Evening star., 1933-03-15

| the members Of that race, must picture
their characters with the official but
ton." Otherwise many protests will be
received.
Indeed American readers like no bet
ter portraitures Of American citizens by
outsiders, especially when they feel that
the writer has seen only with a critical
eye and his subjects in undress.
The picture every human being paints
Of himself to himself, and especially by
himself, with the aid of the looking
glass, is one-haH what he IL and one
half what he would like to be.
The features one does not like are
minimized, as sometimes Is done by
photographers in the gentle art called
'retouching."
Every one-especially male-who looks
into mirror, does a bit Of deft re-
touching to bring the man he sees
nearer to the image he would like to see
In time he may even completely fool
himself
As to women, we believe that they fool
themselves even more completely, be-
cause they strive necessarily to build
up an image nearer to the hearts desire
and, succeeding, never see themselves
but the woman they create. What saves
them Is that they actually work to
make this pictured woman come true
and therefore may end In merging the
two 20 that no one can tell them apart,
Often the man who sees himself In
mirror. face to face, for the first time
| (since he does not know he Is looking at
himSelf) is somewhat shocked and per
picked.
The man he sees may be the very type
OF individual he does not like he real
ICES, II he Is perfectly fair with him
self (and not always Is he, by any means
OF course). But granting that he is, he
may realize that he does not meet his
expectations In appearance, but the
realization does him strangely little
good.
There is not much he can do about
! it, after ALL He probably would not
change himself, in any way, If he had
the ability, and, of course, he has it not
| He could not say 10 any one what
sort Of person, In appearance, especially
in physiognomy, he would choose to be,
II he had the power to shatter himself
to bits. in the poets phrase, and mold
himself nearer to the hearts desire. u
Surely he would not choose to be one
of these pretty boys" with wavy hair
and collar fitting just So
Improvements in physical structure he
might welcome, but as to facial details
ne is entirely at sea.
Out of the long line Of splendid -ap-
pear1ng human beings, as presented in
those frozen mirrors, photographs and
! paintings, which one would he choose
/ TO resemble?
To be any one of them. what would
1t mean?
| 1t would mean, above all, that he
would lose his own identity.
! Just as what We do not like about our
friends Is precisely what should endear
them to US, so the features of this. our
physical and structural being, which
perhaps offend us, are the real man
more than we realize, perhaps. One has
but to think Of some dear friend with
some one feature very much exag-
! gerated to realize tha. without it he
would not be the man one knows and
| likes.
| Are we not wrong in forever applying
those false standards to life which
would expect all men to be perfect, all
women to be beautiful and ones self
! otherwise than one happens to be? Per-
haps the desires should be, not to be
different, but to make what one has and
happens to be the best possible, within
the limits Of ones own possibilities, not
some one elSe'S.