Beauty and Aesthetic Worship

Where it surfaces

• I

  Felise's rapt attention to the beauty of the morning, from the skylark to the boulder-stone, reflects a worship of aesthetic experience.

• II

  Felise's body is described as 'beauty and strength—strength and beauty,' and her every movement is rendered with aesthetic reverence, from her arched insteps to the sparkle of water on her hand.

• V

  Martial's physical description is rendered with artistic detail, likening his proportions to a column capital and his hair to a cavalier's, emphasizing Felise's aesthetic admiration.

• X

  Felise's intense contemplation of her own reflection and the pleasure she derives from her beauty illustrate the theme of aesthetic worship.

• Chapter XI

  The chapter is a sustained celebration of Felise's physical beauty, from her skin and form to the detailed description of her knees, presented as objects of artistic and emotional reverence.

• XIII

  Barnard's artistic admiration of Felise's face and form dominates his thoughts, leading him to compare and devalue Rosa.

• XIV

  Martial's intense admiration of Felise's beauty is described as a quasi-religious experience, elevating her to a work of art.

• XXII

  Felise's appreciation for the beauty of the landscape, seasons, and creatures reflects a worship of aesthetic experience.

• I

  Felise's beauty is described as singular and noble, and Rosa recognizes it as an ideal that Martial worships, making competition impossible.

• The Miller of Glads Mill

  The chapter contrasts the stolid miller's contentment with the pursuit of beauty, suggesting that those who follow beauty suffer, yet the memory of Felise's roses—a symbol of beauty—remains undying in Bond's mind.

• VII

  The old church is described as an architectural treasure with ivy, elms, and wildlife, contrasting with the sterile 'clear sweep' imposed by modern taste.

• XI

  Felise's beauty is noted as a potential influence on the Squire, who glances at her but quickly looks away, suggesting the power of aesthetic appeal in social interactions.

• XIII

  Martial's internal monologue dwells on Felise's physical beauty—her shoulder, knee, hand, and hair—comparing her to an Immortal or Cytherea, treating her as a living work of art.

• Chapter XVI

  Martial worships Felise's physical beauty as an ideal, comparing her to classical sculptures of Aphrodite, yet his admiration is detached from emotional love.

• XVII

  Martial's compulsion to look upon Felise as a 'Picture' despite his resolve to stay away illustrates the irresistible pull of idealized beauty.

• XIX

  The sunset cloud's rosy glow and its reflection on the water provide a moment of transcendent beauty that renews Martial's will to live.

• XXI

  Felise's insistence on oak for Mary's coffin reflects a respect for the dead that transcends class, touching on the aesthetic and moral importance of proper burial.

• XXII

  The proposed art society is condemned as grotesque; true art is argued to arise from security and home-life, not from imposed pictures.

• XXV

  Godwin's idolization of Felise's beauty leads him to punish her for 'degrading' it, seeking to break it with Ruy's hoof.