Men like Howard and the head of his humanities department, Jack French, are like that Monty Kipps is also one, but one who has gained popularity and fame in the public arena as well (i.e. One of the central questions that On Beauty implicitly asks is: What does it mean to be an intellectual? Several major characters in the book are professional “intellectuals,” or men and women who have stayed in their academic studies their entire life. Professional academic and intellectualism The difference between the two genders is so great that some things cannot even be explained in words. When Kiki and Howard have sex for the last time, Kiki realizes that their experiences might be very different, and that she can hardly use metaphors to explain her feelings to her husband (397).

Carlene Kipps also notes that women think and act with their bodies, which is not the same case with men (96). The central and original conflict between Kiki and Howard is about Howard’s infidelity, but this issue of infidelity is also about a central difference in the way men and women perceive and respond to beauty, with Howard basically conceding that he was unfaithful because of Kiki’s appearance (206). The difference between men and women is of significant concern in On Beauty, with many central tensions coming up between marriages or because of romantic relations. In the end, neither wins over the other, but, given the presence of love, perhaps non-physical beauty still lasts. Throughout the story, characters struggle to understand when one form of beauty outweighs the other, and how to react accordingly to physical and/or non-physical beauty. Still, non-physical beauty persists, and manifests itself in the actions and behavior of women for example, Victoria’s mother Carlene is a soothing and calming presence in the story, despite her lack of significance physical beauty. An anomaly perhaps is Carl, a strikingly handsome young man, who, like Victoria, is only desired by Zora for his physical beauty. Victoria Kipps, a young college-aged girl, is so strikingly beautiful that all men ever want from her is sex, and all she knows how to give and to harness from her own beauty is her sexuality. For example, Kiki Belsey, a main character, was once beautiful in her youth now heavily overweight and older, Kiki understands that she will never get thinner or return to her original physical appearance. The book is also rather focused on the beauty of women, and what it does to the men around them, the people around them in general, and to themselves. Characters struggle to understand the basis or predictability of human reactions to beauty. In On Beauty, just as recognized by the title, beauty, both physical and non-physical is a very significant concern for the story. Buy Study Guide The physical and abstract natures of beauty

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