Beaty Is Within

BEAUTY IS WITHIN

Windows, puddles, glasses and gold are all means of showing ones reflection. The reflections we see are true representations of our own existence. No matter what it is that shows our reflection, it cannot lie. In the poem "Mirror", Sylvia Plath reveals that all mirrors show the truth. She shows the thoughts and emotions that a mirror would emit. Plath makes you look inward to notice how you present yourself not only to the mirror but also to yourself, whether it be beauty or beast. She utilizes symbolism, imagery and metaphors to present the true meaning of the mirror.

The mirror in the poem symbolizes truth. Everyone has certain flaws, and no matter what, the mirror cannot hesitate to show them. The mirror is characterized as "... not cruel, only truthful."(line 4). Unlike humans that have judged her and lied to her about her appearance, the mirror cannot. Plath uses personification to give the mirror the divine characteristic of sight. She writes that the mirror has "The eye of a little god..."(line 5). By stating this, Plath is telling the reader that a mirror, although it can be thought of as mocking and humiliating, is nothing but a mirror image. This shows us that the only discrepancy that we see in a mirror is not made by the mirror, but is created by our own psyche, self-conscience, and self-perceptions. A mirror is just a projection of what we think and feel about ourselves. It may be an image that comes from another's perception of us or not. Everything that comes in front of the mirror is absorbed and reflected without any possible distortion. The mirror states, "Whatever I see I swallow immediately"(line 2). There is no way that the mirror could resist reproducing exactly what it sees, even if it wanted to.

Plath also uses the mirror to symbolize youth, which was once visible. Most of the time the mirror is alone, on line 9 where she states, "Faces and darkness separate us over and over", with hardly anything to reflect. It is sad and unsure of itself as it sits in the boring, motionless room. Plath is showing a comparison here about how the mirror and the woman are alike; very lonely at times and insecure. The mirror waits for a new image to display, as it is curious about the wall across the way. The mirror has visions of the wall across the way, "It is pink, with speckles... I think it is part of my heart"(line 7-8). The pink is a symbol of her once known beauty when she was young. Now that youth is fading, so is the pink on the wall. "... it flickers" (line 8). The mirror is alive, yet, only when she is looking into it. The mirror's heart beats only temporarily when needed, which is why the paper on the wall has speckles and flickers.

The mirror is transformed as the setting of the poem shifts from inside with a household mirror, to outside with the lake performing the task of reflecting. Sylvia Plath uses this different type of mirror to give variety of the truth that all mirrors symbolize. Whether the mirror is made of water or glass, it radiates the honesty it cannot deny. The lake is displeasing to her. No matter where the woman goes, no mirror can make her happy with her reflection. The lake shows the emotion and sympathy that all mirrors lack for anyone it sees. The lake being fluid is more forgiving than the mirror, which is a cold and hard surface. Plath shows this as the women cries, " She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands"(line 14). The lake takes the tears as a gift, while not even considering the feelings of the poor woman. The agitation of her hands is frustration of the way she looks, she wants so badly to see a more beautiful face. As the woman looks in this mirror, the years seemingly pass. The young girl transforms from youth, into an old woman and loses all that she has fretted over and over about throughout her life. Each day, she is reminded by the mirror of her lost youth and beauty that was once projected back at her so faithfully.

Plath uses words like candles, moon and fish, for the metaphors in her poem. Candles and moon portray the opposite of a mirror, meanwhile the word fish is quite unique. It is really a shock to see it at the end of the poem; this word helps to explain what the woman really looks like. Candles and the moon are referred to as liars and used as metaphors because they reveal only the shadows of an image. Even when the woman is away from the mirror, she is unable to escape the reality when she faces it in nature. The shadows give no real detail, they cannot show any exact features, at all. It is as if she looks toward the moon and candles and longs for the romance that she once had, but has lost, as her youth faded. A candle is a tool that gives light, usually