--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no such thing as beauty…" description: "\"“There is no such thing as beauty, especially in the human face… what we call the physiognomy. It’s all a mathematical and imagined alignment of featur..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/charles-bukowski-73_beauty_there-is-no-such-thing-as-beauty-especia_1822578.jpg" --- # There is no such thing as beauty, especially in the human… ![“There is no such thing as beauty, especially in the human face… what we call the physiognomy. It’s all a mathematical and imagined alignment of features. Like, if the nose doesn’t stick out too much, the sides are in fashion, if the earlobes aren’t too large, if the hair is long… It’s kind of a…” quote by Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/charles-bukowski-73_beauty_there-is-no-such-thing-as-beauty-especia_1822578.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/charles-bukowski-73_beauty_there-is-no-such-thing-as-beauty-especia_1822578.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/charles-bukowski-73_beauty_there-is-no-such-thing-as-beauty-especia_1822578.jpg) > ““There is no such thing as beauty, especially in the human face… what we call the physiognomy. It’s all a mathematical and imagined alignment of features. Like, if the nose doesn’t stick out too much, the sides are in fashion, if the earlobes aren’t too large, if the hair is long… It’s kind of a mirage of generalization. People think of certain faces as beautiful, but, truly, in the final measure, they are not. It’s a mathematical equation of zero. “True beauty” comes, of course, of character. Not through how the eyebrows are shaped. So many women that I’m told are beautiful… hell, it’s like looking into a soup bowl.”” [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Beauty is a socially constructed illusion based on arbitrary physical standards; true value lies in character, not appearance. **In simple terms:** Beauty is a myth; character matters. Key Takeaway Focus on inner qualities over looks. Themes beauty appearance character social constructs perception Mood reflective critical philosophical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - dating - self-esteem - media influence - personal relationships Key Concepts aesthetics subjectivity identity Questions to Reflect On - How do you define beauty beyond appearance? - Can you separate character from physical traits? A Different Perspective Societal pressure can still prioritize looks despite this insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Eyebrows Shaped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyebrows-shaped-2205343/) [Face Physiognomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/face-physiognomy-2205342/) [Faces Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces-beautiful-2205341/) [Thing Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-beauty/) [True beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-beauty/) ## Related quotes > [A man should not get his eyebrows shaped, he should get them groomed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anastasia-soare/a-man-should-not-get-his-eyebrows-shaped-he-should-get-them-groomed/) [Anastasia Soare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anastasia-soare/) > [“I want eyebrows shaped like pinball swatters, and to accompany that I’ll get a Hindu dot on my forehead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-want-eyebrows-shaped-like-pinball-swatters-and-to-accompany-that-i/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Don't make opinion about others by their appearance, because some pepople may not have beautiful faces but they have a beautiful heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mee/don-t-make-opinion-about-others-by-their-appearance-because-some/) [Mee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mee/) > [“Your faces are very beautiful, but they are wooden cages. You had better run from me. My words are fire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/your-faces-are-very-beautiful-but-they-are-wooden-cages-you-had/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“I am convinced that "all ladies are not the same". Some have pretty faces, others have beautiful characters. Some have facial make-ups, others have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/i-am-convinced-that-all-ladies-are-not-the-same-some-have-pretty/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Girls' faces are more beautiful than their heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zonaet-espa-a/girls-faces-are-more-beautiful-than-their-heart/) [Zonaet España](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zonaet-espa-a/) > [“There is no such thing as beauty, especially in the human face.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-no-such-thing-as-beauty-especially-in-the-human-face/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [In our society, women are valued for their sexual attraction. I'd like to get away from the sex symbol idea of what beauty is.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-chastain/in-our-society-women-are-valued-for-their-sexual-attraction-i-d-like/) [Jessica Chastain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-chastain/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy till sunrise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-fierstein/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-till-sunrise/) [Harvey Fierstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-fierstein/) > [O love, what strange and wonderful fits: one sole thing, one beauty alone, can give me life and deprive me of wits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaspara-stampa/o-love-what-strange-and-wonderful-fits-one-sole-thing-one-beauty/) [Gaspara Stampa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaspara-stampa/) > [My favorite thing about beauty and fashion in all seasons is that it's a way to reinvent ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannie-mai/my-favorite-thing-about-beauty-and-fashion-in-all-seasons-is-that-it/) [Jeannie Mai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannie-mai/) > [Where there are obstacles, a thing of beauty has a miracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/where-there-are-obstacles-a-thing-of-beauty-has-a-miracle/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The most liberating thing about beauty is realizing you are the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/the-most-liberating-thing-about-beauty-is-realizing-you-are-the/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [“This thing of Beauty is a Guilt forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ir-ne-n-mirovsky/this-thing-of-beauty-is-a-guilt-forever/) [Irene Nemirovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ir-ne-n-mirovsky/) ## More by Charles Bukowski > [“sometimes when everything seems at its worst when all conspires and gnaws and the hours, days, weeks years seem wasted – stretched there upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/sometimes-when-everything-seems-at-its-worst-when-all-conspires-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [well, death says, as he walks by, I'm going to get you anyhow no matter what you've been: writer, cab-driver, pimp, butcher, sky-diver, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/well-death-says-as-he-walks-by-i-m-going-to-get-you-anyhow-no-matter/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“There is only one place to write and that is alone at a typewriter. A writer who has to go into the streets is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-only-one-place-to-write-and-that-is-alone-at-a-typewriter-a/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Even the stove and the refrigerator looked human, I mean good human - they seemed to have arms and voices and they said, hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/even-the-stove-and-the-refrigerator-looked-human-i-mean-good-human/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“nerves twitching in the sheets -- to face the sunlight again, that's clearly trouble. I like the city better when the neon lights are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/nerves-twitching-in-the-sheets-to-face-the-sunlight-again-that-s/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Their Love Is Average, Seeks Average But There Is Genius In Their Hatred”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/their-love-is-average-seeks-average-but-there-is-genius-in-their/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I climbed the stairway (there was no elevator) and put the key in. The door swung open. Somebody had changed all the furniture around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-climbed-the-stairway-there-was-no-elevator-and-put-the-key-in-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Strangers when you meet, strangers when you part -a gymnasium of bodies namelessly masturbating each other. People with no morals often considered themselves more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/strangers-when-you-meet-strangers-when-you-part-a-gymnasium-of-bodies/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I like to change liquor stores frequently because the clerks got to know your habits if you went in night and day and bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-like-to-change-liquor-stores-frequently-because-the-clerks-got-to/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I was like a turd that drew flies instead of like a flower that butterflies and bees desired. I wanted to live alone,I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-was-like-a-turd-that-drew-flies-instead-of-like-a-flower-that/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [It's 4:30 in the morning, it's always 4:30 in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/it-s-4-30-in-the-morning-it-s-always-4-30-in-the-morning/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I had no feeling for the things so many others needed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-had-no-feeling-for-the-things-so-many-others-needed/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I am sick with caring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-am-sick-with-caring/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I went home each night dizzy and sick. He was murdering me with the sound of his voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-went-home-each-night-dizzy-and-sick-he-was-murdering-me-with-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“the nights you fight best are when all the weapons are pointed at you, when all the voices hurl their insults while the dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-nights-you-fight-best-are-when-all-the-weapons-are-pointed-at-you/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) [Explore all 1,492 Charles Bukowski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/) [Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) [Tumblr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tumblr/) > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/) [Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/) [Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is no such thing as beauty, especially in the human face… what we call the physiognomy. It’s all a mathematical and imagined alignment of features. 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