to what extent does the author use descriptions of zaroff's looks to define his character

Zaroff is a man of contradictions, both highly refined in manners and deeply uncivilized in morals. Rainsford notices that Zaroff is a man of distinction, an aristocrat and soldier who commands respect. Zaroff has a " cultivated voice," fine clothes, and "singularly handsome" features,

"Rainsford's first impression was that the man was singularly handsome; his second was that there was an original, almost bizarre quality about the general's face. He was a tall man past middle age, for his hair was a vivid white; but his thick eyebrows and pointed military mustache were as black as the night from which Rainsford had come. His eyes, too, were black and very bright. He had high cheekbones, a sharpcut nose, a spare, dark face--the face of a man used to giving orders, the face of an aristocrat." (The Most Dangerous Game)