Mane Magic! A Journey Through Women’s Hairstyles Across Centuries
Why Read This
What Makes This Article Worth Your Time
Summary
What This Article Is About
Dr. Supriya Shukla’s essay begins with a personal anecdote about watching Sharmila Tagore on the Kapil Sharma Show, where the Bollywood icon discussed the extravagant hairstyles of 1960s heroines. Tagore recounted filming the 1966 film Anupama in which her dejected character nevertheless wore a pompous bouffant—director Hrishikesh Mukherjee objected to this mismatch between mood and hairstyle, but 24-year-old Tagore’s immaturity led her to insist on the elaborate coiffure, forcing the director to work around it cinematically. Shukla notes this wasn’t unique to Tagore—1960s heroines like Asha Parekh, Sadhana, and Mala Sinha all wore ostentatious hairstyles regardless of script requirements, reflecting the era’s fashion norms where actresses appeared with elaborate updos even for casual romantic dates.
This contemporary example reminds Shukla of Joseph Addison’s 18th-century essay “Ladies Headdress,” which satirized ornate headgear making women appear 6-7 feet tall like giants while men seemed grasshoppers by comparison. Addison argued with sarcastic wit that women impossibly attempted to embellish what Nature already made beautiful—their faces and natural hair—constructing Gothic-structure-like headdresses with ribbons, wires, laces, and “gew-gaws” purely for fashion’s sake, manifesting vanity. Yet his final paragraph warmly advocated that women recognize their heads as Nature’s masterpiece, blessed with well-shaped features, smiles, bright eyes, and flowing hair needing no artificial accessories. Shukla argues the 21st century represents a major breakthrough: good sense has prevailed as women embrace natural locks cascading down shoulders, styling hair in blow-dried waves, soft curls, or straightened forms, with modern cuts like pixie, butterfly, layered, and various bobs. She praises Tagore’s recent appearance with natural pepper-salt curls as epitomizing this shift toward elegant simplicity. While contemporary women still enjoy sleek buns and French knots, the bizarre gigantic hairdos have hopefully disappeared. Shukla concludes playfully that women’s inventive minds will continue discovering innovative styling methods, leaving men both envious and astounded, but affirms that women blessed with this “Crowning Glory” have every right to flaunt it as they wish—the magic of the mane will never cease to amaze across all ages.
Key Points
Main Takeaways
1960s Bollywood Bouffant Culture
Sharmila Tagore’s anecdote about wearing pompous bouffants in Anupama despite playing dejected characters exemplified how 1960s heroines universally donned elaborate hairstyles regardless of script requirements—ostentatious styling trumped narrative authenticity.
Addison’s 18th-Century Satire
Joseph Addison’s “Ladies Headdress” mocked ornate headgear making women appear 6-7 feet tall like giants dwarfing men into grasshoppers, satirizing how socialites believed artificial hairdos attracted suitors better than natural beauty or inner qualities.
Gothic Architectural Hairstyles
Addison described extravagant coiffures shaped like pyramids, towers, and steeples constructed with ribbons, wires, bands, laces, frills, streamers, and gew-gaws—”female architects” creating marble-worthy structures atop heads purely following fashion trends.
Nature’s Masterpiece Argument
Despite sarcastic criticism, Addison’s final paragraph warmly advocated that women’s heads occupy the highest station in human figures—Nature blessed them with well-shaped features, smiles, blushes, bright eyes, and flowing hair requiring no artificial embellishment.
21st-Century Natural Hair Revolution
Modern women embrace natural locks cascading down shoulders in blow-dried waves, soft curls, or straightened forms with contemporary cuts like pixie, butterfly, layered, and various bobs—good sense finally prevailing over bizarre gigantic hairdos.
Crowning Glory Celebration
Shukla concludes that women blessed with this divine gift have every right to flaunt hair as they wish—the magic of the mane will perpetually amaze across ages, though men will remain both envious and astounded by women’s inventive styling.
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Article Analysis
Breaking Down the Elements
Main Idea
Cyclical Fashion Versus Natural Beauty Wisdom
Central thesis celebrates contemporary return to natural hairstyling after centuries of elaborate artifice, positioning this shift as evidence “good sense has finally prevailed.” Argument moves through three temporal layers—1960s Bollywood, 18th-century European society, 21st-century modernity—demonstrating women’s relationship with hair fashion oscillates between extravagant ornamentation and natural simplicity. Links Tagore’s bouffant to Addison’s towering headdresses revealing transhistorical patterns where fashion temporarily eclipses reason. Yet essay isn’t simply fashion history—it’s argument about recognition and appreciation of natural beauty Nature already perfected, positioning contemporary trends as vindication of Addison’s centuries-old advocacy for simplicity.
Purpose
Celebrating Female Agency Through Light Commentary
Purpose operates on multiple levels simultaneously: providing cultural commentary connecting Bollywood nostalgia with literary history, celebrating contemporary fashion’s embrace of natural beauty, ultimately defending women’s prerogative to style hair however they choose despite centuries of male criticism. Concluding rhetorical question reveals deeper agenda: using historical patterns of extravagance followed by simplicity to argue women’s fashion choices transcend male approval. By extensively quoting Addison’s sarcastic critiques while praising his warm final paragraph, models acknowledging legitimate aesthetic observations without ceding authority over women’s bodies and presentation. Transforms fashion history into gentle feminist assertion wrapped in accessible, humorous prose.
Structure
Personal Anecdote → Historical Parallel → Contemporary Vindication
Employs three-act structure beginning with contemporary pop culture hook establishing immediate reader engagement through celebrity name-dropping and Bollywood nostalgia. Act Two introduces Addison’s essay as 18th-century parallel, extensively quoting satirical descriptions providing intellectual weight and demonstrating transhistorical patterns. Act Three returns to present celebrating 21st-century’s “major breakthrough” toward natural styling with detailed contemporary vocabulary. Structure climaxes with Tagore’s recent appearance sporting natural curls creating satisfying circular return demonstrating her evolution from youthful bouffant-insistence to mature natural-beauty wisdom. Final paragraphs project into future playfully acknowledging women will continue inventing styles while asserting divine right—ending on empowerment note reframing historical survey as celebration of female agency.
Tone
Conversational, Playful, Gently Empowering
Maintains accessible, chatty tone appropriate for blog format while demonstrating considerable erudition through literary references and historical knowledge. Opening with Netflix-surfing establishes informal immediacy positioning herself as relatable viewer rather than distant academic. Balances reverence for cultural icons with gentle humor about youthful mistakes. Vivid, slightly hyperbolic language conveys affectionate mockery rather than harsh judgment. Quoting Addison extensively allows his satirical voice providing comic relief while Shukla plays genial tour guide. Concluding paragraphs shift into playful teasing directed at men with self-aware humor. Overall effect is warmth and celebration—enjoying both historical extravagance and contemporary simplicity with amused appreciation rather than moralizing, ultimately asserting women’s autonomy as gentle but firm conclusion.
Key Terms
Vocabulary from the Article
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Tough Words
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A hairstyle characterized by hair raised high and puffed out, especially popular in the 1960s; voluminous styling that creates height and fullness above the head.
“Her character supposed to be dejected and forlorn is nevertheless donning a pompous buffon or bouffant as the French termed it.”
A person who is between 80 and 89 years old; someone in their eighties, typically referenced with respect for their advanced age and accumulated experience.
“However, the celebrated octogenarian told Kapil Sharma that she who was just 24 years of age then had the audacity and immaturity.”
To make something more attractive by adding decorative details or features; to enhance appearance through ornamentation, often implying unnecessary addition to what’s already adequate.
“It is well nigh impossible for ladies to embellish what Nature has already made beautiful.”
Showy but worthless trinkets or ornaments; gaudy decorative items that are flashy but lack real value, often used dismissively to describe excessive ornamentation.
“To construct empirical structures on their heads with ribbons, wires, bands, laces, frills, streamers and other ‘gew-gaws.'”
With great enthusiasm, passion, or intensity of feeling; in a manner showing strong devotion, fervor, or earnest desire for something.
“He ardently desires the female sex to give up ornamentalising what is already the master-piece of nature.”
Showing cleverness, originality, and inventiveness; characterized by resourceful creativity and skillful innovation in solving problems or creating new things.
“Their highly imaginative and ingenious female counterparts will keep dropping bombshells through their unique ways of designing their hair.”
Reading Comprehension
Test Your Understanding
5 questions covering different RC question types
1According to the essay, director Hrishikesh Mukherjee successfully convinced young Sharmila Tagore to abandon her elaborate bouffant hairstyle in favor of simpler styling appropriate for her dejected character in Anupama.
2What does Joseph Addison ultimately argue about women’s natural appearance in the final paragraph of “Ladies Headdress”?
3Which sentence best expresses Shukla’s view on the modern return to natural hairstyling as a form of progress?
4Evaluate these statements about Addison’s satirical descriptions of 18th-century women’s hairstyles:
Addison described elaborate hairstyles making women appear 6-7 feet tall like giants while men seemed like grasshoppers or pigmies by comparison.
Addison praised the “female architects” who created these elaborate structures, arguing their inventions deserved recognition in history’s annals alongside marble architectural monuments.
Addison wrote that enormous hairstyles sometimes rose in shapes of pyramids, towers, and steeples, constructed with ribbons, wires, bands, laces, frills, and gew-gaws.
Select True or False for all three statements, then click “Check Answers”
5Based on the essay’s conclusion, what can be inferred about Shukla’s ultimate position on women’s hairstyling choices?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Shukla identifies a transhistorical pattern where women across different cultures and centuries have prioritized elaborate hair ornamentation over natural beauty or narrative appropriateness. Both 1960s Bollywood heroines wearing ostentatious bouffants regardless of script requirements and 18th-century European socialites constructing towering headdresses with ribbons and wires demonstrate how fashion conventions temporarily override reason and aesthetics. The connection illustrates that what Addison satirized in his era—women believing artificial hairdos attract attention better than natural features—echoes in Tagore’s generation, suggesting this represents recurring human tendency rather than culture-specific phenomenon. Both eras eventually gave way to simpler styling, supporting Shukla’s cyclical view of fashion history.
According to Shukla, Addison’s essay employs biting satire throughout—mocking elaborate headdresses as making women appear like giants while men seem grasshoppers, describing coiffures as Gothic structures built from gew-gaws manifesting vanity. However, “the last paragraph of the essay is the most heartwarming and shows how he wished good sense to prevail on the fashion crazy female species.” This tonal shift reveals underlying sympathy beneath sarcasm—Addison “ardently desires” women recognize their heads as Nature’s masterpiece blessed with well-shaped features, bright eyes, and flowing hair requiring no artificial embellishment. Rather than pure mockery, his satire aims at reform, hoping women will appreciate their natural beauty. This positions him as concerned advocate rather than contemptuous critic.
The capitalized phrase “Crowning Glory” emphasizes hair’s unique status as nature’s gift distinguishing women, positioned literally at the body’s crown and metaphorically as their most distinctive aesthetic feature. By invoking “The Creator,” Shukla frames beautiful hair as divine endowment rather than accident, suggesting women possess this gift purposefully and therefore have “every right to flaunt it as they wish.” This religious framing elevates hairstyling from mere vanity to celebration of divine blessing, defending women’s aesthetic choices against criticism. The phrase also plays on “crowning” to suggest hair completes or perfects feminine appearance—it’s the finishing touch Nature provided, whether styled naturally or elaborately, justifying women’s ongoing fascination with its possibilities.
Readlite provides curated articles with comprehensive analysis including summaries, key points, vocabulary building, and practice questions across 9 different RC question types. Our Ultimate Reading Course offers 365 articles with 2,400+ questions to systematically improve your reading comprehension skills.
This is an Intermediate-level article requiring comfort with literary references and ability to follow arguments spanning multiple historical periods. Readers should recognize how Shukla connects contemporary pop culture (Sharmila Tagore’s Netflix interview) with classical literature (Addison’s 18th-century essay) to support broader thesis about natural beauty versus fashion excess. The essay assumes familiarity with 1960s Bollywood culture and comfort navigating between playful tone and serious aesthetic philosophy. Full comprehension requires understanding how the three-part structure (modern anecdote, historical parallel, contemporary vindication) builds cumulative argument that fashion cycles between extravagance and simplicity, ultimately defending women’s autonomy over self-presentation regardless of prevailing aesthetic philosophy.
This playful closing dismisses male attempts to understand or control women’s hairstyling choices. Shukla suggests men experience “a tinge of envy for the gentle sex for their healthy mop” and remain “apprehensive and astounded” by women’s “highly imaginative and ingenious” styling innovations. The phrase “IGNORANCE IS BLISS” advises men to stop trying to comprehend or critique women’s aesthetic decisions—they’ll remain perpetually surprised regardless, so peace lies in accepting rather than analyzing. This gentle mockery transforms centuries of male commentary (like Addison’s) into irrelevant background noise. Women will continue inventing styles independently of male approval, making men’s opinions functionally meaningless. The capitalization and exclamation points emphasize this as definitive statement closing debate about whether women’s choices require male validation.
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