"A Beauty" by Robert Boyers

In the essay “A Beauty” by Robert Boyers, the motif of beauty is used throughout the piece.  The author advances the idea that beauty has power. He starts out the essay by introducing readers to his friend, Charles Newman, whom Boyers describes as “the most beautiful man [he] ever knew”.  As the essay progresses, the reader learns that Newman is cheating on his fourth wife. Boyers understood that Newman cheating on his wife was wrong, but somehow Newman’s beauty made everything seem acceptable. No matter how awful an action involving Charles Newman, he was still seen as beautiful.

What caused Boyers to write this essay was his friend, Charles Newman.  The author wanted to try and find the answer to the question: Why does beauty have power? Newman causes Boyers to wonder about the power of beauty and what makes it so alluring. To make himself creditable, Boyers uses his recollection of time he has spent with Charles Newman.  Along with memories he has of Newman, Boyers is constantly quoting other essayists’ ideas on the power of beauty.

 Readers are given a glimpse into the life of someone beautiful through the eyes of someone wondering about the power of beauty. Many people strive to obtain beauty and the power that comes with it. The question that Boyers has is one that many others have asked. People with the same question are the audience for this piece. Pathos is used throughout the essay because of his strong delivery that captivates readers and also because the story that he tells appeals to many.

I believe that Boyers succeeded in accomplishing his purpose of showing that beauty is power. This is because he showed that “If our sense of what is beautiful… always derives from some idea or impression of what is natural…then it was legitimate for me to think of my friend as beautiful, even where his behavior seemed reprehensible”. I was able to see his point while he kept quiet about Newman’s cheating on his wife. I was able to see the power of beauty work its magic. 

In Snow White, the power of beauty causes the Evil Queen to try and kill Snow White so that she can be know as “the fairest of them all”.