Monday, May 5, 2014

"Mirror" by Sylvia Plath

Mirror
Sylvia Plath

I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see, I swallow immediately.
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike
I am not cruel, only truthful –
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.
It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
I think it is a part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over.

Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me.
Searching my reaches for what she really is.
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.
I see her back, and reflect it faithfully
She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
I am important to her. She comes and goes.
Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.


Appearances have become a central focus to our current society. We witness both women and men fretting over their looks emphasizing the importance of appearances. Therefore, this poem addresses the theme of appearances and truth through a mirror. The mirror is first described as “silver and exact” (Plath 1). The color silver represents the comprise between the colors black and white so it is often associated with neutrality and objectivity. Therefore, Plath mentions the color gray and the word “exact” to express the mirror's objectivity. Furthermore, the mirror's objectivity is reiterated when Plath describes the mirror as truthful and sincere. Plath hopes to depict mirrors in the first stanza as truthful objects which she will later contradict at the second stanza. Nevertheless, Plath goes on to describe the mirror as possessing “the eye of a little god” conveying the mirror's superiority (5). A mirror is a truthful object that does not lie and is characterized as pure and innocent. By emphasizing the purity of the mirror, Plath is saying that in the beginning of our lives we focus on our appearances in an innocent manner. To add on to her claim, she humanizes the mirror by quoting “I think it is a part of my heart” (8). Plath then creates a shift in her poem at the beginning of the second stanza. She now calls and characterizes the mirror as “a lake” (10). It is interesting to note that Plath describes the mirror as a lake because she is implying that the mirror is now subjective and flawed. When someone look for their reflection on the lake, their appearances can often be distorted. Therefore, Plath creates this significant shift regarding mirrors and appearances. She then introduces a woman who constantly looks at the mirror for support. However, this woman is not even satisfied by the mirror so she “turns to those liars, the candles or the moon” (12). The mirror is obviously not satisfied with the woman's actions since it calls the candles and moon as liars. The mirror is disappointed and a little bit offended that the woman attempts to distort her appearance. Previously, the mirror was used to telling the truth but this woman rejects the truth. Because the mirror sees great distress and anxiety from the woman, it begins to evaluate its value and innocence. The mirror finally realizes that its innocent and pure nature is being stripped away by the woman. The woman relies on the mirror to feel better about herself pressuring the mirror to lie. The mirror feels responsible for the woman and wishes to be “important to her” (15). Yet, the mirror never gives in to this temptation and expresses the truth about the woman once again. The mirror states that the woman “drowned a young girl” meaning that the woman has killed her own innocent views on appearances (17). The woman's obsession on her appearance destroyed the real meaning of beauty and made her self-conscious. Now, the woman looks like a “terrible fish” conveying that her recognition of true beauty is gone forever (18).