Mirrors – There’s Much More There Than Meets The Eye
Mirrors are taken for granted because they are now a necessity of life. If you have ever been somewhere and needed a mirror, but there wasn’t one, you know this to be true. How could we possibly prepare for a day in the real world without a mirror? Let’s take a look at mirrors.
The History of Mirrors
Mirrors, also known as looking glasses, have existed since prehistoric times. However, they weren’t always made of glass, so the term looking glass is from a modern age.
In prehistoric times, the first mirrors were likely surfaces of still water or shiny stones. Imagine the reaction of the first person to observe their own reflection on the surface of a calm lake. Probably two thoughts ran through his mind if it was a man: 1) Wow! I am a handsome dude, and 2) I have to invent a mirror before someone else does. Okay, enough of my musings. What is the true history of mirrors?
The first manufactured mirrors were made from polished obsidian or volcanic glass. Obsidian mirrors have been found in modern-day Turkey dating back to 6000 BCE. Mirrors of polished copper were manufactured in Mesopotamia from 4000 BCE and in Egypt from 2000 BCE. Bronze mirrors were used in China from 2000 BCE, but their reflection was of poor quality, and they didn’t reflect colour well.
The first evidence of glass being used for mirrors is from the third century. Due to their production method, these early glass mirrors did not have perfectly flat surfaces. They were either slightly concave or convex, thereby distorting the image. They were small, of poor quality, and very expensive, so mirrors in common use continued to be made of polished metal. Improvements in glassmaking technology have led to the manufacture of the glass mirrors of today.
The Images in Mirrors
Mirrors produce mere reflections based on the physical position of the person viewing the image. Two people looking at the mirror from different positions will see different reflections.
Due to the images seen in a mirror being only reflections, they are not the reality of what another person would see when looking at us directly. The reflections are the opposite. If a person raises their left hand while looking in a mirror, the reflection in the mirror appears to be raising its right hand. Graphic T-shirts will have the printing appear backward in the mirror reflection. If you part your hair on the left side, the reflection appears with hair parted on the right side. Tattoos or birthmarks will . . . well, you get the idea. So, mirror reflections are the opposite of reality.
The Many Uses of Mirrors
Crawling out of bed half asleep and preparing for the day is not the only purpose of mirrors. However, vanity mirrors do seem to be a necessity of life. Most people in Western cultures have a shower or bath in the morning before leaving the house. They dry off and deal with their hair. Most women brush their hair, and men comb whatever they have left. You can’t do that without a mirror. Then men shave and women primp. For any grooming, a mirror is essential.
But there are so many other uses for mirrors in today’s society. Driving can be dangerous enough with all the lunatics on the road, but can you imagine how much more dangerous it would be without mirrors? Rearview mirrors allow you to see who’s behind you, honking their horn and giving you the finger. You can also see where you just came from to decide if you ever want to return.
Mirrors are essential in dentistry. Even with their little mirror shoved in my mouth, I’m still worried they will drill or remove the wrong tooth. It’s happened to others before, but imagine how much more likely it would be without the little mirror to guide them. It’s just one of the many tools dentists have at their disposal, but a very important one indeed.
Let’s talk about the disco craze of the 80’s. It wasn’t only about the music because a lot of the songs were just manufactured, repetitive crap. It was every bit as much about the ambience. Without the many-coloured strobing lights and disco balls, disco itself would have faded into oblivion. Oh wait, it did just that. Disco balls are spheres of various diameters covered with tiny mirrors to reflect the strobing lights. Without disco balls, the Bee Gees probably wouldn’t have been as successful in the era of Disco.
Mirrors in Literature and Other Entertainment
Even though mirror reflections are backward images of the natural world, there is a saying that mirrors don’t lie, especially if they are magical mirrors. Mirrors are a mainstay in the entertainment world, especially in works related to fantasy and horror.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
I’m sure you are all familiar with the tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, or at least the Disney version. It’s all about a princess whose father, the king, had recently passed away, leaving her in the care of her wicked stepmother. Anyway, Miss White, or Snow, if you will, ran away from the palace to live in a cabin in the woods with seven little men, a strange living arrangement, to be sure.
The Queen was jealous of Snow’s extreme beauty. (There appears to be some blended family issues here). She had a magic mirror, as many fairy tale queens do. Her mirror was all-knowing and obviously possessed. The Evil Queen would ask the mirror, “Who is the fairest in all the land?” The mirror’s diplomatic answer was, “Not you, my Queen!” (The mirror had no fear of the Queen because it was a magic mirror.) It said the princess, her stepdaughter, was the fairest in all the land.
In Snow White’s time, fairest meant most beautiful. So, she must have been incomparably beautiful to be the most beautiful in all the land. Anyway, back to the jealous Queen. She wasn’t happy with the mirror’s response. So, she ordered the mirror to hire a hitman to kill the princess and for him to bring her the heart of the princess as proof that the deed was done. Well, the huntsman was a cool guy, so he killed a wild boar instead and took the boar’s heart to the Queen as proof. Apparently, princess hearts and pig hearts are indistinguishable.
That’s all of the story I remember. So, if you want to know the ending, look it up. The purpose of this partial story is to explain the importance of mirrors in fairytales.
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Let’s move on to Alice Through the Looking Glass, a 2016 movie based on characters from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a children’s novel by Lewis Carroll from 1865. The book had a young girl named Alice see a white rabbit wearing a vest and anxiously looking at his pocket watch. She follows the rabbit down a rabbit hole to discover a weird and wonderful fantasyland. That must have been some powerful stuff that Lewis Carroll was smoking.
In the modern movie adaption, Alice, played by Anne Hathaway, steps through a looking glass to observe the weirdness. Johnny Depp stars as the Mad Hatter, and he is mad in the sense of insane. All of the characters from Lewis Carroll’s novel appear, including a full deck of playing card characters dancing and frolicking. Oh, the images we might see if we could get inside a mirror.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a classic Gothic novel by Oscar Wilde, published in 1891. To summarize, it’s about an aristocrat named Dorian Gray who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for never growing old. Instead, it’s his portrait that ages while Dorian himself remains young and virile. Dorian continues to live a free-spirited life while only his portrait ages. This story isn’t about a mirror specifically, but it’s about an image different from the person the picture portrays. It is the opposite of real life in which the image or portrait would remain the same while the subject ages.
Horror Movies
Last but not least, many horror movies evoke terror through mirrors. These movies, supposedly based on urban legends, are often so popular that they become a series of movies. After watching any of these mirror-related movies, you may be more careful what you say or do in front of a mirror.
Candyman is a supernatural horror series franchise of currently four movies. It states that if you recite his name three times in front of a mirror, this badass evil spirit appears in person to wreak havoc in your life. I have only seen the first movie of the series but as a warning., it’s enough to scare the living bejesus out of you.
Based on the above, it’s apparent that mirrors have a much more significant effect on our day-to-day lives than we could have imagined.
The above essay is for entertainment and English language study only. For suggestions on how to use this post to improve your English reading and listening comprehension, click here.
Vocabulary
- dude – N Amer. slang; noun; a person, usu. male; slang for a guy
- musing – noun; an expression of one’s thoughts or opinions; private thoughts; often silly or amusing
- concave – adjective; having an outline or surface curved like the interior of a circle or sphere; an inner curve
- convex – adjective; having an outline or surface curved like the exterior of a circle or sphere; an outer curve
- mere – adjective; insignificant, ordinary; only
- vanity – noun; excessive concern with one’s physical appearance; used as an adjective here to describe the purpose of the mirror
- primp – intransitive verb; make oneself well-groomed, esp. in a fussy or affected manner; be mildly obsessed with one’s physical appearance
- crap – course slang; noun; something without value; something that isn’t very good
- ambience – noun; the surroundings or atmosphere of a place; mood: atmosphere
- strobing – adjective; flashing on and off; moving back and forth quickly while flashing on and off (describing disco light in this context)
- oblivion – noun; the state of being forgotten or disregarded; forgotten or no longer considered important
- blended family – noun; when two families merge to become one, including stepparents and/or stepchildren
- incomparably – adverb; without an equal; no one can compare
- indistinguishable – adjective; not distinguishable; no obvious difference
- frolicking – intransitive verb (frolic); play and move about cheerfully, excitedly, or energetically; to dance or play without worry or cares
- virile – adjective; (of a person) full of strength, vigour, or energy typically attributed to men; describing a typical young man
- evoke – transitive verb; inspire or draw forth (memories, an image, feelings, a response, etc.); to scare or terrorize (in this context)
- urban legend – noun; an old story which may or may not be true
Comprehension Questions
- How many mirrors are there in your house?
- Mirror reflections are the opposite of reality.
True or False - Do you like disco music?
Yes or No - What is Miss White’s first name?
(a) Fair Weather, (b) Cloudy, (c) Rain, or (d) Snow - Is the person in the Evil Queen’s mirror male or female?
- What animal did the huntsman kill?
(a) a deer, (b) a wild boar, (c) a goat, or (d) a cougar - What did Dorian Gray sell to the devil?
(a) his walking cane, (b) his top hat, (c) his soul, or (d) his cat Reggie - Do you like horror movies?
Resources
- Wikipedia – Mirror
- Wikipedia – Magic Mirror (Snow White)
- Wikipedia – Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland
And Now For Your Listening Enjoyment
Now, here’s a song you may enjoy. It has nothing to do with anything except that the band’s name is Looking Glass (which also means mirror); it’s one of my favourite songs from my younger days. So, here’s Looking Glass singing their 1972 hit “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)”.
Lyrics
"Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)"
Recorded by Looking Glass (1972)
Written by Elliot Lurie
There's a port on a western bay
And it serves a hundred ships a day
Lonely sailors pass the time away
And talk about their homes
And there's a girl in this harbor town
And she works layin' whiskey down
They say, "Brandy, fetch another round"
She serves them whiskey and wine
The sailors say, "Brandy, you're a fine girl" (You're a fine girl)
What a good wife you would be (Such a fine girl)
Yeah your eyes could steal a sailor from the sea"
Brandy wears a braided chain
Made of finest silver from the north of Spain
A locket that bears the name
Of a man that Brandy loves
He came on a summer's day
Bringin' gifts from far away
But he made it clear he couldn't stay
No harbor was his home
The sailor said, "Brandy, you're a fine girl (You're a fine girl)
What a good wife you would be (Such a fine girl)
But my life, my love, and my lady is the sea"
Yeah, Brandy used to watch his eyes
When he told his sailor's story
She could feel the ocean fall and rise
She saw its ragin' glory
But he had always told the truth
Lord, he was an honest man
And Brandy does her best to understand
At night, when the bars close down
Brandy walks through a silent town
And loves a man who's not around
She still can hear him say
She hears him say, "Brandy, you're a fine girl (You're a fine girl)
What a good wife you would be (Such a fine girl)
But my life, my love, and my lady is the sea"
"Brandy, you're a fine girl (You're a fine girl)
What a good wife you would be (Such a fine girl)
But my life, my love, and my lady is the sea"
