Beauty Standards in Madame X

 In the society of Madame X, the beauty standards in Paris were different from what it is today. Women are considered to be beautiful in that time period if they had very pale skin. In Chapter 3 of Madame X, Virginie's mom became obsessed with the color of Virginie's skin. She was afraid that Virginie's skin would get tanned from the sun and demanded that she take a medicine called Chomel's solution, which was arsenic poison. When she found out that the medicine hadn't worked and that her freckles came back, she freaked out and took Virginie back to Dr. Chomel's office. In Madame X, Virginie was considered to be ver beautiful because she had pale skin and unique facial features.  A famous reporter, Etincelle wrote about Virginie. "She is an Ingres portrait brought to life, tall and graceful with an undulating swan's neck, whiter than white skin and masses of lustrous red hair. (Diliberto 84)"