# Their Beauty explained — Essays

> Chapter companion for Essays by Henry David Thoreau.

## What happens

Thoreau celebrates the aesthetic appeal of wild apples, emphasizing that even the most gnarled and imperfect specimens possess a unique beauty. He describes the varied colors and markings on apples as commemorations of natural events—mornings, evenings, clouds, and frosts—and argues that their true beauty is best appreciated in their natural outdoor setting rather than indoors.

## Themes in this chapter

### Nature and Simplicity

Thoreau finds profound beauty in the natural, unaltered state of wild apples, celebrating their imperfections as part of their charm.

## Character check-ins

### Henry David Thoreau

The author and observer who reflects on the beauty of wild apples.

## Key lines

> Almost all wild apples are handsome. They cannot be too gnarly and crabbed and rusty to look at.

Nearly every wild apple is attractive; no matter how rough or blemished, it still has visual appeal.

_Thoreau asserts that even the most imperfect wild apples possess a certain handsomeness._

> It is rare that the summer lets an apple go without streaking or spotting it on some part of its sphere.

Summer almost always leaves some mark or color on every apple.

_Thoreau observes that apples are inevitably marked by the season's conditions._

> But like shells and pebbles on the seashore, they must be seen as they sparkle amid the withering leaves in some dell in the woods, in the autumnal air, or as they lie in the wet grass, and not when they have wilted and faded in the house.

Apples should be appreciated in their natural environment, sparkling among autumn leaves or in wet grass, not after they have dried and lost their luster indoors.

_Thoreau emphasizes the importance of context for experiencing the true beauty of wild apples._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/essays_2_se/chapters/their-beauty
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/essays_2_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/essays_2_se/chapters