The Lady in the Looking Glass: A Reflection
This is an interesting story because it deals with a lady looking at herself through a looking glass, or mirror. The lady is named as Isabella Tyson, however I believe this is a poem in which Virginia Woolf is talking about herself. The reason I believe this is because "Isabella" is admiring herself in a mirror. I believe this is how Virginia talked about herself through another character.
She first starts out by talking about the inside of the house. She talks about how the furniture is arranged and describes the house as nice. She mentions marble, and italian glass. The house seems to be one of an upper class family and is well furnished. Then she begins to talk about the outside of the house. She talks about the garden outside and about Isabella going out to pick flowers and things. She also mentions Isabella's age to be around 55-60. At the time this poem was written she would have been 47. So even though I believe she is talking about herself she changes up her character some.
Then the narrator really tries to dig down into Isabella's life. She realizes she is rich, and travels, but she feels by looking at her something is missing. Isabella is single also we find out. The narrator watches as the lady receives the mail, as if she is expecting something great, but then she says they were merely letters.
I believe the point Woolf was trying to make here is that just by looking at someone you do not really know who they are. You must dig down beyond the surface to understand a person's true meaning. Because just like Isabella on the surface she is rich, single, well spoken, etc. However, that does not necessarily mean she is happy. I think this is why early on the narrator says "People should not leave looking glasses hanging in their rooms any more than they should leave open cheque books or letters confessing some hideous crime" page 1224.
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3 comments:
Jenny,
This post shows you making a good effort to analyze an extremely challenging story. I think most of the time here you are on the right track, although I am confused as to whether you think the narrator of the story is Isabella or is another person observing Isabella. At times you seem to be saying both! There are two characters here, in fact, and Isabella is not the narrator.
I like that you ended your post with Woolf's cautionary words! You could always suppose that Woolf does not state the insignificance of mirrors, but rather warns that they are so influential that we must be careful of their power, perhaps by excluding them from our lifestyles. How can we really exclude all mirrors, literally and figuratively!? There's so much to be said about this piece!
I like the idea that mirrors are just as dangerous to lay around as check books. I didn't relize the age resemblance in Virginia and her character. Good point.
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