Since Christmas – or should I say good old Dad, among others – was kind to me in the wonderful form of gift cards, I’ve been doing some reading: namely Emily Cockayne’s Hubbub: Filth, Noise and Stench in England, 1600-1770. Although a fascinating read, rather than address the specific merits of the book just yet (considering I haven’t quite finished the book ), I thought I’d pursue a topic mentioned in passing in Hubbub that sparked a thought process for me. I’d eventually like to research, question, and think about this topic in more depth, so any comments – especially thoughts and reading suggestions – is encouraged.
Here goes:
In the chapter of her book entitled “Ugly,” Emily Cockayne takes a paragraph to address what were known as “beauty spots” or “black spots” in early modern England and the period following it. Although she cites texts written well after the Elizabethan and Jacobean reigns that are my historical focus, the phenomenon began during these time periods. Cockayne explains that “small facial blemishes such as spots and scars could be covered with black patches” (24). Thinking about the phenomenon from a modern aesthetic, I began to wonder not only what caused this fashion in black patches, but also what kind of “work” these patches did in terms of the social fabric of early modern England.
My initial thoughts are that these spots had much to do with early modern attitudes toward artificiality and uniformity – both within and outside of the context of beauty and aesthetics. What struck me most about the use of black patches is the preference for visually obvious artificially fashioned black patches (which would contrast with the preferred overall ‘fair’ complexion most women strove to achieve) over more natural-looking remedies that could cover or camouflage blemishes in such a way that did not contrast so sharply with the overall skin tone of the user. It occurred to me that this contrast and artificiality was precisely the point of these patches: after all, beauty (especially among the wealthy) in Elizabethan England was all about artificiality and the over-the-top factor (white skin, bright red lips, deep pink cheeks, excessively arched eyebrows). I’m not quite sure yet whether I would say these were a mark of social status/wealth, but I would say they are a mark of deliberate ostentation, an ornament meant to draw attention its wearer.
In addition to its artificiality, I think these black spots had much to do with uniformity. In a lecture called “Shakespearean Beauty Marks,” Stephen Greenblatt argues that Shakespeare violates “the featurelessness that is his period’s cultural ideal,” valuing instead distinct facial marks that “act out individuation.” I think, instead, that these black spots do the work of “making uniform” for Elizabethan culture. Although the black spots might be seen as distinct facial marks, I would argue that these black patches were not only a way of ostentatiously ornamenting the face, but also of “making uniform” the blemishes and marks that the black spots covered, perhaps as part of a “making uniform” that was occurring on a larger scale in the social fabric of Elizabethan through Reformation England.
What do you think?
Thoughts, criticisms, and suggestions encouraged – and of course, Happy Renaissancing!
