Dear Ann Sanders
I am something of a wimpy individual and would like to develop a macho presence.
A good place to begin, I think, would be the look in my eye. Dan Brown describes a sinister character in Deception Point, as having the look I’m looking for:
“He was muscular and lithe, with eyes as desolate as the topography on which he was stationed.”
But I have problems.
First off, I have never seen anyone with desolate eyes, so I wouldn’t know how to begin to copy it. Second, which definition of “desolate” would be appropriate for someone who wishes to project such an image?
Should my eyes suggest a man devoid of inhabitants and visitors : DESERTED? Or…
If I looked into a mirror, who should be looking back — an alpha type who is joyless, disconsolate, and sorrowful through or as if through separation from a loved one? Or…
When a ravishingly beautiful woman looks deep into my desolate eyes, should she see a man showing the effects of abandonment and neglect : BARREN, LIFELESS ?
It had to be easy for the Dan Brown character to affect a look “as desolate as the topography on which he was stationed.” Golly. He was up in the Arctic and it doesn’t get more DESERTED, BARREN OR LIFELESS than that.
You see, Ms Sanders, in appearance I much more resemble another character in Brown’s Deception Point , NRO Director William Pickering who is described as “…diminutive, with pale skin, a forgettable face…and hazel eyes which appear as two shallow pools.”
You can appreciate, therefore, my desperation to improve my appearance. Please help.
Sincerely,
Timid Owl
