The Shortcomings of Beauty in Pope’s “Rape of The Lock”

In the 18th century, many would have argued that beauty is power and that a smile can be as piercing as a sword. However, Alexander Pope disagreed despite the beliefs and values set at the time. In his “The Rape of the Lock”, Pope sets the scene of a world that believes in the power of beautiful women. In that time period, society believed that beauty contributed to women’s survival for the role it played in attracting a suitable partner. Using the mock-heroic genre in his poem, Pope overinflates the beautifying process of Belinda, his protagonist who’s getting ready to go to a ball to find a suitor. He does this to mock his society for believing beauty to be more powerful than it is. As a means to present his views, Pope alters beauty from the sublime to the ridiculous by the end of the poem. Through a series of events, Pope talks up Belinda’s beauty, then thoroughly expresses how it falls short in a society controlled by the male gaze. 

The Sylphs who work tirelessly to beautify and protect Belinda at the beginning of the poem help Pope over inflate the beautifying process. While Belinda sleeps, “Her Guardian Sylph ” watches over her to “prolong[‘d] the balmy rest” (Canto I, line  20). Belinda’s need of a protector as she gets her beauty sleep highlights her self-importance as a beautiful woman. A regular handmaid could not cater to Belinda’s stunning beauty, so Pope assigns her “Guardian” magical beings to guard her while she sleeps. The other Sylphs take special care to “divide the Hair,” and “fold the Sleeve, while others plait the Gown” (Canto I, lines 145-148). The meticulous Sylphs’ attention to Belinda’s attire serves to mock the process of becoming beautiful as later in the poem it is rendered pointless. The Sylphs refer to Belinda as “Fairest of Mortals,” illustrating the weight the beauty carries in Belinda’s world, and the high position she occupies as a result. The Sylphs further sublime beauty when they reveal that their sole reason for existing is “ to draw fresh Colours from the vernal Flow’rs, / to steal from Rainbows ere they drop in Show’rs / A brighter Wash; to curl their waving Hairs;/ assist their Blushes, and inspire their Airs;” (Canto I, lines 71, 72, Canto II, lines 91-98). The Sylphs’ attentiveness to Belinda’s every beautifying need is used as a tool by Pope to once again emphasize the importance of beauty in his society. 

Pope goes on to create an illusion of strength when describing Belinda’s beauty. When Belinda finishes applying her “Puffs, Patches,” and “Powders,” the narrator says, “Now awful Beauty puts on all its Arms;”(Canto I, lines 130-140). In the context of Pope’s time, “awful” means awe-inspiring, which mockingly compares beauty to armor as if both are impenetrable.  Equating Belinda’s beauty to armor fit for battle supports the Sylphs’ mission to ‘strengthen’ her before she leaves her chambers. Belinda later “rises in her Charms” and even “Repairs her Smiles,” “awakens ev’ry Grace,” and even “calls forth all the Wonders of her Face; Sees by Degrees a purer Blush arise,”(Canto I, lines 139-143). The smiles, which are part of “the Wonders of her Face;” encourage “degrees” of a “purer Blush,” further equipping Belinda with ‘ammo’ for the day. The metaphor around Belinda’s beauty being armor foreshadows the war that she will later brave against the ravenous men present in tonight’s social event.

Pope finally achieves the ridicule of beauty as it becomes a liability instead of power and protection. Despite Belinda’s efforts to weaponize her beauty, that same beauty ironically reduces her to a position of little power when it captures the attention of men. Upon entrance, “ev’ry Eye [become] fix’d on her alone. / On her white Breast a sparkling Cross she wore”(Canto I, lines 6,7). Pope’s diversion from “ev’ry Eye” to Belinda’s “Breast” eerily paints the hunger of the men at the ball as Belinda enters. The disturbing imagery continues when Pope continues to describe Belinda’s “Nourish’d two Locks, which gracefully hung behind,” along with “her smooth Iv’ry Neck”, illustrating predator watching prey (Canto II, lines 20-23). The thick locks on Belinda’s hair swinging behind her, the essence of her beauty, becomes a liability due to the powerful male gaze. 

The Baron, Belinda’s ultimate predator, embodies beauty’s ultimate powerlessness. When the Baron sees Belinda, “Th’Adventrous Baron” who “the bright Locks admir’d” suddenly  “saw, he wish’d and to the Prize aspir’d” and also “Resolv’d to win, by force to ravish, or by Fraud betray;”(Canto II, lines 30-32). The Baron’s blatant desire to ravish Belinda by force or lies emphasizes how beauty makes Belinda vulnerable. The Baron’s violent approach to ‘rape’ Belinda begins to reveal Pope’s message that in his time, admired and beautiful women are not powerful, but rather are more susceptible to danger.  

The Baron’s rape of Belinda’s hair intentionally occurs during a game of cards to illustrate the climactic battle between beauty and male desire. As Belinda and the Baron enter the ‘game of attraction,’ Belinda “reviews her Force with Care;” in hopes of acquiring him. The Baron has “his broad Sabre next” and also “Puts forth one manly Leg” (Canto III, lines 55-56). Pope’s use of the words “force with care” to describe Belinda’s assets highlights her coy attempts to weaponize her beauty to win the game. In contrast, the Baron, uses a “broad Sabre” and his “manly leg,” as weapons, rendering Belinda’s beauty as enticing, not a weapon. In presenting the Baron and Belinda facing one another through the game of cards, Pope confronts the differences between the two parties’ weapons of choice, and foreshadows the fall of beauty once Belinda succumbs to the Baron’s violent intentions.

While Belinda tries to use her beauty as a means to find a match, she instead gets objectified, rendering her beauty useless. Pope’s claim that Belinda “Burns to encounter two adventurous Knights” hints at her own intentions, juxtaposing the Baron’s intentions, which are to rape and take advantage (Canto III, 26). Seeing that Belinda is “Burn[ing]” for a match rather than for her safety, the Sylphs who were intent on protecting her,’ “Resign’d to Fate, with a Sigh retir’d…and [their] Pow’r “expir[ed] ” (Canto III, 144-147). Pope’s mention of the Sylphs’ resignation to “Fate” illustrates his belief that beauty’s demise is inevitable in the face of true danger, especially when Belinda becomes complicit. The Sylphs’ powerlessness to “Fate” causes “The Peer…T’inclose the Lock”, meaning the Baron has successfully raped the lock of hair (Canto III, lines 147-148).  This marks the end of the card “game” as the Baron claims his position as victor with Belinda’s virtue in hand, leaving Belinda powerless and devastated.

 Pope’s success in ridiculing beauty echoes the mock-heroic genre while also vocalizing his belief that beauty provides women with a false sense of power, putting them in harm’s way as a result. Pope’s hifalutin representation of beauty at the beginning of the poem illustrates how it’s valued by 18th century society, while its failure to help or protect Belinda shows the lack of power it contains. Even though Pope pokes fun at Belinda’s devastation, he does not encourage patriarchy, but attempts to reveal how the reverence of beauty only further weakens women’s power and influence, making them more susceptible to hurt by those with sinister intentions.