Why enlarged pupils looked beautiful
In the nineteenth century, some women used preparations made from deadly nightshade, also called belladonna, to make their pupils look larger. The name belladonna means “beautiful woman” in Italian, a reminder of the plant’s association with beauty practices. Enlarged pupils could give the eyes a darker, softer appearance that suited fashionable ideals of romantic delicacy.
The effect was not an optical illusion: belladonna contains atropine, a drug that interferes with signals controlling the eye’s pupil. It relaxes the muscle that normally constricts the pupil in bright light, leaving it unusually wide.
The eye could not regulate light normally
A pupil is the eye’s adjustable opening. It narrows in bright conditions to limit incoming light and widens in dim conditions to let more in. When atropine holds it open, the eye loses much of that adjustment. Bright daylight can become painfully intense, and close vision may blur because the drug also affects focusing.
The drops acted locally, but they were not harmless cosmetics. Atropine can enter the body and affect other organs, including the heart; excessive exposure can cause dangerous poisoning. The same drug that changed the eyes’ appearance could therefore produce effects well beyond the mirror.
A beauty effect with a long afterimage
The danger came from using a potent plant drug for a temporary look, without the controlled dosing and medical supervision expected of a modern treatment. Repeated or excessive use could seriously injure vision, and severe damage could be lasting. The desired change was visible immediately; the harm could outlast the fashion that prompted it.
