Sauble Beach By Edward Field

The Price of Beauty
Beauty is often considered one of the greatest assets a person can have by western society. People of all ages, genders, and ethnicities continue to search for new ways to make themselves more physically appealing and youthful. However, in the poem Sauble Beach, Edward Field cautions people from idolizing beauty. He writes the story of a character, warning Carol, another character, from overvaluing physical and materialistic things. Field explores the dangers of relying on external beauty and materialism in order to gain happiness. He does so by examining the ignorance, lost relationships, and fleetful nature associated with overvaluing physical beauty.
Field first explores the danger of overvaluing beauty by reflecting
on Carol’s Golden Age: a time of prosperity, innocence, and beauty. However, this age is also a time of ignorance, that usually leads to the destruction of the Golden Age. Field reflects on Carol’s Golden Age by comparing her to “botticelli's venus / emerging from lake huron” (line. 5-6). This allusion to Venus, the Roman goddess of sexual love and beauty, implies that Carol currently embodies the goddess’s aspects. But, like the goddess, Carol is only known and acknowledged for her beauty. This also confirms Carol’s naivety, as she believes that her beauty is eternal and powerful, similar to the immorality of Venus. This passage is also an allusion to Botticelli’s painting, The Birth of Venus, which reaffirms Carol’s ignorance by comparing her to a newborn. Field further emphasizes Carol’s dependence on her external beauty by depicting her “emerging from lake huron / in [her] inadequate bikini” (line. 6-7). Carol is clearly confident in her physical appearance and readily flaunts it. Yet, she shows no concern for the deeper intellectual and emotional aspects of life. Carol is ignorant to the fleeting nature of beauty and has never had her current materialistic worldview challenged. As such, she still depends on her beauty to garner her happiness, validation, and, in turn, self worth. Field demonstrates the dangers of vanity by exhibiting the naivety and ignorance associated with basing one’s self worth on physical beauty.
Field further explores the dangers of materialism by examining the lack of relationships and legacy that are developed as a result of valuing beauty over sentiments.
Field explores this through the use of the God Teacher archetype: a person who bring knowledge and awareness to allow their students to lead better lives. In Sauble Beach, the God Teacher is the speaker, who tells Carol that she could be like “the temple of Diana / with [her] magnificent architecture / and host of worshippers” (line 8-10). Diana’s name in the passage is capitalized, showing the importance of the values in which she represents: chastity, and intellectual and emotional beauty. This implies that other people value the qualities that Diana represents more than the values of Venus, whose name is not capitalised. Additionally, the devotion of a “host of worshippers” (l. 10) to their religion is much more everlasting than the infatuation that is the result of physical beauty. This suggests that Diana’s quality of internal beauty creates long-lasting relationships and a legacy. Which, contradicts Carol’s current materialic and narcissistic worldview, that heavily relies of her external beauty, to develop relationships. In Sauble Beach, Field cautions people from living a materialistic lifestyle by demonstrating the legacy and relationships that are lost due to
vanity.
Field further explores the danger of materialism by examining the temporary nature of materialist things, such as beauty. In Sauble Beach, the God Teacher tells Carol that “beauty passes / the seasons change” (line 20-21). This shows that materialistic things can disappear, change, or be destroyed over time. Thus, Carol is exposed to the harsh reality that her beauty will one day fade. This implies that her own sense of worth will disappear too, if she continues to prioritize her beauty. The speaker also tells Carol that “only words remain” (l. 22) and can withstand the test of time. Thus, despite the impermanence of her physical beauty, her intellect and artistic works will be able to create a lasting legacy and impact. This caution against materialism is further emphasized by the distinct separation of this stanza. Field explores the temporary nature of external beauty to demonstrate the dangers of overvaluing physical beauty.
Overall, relying on materialist things, such as beauty, to provide happiness will only lead to tragedy. In the poem Sauble Beach, the speaker warns Carol of her naivety, the relationships that she could lose, and the consequences of basing her self-worth on something as fickle as beauty. In a society that highly values youthfulness and beauty, one must be cautious of how the live their lives. As time continue to press on and thing change and fade, one must think: “what legacy do I want to leave behind?”