are real friends, whereas those who she could have sworn by fail her. In .these circumstances she becomes suspicious of everyone. She lives under wearing conditions. A. beauty has always to be at her best, or she is' vaguely aware of the murmur, "She's going oft, isn't she?" She works at high tension if she has to keep her reputation for good looks. And, perhaps, the greatest debit of all is the supreme difficulty of growing, old. To have been a beautiful woman with the world at your feet is to have stood on a pedestal from which it is difficult to step down. To have known a power and to have wielded it and then to find that power being taken from you by the years is extremely hard. If is bewildering to find the little 'winsome graces which once attracted becoming kittenish and merely foolish with age. The greatest problem- 0f .9. beautiful^ woman's life is growing old gracefully. People deride this side of the picture and do not appreciate the tragedy of; the woman who is living it. In agH all look.much the same. It is stupendous having to change the habits of s lifetime and to conftn-m them to the old woman who has no longer the, | po-.ver of beauty behind her with; , which to steer her course. FAMOUS BEAUTIES. Weighing'up the debits and credits J and arriving at. a. hopelessly inadequately balanced ledger, I am forced ito maintain that: beauty does not make

"The advent of a new hostess in diplomatic circles is always a matter of social interest," writes "Marianne Mayfair" in the London "Daily Telegraph." "In the case of Madame Augustin Edwards, the wife of the recently-ap-pointed .Chilean Minister, the situation is more than usually interesting, for it means the renewal of a pleasant acquaintance dating back some 16 years or more. Her husband filled the same position, and she was hostess in Grosvenor Squared Madame Edwards is an elegant woman with an original taste in house decoration. "I recall the then rather unusual fact that her staircase had a black carpet. There was black and gold lacquer in her drawing-room, and I fancy plain black curtains were used. "The Louis Quinze suit of furniture was upholstered in black. On the ground floor there was move lacquer, but of the more familiar bright red variety "

for happiness. It is far more likely to reap a barren harvest of discontent. The, dividend that good looks yield is not a sound one: It is taxed to the hilt, and its investment is not in giltedged securities.

Even the most famous have suffered. At the moment I am thinking of lovely Lady Hamilton, who died so tragically at Calais, deserted and forgotten; of Cleopatra, who ended her life by her own hand;.of the beauty of Mary.Queen of Scots, which led her to the scaffold.

Average good looks are more valuable to a woman than beauty and much leas dangerous.