# What Artifice vs. Nature means in The Works of Max Beerbohm

> Beerbohm champions artifice—cosmetics, elaborate dress, and social performance—as superior to naturalness, arguing that surface and soul should be separated, and that the Victorian era's 'natural' woman was ineffectual and charmless.

## Explanation

Beerbohm champions artifice—cosmetics, elaborate dress, and social performance—as superior to naturalness, arguing that surface and soul should be separated, and that the Victorian era's 'natural' woman was ineffectual and charmless.

Beerbohm argues that modern costume artfully reveals the body's fineness while veiling its meanness, striking a balance between artifice and natural form.

The prince's carefully curated public persona contrasts with his natural infancy, highlighting the artifice of royal presentation.

Contrasts the artificiality of fashionable society with the natural beauty sought by Aesthetes, e.g., pastoral plays at Coombe Wood.

Beerbohm champions artifice over nature, arguing that cosmetics and elaborate living are superior to the 'sancta simplicitas' of the early Victorian era.

## Links

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