Shards of Glass

There is something fascinating about mirrors.

Any type of mirror - whether on the wall, the reflection in a window pane, or the mystical depths of a puddle - creates a sense of wonder and curiosity.

Do you ever imagine that your reflection has it's own personality? Perhaps there is an entire world on the other side of the glass, however distorted and shimmery and cold it might be.

You'll notice mirrors and glass and pools like this have a role in many, many fairy tales or children's stories. Here are a few that come to mind:

• Through the Looking Glass (Lewis Carroll)
• Lewis creates a whole world beyond the mirror
• Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs (Grimm Brothers)
• the queen is constantly asking the mirror to affirm her beauty 
• The Snow Queen (Hans Christian Anderson)
• a shard of glass enters the boys eye and distorts his vision of the world 
• The Magicians Nephew (C.S. Lewis) 
• the pools between worlds 
• The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien)
• Galadriel's magic mirror
• Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery) 
• Anne's imaginary friend, Katie Maurice, is Anne's reflection in the cupboard window. 
• Black as Night (Regina Doman)
• In this modern retelling of Snow White, the mirror is explored in a philosophical way, often behaving as a screen to hide the truth

I'm sure there are a number of other examples, these were just a few that came to mind. Whether it's self-image, perspective of the world, or a source of magical power, the quality of a mirror has been a subject of reflection (both literally and considerately) for many authors, philosophers, imaginers, and dreamers. 

As a child I would sometimes frighten myself by turning off the lights and looking at my reflection in the (almost) darkness. It was easy to imagine something sinister lurking there in the shadows. Inevitably I would shudder horribly and swiftly turn the lights back on. 

While mirrors are probably innocent of guile, it seems that in most stories they take on a dark, sinister  quality: trapping, distorting, deceiving,  reversing. Mirrors can warp truth in such a way as to provide conflict, almost as if they are a character in themselves. 

It occurs to me that there is something of a mirror in our subconscious: do we not often convince ourselves of feelings or responses that are not in fact real? We often have to learn how to navigate our own thoughts so as not to become lost in the maze of fantasy that threatens our security and control. 

We can choose what to believe is real. 

"Looking-glass, looking-glass, on the wall,
Who in this land is the fairest of all?"
~Brothers Grimm (Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs)