While looks and beauty were very important in the ancient Grecian times, Socrates broke the mold when it came to the beauty standards of his day. As noted to his appearance in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Socrates "had wide-set, bulging eyes that darted sideways and enabled him, like a crab, to see not only what was straight ahead, but what was beside him as well; a flat, upturned nose with flaring nostrils; and large fleshy lips like an ass." Despite the hair trends of his area, he grew his hair out and refused to stay clean or change his clothes. Amy Levy includes these details to accentuate the contrast between societal expectations and individual worth. Men like Socrates could be physically unconventional or even “ugly” and still admired for their intellect, yet there was no equivalent space for women to be recognized for their minds. A woman’s value was tied to her beauty and social conformity. By presenting Socrates’ unconventionality alongside the phrase “half with awe,” Levy highlights the tension between superficial judgment and true merit, a tension mirrored in "Xantippe: A Fragment", where women’s intellectual and emotional lives were historically ignored or dismissed.