Dear Reader,

As far back as I can remember I have been fascinated by make-up. I have always wanted to look like the models that I saw in beauty magazines. So as I was skimming through the pages of 100 Great Essays, the essay The Wound in the Face, by Angela Carter, caught my eye. I began to read the essay and before I knew it, I was finished. Many of my classmates commented that the essay was difficult to read, but I got enjoyment from what the author had to say. The concepts had much truth to them. This is my favorite sentence from the essay; It was something of an exercise in pure form, because the models’ faces aren’t exactly the face in the street - not low-style, do-it-yourself assemblages, but more a platonic, ideal face.
The central theme of The Wound in the Face is what women’s faces are supposed to look like. This was the most obvious to me after the first time I read the essay. As I began to research and read the essay several times again, other themes such as societal wounds and expectations, women’s self-perception and sense of security, and women’s basic theory of cosmetics became clear to me as a reader. I became more and more interested in these themes as I had to connect them to my own life and world. As I began to explore the various topics that these themes could be applied, I realized how versatile something like societal expectations could be.
The central idea, what women’s faces are supposed to look like, is important to me because I believe in the point that the author is trying to make…because the models’ faces aren’t exactly the face in the street…I admit, I like to read beauty magazines, but only for pure enjoyment. But there are many young girls and women that take these magazines seriously. Possibly if more women were to read The Wound in the Face they would realize that not all women are picture perfect like the models they see in magazines.
My portfolio shows different ways to express the themes in this essay. Whether it is poking fun at the themes, or taking them on a more serious level. There are various examples of each.

Sincerely,
Kellie Vanfosson