Do Do you prefer a thunderstorm to a sunny day? Do you dream of living in a castle perched on a cliff rather than a sensible suburban bungalow? Do you sometimes exaggerate a story just to make it sound as epic as it felt in the moment?
In 1924, they wouldn’t call you “dramatic” or “extra.” They would say you had a large development of Sublimity—one of the most fascinating “brain centers” mapped by the character reading movement of the Jazz Age.
This is Post #10 in our ongoing Character Reading series, where we explore the forgotten science of personality analysis that captivated Americans during the 1920s. Today, we’re diving deep into The Center of the Sublime—the part of your brain that supposedly governed your love of majesty, grandeur, and the awe-inspiring forces of nature.
The Jazz Age Science of Character Reading
To understand Sublimity, we need to step back into the world of 1920s America. This was an era obsessed with self-improvement, personality typing, and understanding human nature through quasi-scientific methods. The character reading movement drew heavily from phrenology (the 19th-century practice of reading skull bumps to determine personality) but adapted it for the modern age with elements of psychology, physiology, and behavioral observation.
Publications like Character Reading magazine, published in the mid-1920s, brought these ideas to a mass audience hungry for self-knowledge. In an era of rapid social change—women had just won the vote, cities were exploding in size, and new technologies were transforming daily life—Americans turned to character analysis to help them navigate relationships, careers, and their own identities.
The Home of “Beautiful Lies”: What Is Sublimity?
According to author Virginia Fenelon, writing in the December 1924 issue of Character Reading, Sublimity is the brain center responsible for our love of the majestic, the terrible, and the grand. It governs our attraction to natural wonders, our tendency toward exaggeration, and our need for freedom and expansiveness in all things.
Fenelon located this center “above the front of the ears, where the hat band rests.” In the character reading system, a person with a wide head at this point possessed an abundance of Sublimity. These individuals, the article explained, could not stand the small, the stingy, or the petty. They operated on a grander scale than ordinary mortals.
The magazine called Sublimity the source of the world’s “beautiful lies“—but not lies in the sense of deception. Rather, these were the embellishments that made life more vivid, more memorable, more sublime.
“The boy who makes a lion out of a dog in his description is acting under Sublimity—he is not lying or deceiving,” Fenelon wrote. The article argued passionately that society often crushes the spirit of young inventors, artists, and visionaries by punishing them for exaggeration, when in fact they are simply perceiving the world through a different lens—one that sees potential, majesty, and grandeur where others see only the ordinary.
This was revolutionary thinking for an era when children were typically expected to be “seen and not heard” and strict adherence to facts was considered a moral virtue. The 1924 analysis suggested that what adults dismissed as childish exaggeration might actually be the early stirrings of creative genius.
The Architecture of Awe: Lifestyle and Preferences
The character reading system didn’t stop at abstract personality traits. It made bold, specific predictions about how Sublimity would manifest in everyday life. These lifestyle preferences paint a vivid picture of the “Sublime” personality type:
Housing Preferences: People with large Sublimity actively dislike “tiny apartments” and cramped quarters. They dream of “tall, stately rooms on a mountain top, overlooking the water, where the big silver moon can look in at night.” This wasn’t mere snobbery—it was a psychological need for space, elevation, and connection to natural grandeur. In the 1920s, when apartment living was becoming increasingly common in American cities, this distinction would have resonated with readers trying to understand their own housing dissatisfaction.
Automobile Choices: In an age when car ownership was still relatively new and expanding rapidly, the Sublime personality had specific automotive requirements. They didn’t want a “small four cylinder motor”—they wanted something “big and powerful, even if it is a second-hand car.” This preference for power over newness, for substance over appearances, revealed deeper values. The 1920s saw the automobile transform from luxury item to necessity, and character readers believed your car choice revealed your inner nature.
Natural Phenomena: Those blessed (or cursed) with Sublimity are irresistibly drawn to nature’s most dramatic displays. They seek out “the appalling splendor of the sunset” and “the tremendous storm.” They are captivated by “the vast sky and ocean.” While others might prefer a gentle spring day, the Sublime personality craves the terrible beauty of nature at its most powerful—thunder, lightning, crashing waves, and towering mountains.
Language and Expression: The article notes that Sublime individuals naturally use grand phrases: “the unspeakable horror—the appalling splendor of the sunset—the fierce power of the big motor—the huge millions to be made in oil.” They speak in superlatives not to show off, but because this is their natural register. They experience life more intensely and need bigger words to capture those experiences.
Physical Signs of Sublimity: Reading the Face and Form
The 1924 character reading system placed great emphasis on physical indicators—external signs that supposedly revealed internal traits. For Sublimity, these included:
Large, expressive eyes that could convey deep emotion and take in the grandeur of the world around them.
Wide nostrils that turn back to catch the air—a particularly specific and curious detail. This physical feature was thought to indicate a nature that craves freedom, fresh air, and unrestricted breathing. In an era before air conditioning, when windows were open and fresh air was considered essential to health, this detail would have seemed more significant to 1920s readers.
A full voice that is “not hampered by artificiality, affectation and fear of what people will say.” The Sublime person speaks naturally and powerfully, unconcerned with social constraints that might diminish their authentic expression.
Flowing garments were the preferred dress. The article notes that “active sublimity causes us to yearn for flowing garments without fussiness or tight binding.” This observation aligns with 1920s fashion trends—the decade when women’s clothing became dramatically looser and more comfortable, abandoning the corsets and restrictive garments of previous eras.
Alice Joyce: The Perfect Sublime Specimen
The magazine used Alice Joyce, one of the most popular silent film actresses of the 1920s, as its prime example of Sublimity in action. Joyce appeared in over 200 films between 1910 and 1930 and was known for her elegant beauty and emotional depth on screen.
The analysis noted her “beautiful, normal amount of Sublimity,” evidenced by her “turned back delicate nostril.” The article declared: “She loves freedom and natural beauty and dignity more than she does small, petty decorations. Such a nature is magnanimous.”
For 1920s readers, seeing a beloved film star analyzed this way made the abstract concept tangible. Joyce’s visible physical features—features they could observe in publicity photos—supposedly confirmed the character reading theory. This combination of celebrity culture and pseudoscience made for compelling reading material.
Sublimity as Creative Force: Invention, Literature, and Oratory
Perhaps most intriguingly, the 1924 analysis positioned Sublimity as one of the inventive faculties. Fenelon argued that many young inventors had been “ruined before they were eight years old, by a mother who punished him for inventing ‘sublime’ descriptions of things.”
This was a bold claim in an era of strict parenting and moral education. The article suggested that what looked like lying might actually be the workings of a creative, inventive mind—and that crushing this tendency in childhood could destroy future genius. The aside that such a child “might even rise to be an advertising man some day” is particularly telling. In the 1920s, advertising was a new, booming profession that valued creative exaggeration and grand claims. What previous generations called dishonesty, the modern world was beginning to see as marketable talent.
The article also identified Sublimity as central to imagination, great literature, and oratory. This connected it to the highest cultural achievements while also explaining why Sublime individuals might struggle with mundane tasks or “stingy, miserly small acts.”
Interestingly, the piece recommended that “a good course in public speaking develops sublimity,” while “fear and timidity suppress it.” This practical advice reflected the 1920s enthusiasm for self-improvement courses, public speaking clubs (like Toastmasters, founded in 1924), and the belief that personality traits could be cultivated and strengthened through practice.
The Psychology Behind the Pseudoscience
While modern neuroscience has thoroughly debunked the idea that personality traits are located in specific external regions of the skull, the 1924 Sublimity analysis captures something genuine about human temperament. What they were describing—in the language and framework available to them—resembles what contemporary psychology might call:
- High openness to experience (one of the Big Five personality traits)
- Sensation-seeking personality types
- Aesthetic sensitivity and attraction to beauty
- Tendencies toward maximalism rather than minimalism
- Strong responses to natural stimuli and awe-inspiring experiences
The character reading movement’s mistake wasn’t in noticing that these traits clustered together in certain individuals—it was in believing they could locate them physically in the skull and that head measurements could reveal them.
Cultural Context: Why Sublimity Mattered in the 1920s
The 1920s fascination with Sublimity makes particular sense in its historical moment. This was the decade when:
- National parks were becoming popular destinations, with car tourism making natural wonders accessible to the middle class
- Romantic and Gothic literature remained hugely popular, celebrating exactly the kind of sublime landscapes and dramatic emotions the article describes
- Silent films were creating larger-than-life visual experiences, particularly through spectacular nature cinematography and melodramatic storytelling
- Advertising culture was learning to sell products through grand claims and emotional appeals rather than just practical facts
The Sublime personality type—someone who lived large, spoke in superlatives, and craved grand experiences—was both celebrated and needed in this era of expansion and possibility.
Living with Sublimity Today
While we no longer measure head width to assess personality, the core insight remains relevant: some people genuinely are drawn to grandeur, majesty, and awe-inspiring experiences in ways others aren’t.
Are you a seeker of the Sublime? Here are the signs, translated for the modern era:
- You prefer dramatic weather over bland, perfect days
- You’d rather live in an interesting space with character than a practical but boring one
- You tell stories that capture the emotional truth even if the facts get slightly amplified
- You’re drawn to mountains, storms, oceans, and other powerful natural phenomena
- You prefer big, powerful experiences—in art, in nature, in life—over small, safe ones
- You sometimes exaggerate not to deceive, but because your internal experience genuinely was that intense
- You find petit, stingy, or small-minded behavior physically uncomfortable
- You dream of adventure, travel, and freedom more than security and routine
The 1924 analysis may have gotten the neuroscience wrong, but it captured something true about human diversity—the fact that we don’t all experience beauty, danger, and grandeur in the same way.
Want to read the complete original 1924 article?
Download the full high-resolution Character Reading Magazine (December 1924-January 1925) and explore all the fascinating personality theories, character analyses, and gorgeous vintage illustrations from this rare metaphysical psychology publication. Use the images and articles however you like!
Original Text: Sublimity—The Interesting Brain Center
(Transcribed from the December 1924 Issue of Character Reading)
Alice Joyce has a beautiful, normal amount of Sublimity, as we can see by her turned back delicate nostril. She loves freedom and natural beauty and dignity more than she does small, petty decorations. Such a nature is magnanimous.
NOBILITY, innocence, originality, naivete! Big words, extravagant phrases, powerful oratory!
These things all come from the interesting brain center in us, called Sublimity.
Sublimity has its home in the human head above the front of the ears, where the hat band rests, and when we have an abundance of this quality in us, our head is wide at this point.
Sublimity furnishes the world with its beautiful lies!
Its owner does not intend to lie—he simply sees things on such a big scale that he exaggerates them. He is noble and generous, most often; he wants to make us experience the same joy he did on a certain trip. If he climbed a hill 1,000 feet above sea level he makes it 2,000 in the telling.
Sublimity is the lover of the majestic, the terrible, the startling. The vast sky and ocean—the tremendous storm, the unspeakable horror—the appalling splendor of the sunset—the fierce power of the big motor—the huge millions to be made in oil—he uses these phrases as naturally as a child drinks milk.
Sublimity is one of the inventive faculties in us. Many a young inventor has been ruined before he was eight years old, by a mother who punished him for inventing “sublime” descriptions of things. The boy who makes a lion out of a dog in his description is acting under Sublimity—he is not lying or deceiving. It is destructive and cruel to punish the young inventor. He might even rise to be an advertising man some day.
Sublimity is one of the centers of imagination and great literature as well as oratory. It dislikes the stingy, the misery small act. It wants freedom, travel, adventure, lofty ideas, natural people. Active sublimity causes us to yearn for flowing garments without fussiness or tight binding. A woman with large sublimity dislikes a tiny apartment, and dreams of tall, stately rooms on a mountain top, overlooking the water, where the big silver moon can look in at night.
The man with large sublimity doesn’t care for a small four cylinder motor. He wants it big and powerful, even if it is a second-hand car.
Sublimity gives as a rule, large expressive eyes, and wide nostrils which turn back to catch the air. The voice is full and not hampered by artificiality, affectation and fear of what people will say.
A good course in public speaking develops sublimity. Fear and timity suppress it.
Want to read the complete original 1924 article?
Download the full high-resolution Character Reading Magazine (December 1924-January 1925) and explore all the fascinating personality theories, character analyses, and gorgeous vintage illustrations from this rare metaphysical psychology publication. Use the images and articles however you like!
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