Tumblr crosspost (16 October 2020)

[anghraine]

elperian responded to this post:

obligatory parallel ask about elizabeth?

I replied:

Well, features that show up in a lot of portraits of women considered beautiful at the time are fairly round or at least soft faces, striking noses, large eyes, and bow-shaped mouths (this isn’t all of them, just the trends). Elizabeth Garvie probably fits best, but none of them really look like fashionable beauties of the time IMO.

Of course, Elizabeth is supposed to diverge from fashionable beauty standards to some extent anyway. Caroline is undoubtedly exaggerating when she goes on about Elizabeth’s physical flaws, but it’s certainly possible that Elizabeth has a narrow face and unremarkable nose, which wouldn’t be the popular look.