Wednesday, March 26, 2008

"The Glasses Are You"

Was there anything to what Jane said in "Through a Lens Darkly" about Daria's glasses having symbolic meaning? Perhaps there was. An interesting online essay looks at what a simple pair of spectacles can stand for, both in the Daria series and in real life.

This is not the only time that eyeglasses have been said to have symbolic value. Lord of the Flies is frequently cited as turning the glasses of one of the characters (Piggy) into a powerful symbol, particularly when those glasses are broken in the course of the story.

Remember when Daria takes off her glasses at the end of "Quinn the Brain," and what she is trying to accomplish? It brings to mind Dorothy Parker's comment about men seldom making passes at girls who wear glasses. Is that true? Obviously not in Daria's case. Furthermore, there are loads of commentary on the Internet about this very issue. See the following websites for wall-to-wall coverage of the looking-glasses issue. (Note: Some sites have adult commentary on the issue, so be warned.)
This topic has even came up on PPMB, time after time after time after time after time after time after . . . well, you get the idea. If anyone ever has to write a term paper about glasses and self-image, your work is completely done.

Me? I would never get rid of my glasses. My glasses are me, too. They say NERD, that's exactly what I am, and I like it that way.

Food for thought.

LATE ADD: Speaking of food for thought, peek at the latest offering from Fortress CINCGREEN on Stacy and Upchuck, warts and all.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Stacy: Warts!? Warts!? Ohmygodohmygodohmy . . . =thump=

Charles: Rowr, fiesty!

Anonymous said...

I like my glasses because I'm too lazy to take care of contact lenses. :)

slumshoes said...

Damn right! Glasses signify one's persona. As for me, I like girls with glasses. It indicates depth.....

Anonymous said...

I like my glasses because they're a familiar, comfortable weight upon my face.

When I wore contacts, I would often find myself reaching up to adjust my missing spectacles, so after high school I began wearing them again.

E. A. Smith said...

When I wore contacts, I would often find myself reaching up to adjust my missing spectacles, so after high school I began wearing them again.

I recently switched from glasses back to contacts, and for a while, I often found myself doing the same thing (and I still do every once and a while). But that, and the little bit of extra work involved, is more than worth the lack of scratches and dust in my vision, not to mention the heavy weight on my face (of course, my glasses were real Coke bottles). And, I have to admit, there was a little bit of vanity there too.