Love and Beauty

"Along with the idea of romantic love, she was introduced to another - physical beauty. Probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought. Both originated in envy, thrived in insecurity, and ended in disillusion." pg. 122


Mrs. Breedlove expresses her early contempt at placing importance on both beauty and love. This highlights the reasoning behind her seemingly loveless marriage with Cholly later in her life. It also showcases the reasoning behind the entire Breedlove family being viewed as "ugly" and being relatively accepting of that fact. It also constrasts who Mrs. Breedlove once was with who she has turned out to be. It elevates the difference between the hope she had as a younger girl when these ideas were first introduced to her, and the destruction she felt later in life, when all hope had been lost or destroyed. It also allows the reader to understand why Mrs. Breedlove is the way she is, both in regards to her children and her husband. Mrs. Breedlove is jaded by her life experiences and by the hand that she has been dealt. She turns this jaded outlook on life onto her children, particularly Pecola, which in turn causes them to view beauty and love in very disturbing and skewed ways. They have not been allowed to develop a normal concept of either of these things because of their mother's own judgement towards them.


How are Mrs. Breedlove's feelings towards love and beauty reflected in the way Pecola views both these concepts in regards to her own life? How does Pecola's view of these things differ from that of her mother's? Is it important to note Mrs. Breedlove's history/life experiences in regards to Pecola's life and upbringing?