Sylvia Plath’s “Mirror” How a Woman Matures Essay

Sylvia Plath’s poem â€Å"Mirror† is about a women maturing with time and her mirror is witness to her aging and her journey to finding herself. The mirror serves as a vivid portrayal of women’s life and stride through a very reliable persona, the mirror. Along her required journey she is faced with obstacles, such as herself and time ticking. All through life’s inconsistencies the mirror is the only one that does not hide her truth but reveals it to her even though she may not want to face reality. This poem is a representation of the idea that beauty lies in the hands of the beholder. The mirror only reflects the image to the woman, but it is the woman herself who is judging. The form of this poem is divided into two stanzas, one when the†¦show more content†¦A women bends over me† (9). She is mature and no longer is sheltered in her parents’ home; she is out in the real world. She is out in the world looking at her reflection searching for who she really is. She may be confused from all her past influences that have in some respect molded her. She may not be content with herself and is longing of an answer in her reflection; â€Å"Searching my reaches for what she really is† (10). When this woman now sees her reflection in the lake; a metaphor for adulthood, she is not happy with it. Why? Because the mirror â€Å"sees and swallows her reflection immediately† (2); leaving no room for â€Å"preconception† (1). The mirror is â€Å"not cruel only truthful† (4). Since she is not happy with the truth, she turns to candles or the moon, which Plath refers to as liars. The moon and the candles a have a correlating relationship because they are fickle and they are never constant. The moon has its different phases each month, and the candle’s wax always melts and eventually disappears. Unlike the mirror and it’s reflection which is always constant and never fickle. As the author reassures the reader in line (12) â€Å"I see her back, and it reflect it faithfully. â€Å"The author is implying that no matter what the women does the only thing the mirror does, is reflect the image to the woman, but it is the woman who is judging herself and unfortunately unhappy with who, and how she is. The poem â€Å"mirrors† is filled with word and imagesShow MoreRelatedThe Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath1211 Words   |  5 PagesSylvia Plath Research Paper Title The Bell Jar place[s] [the] turbulent months[of an adolescent’s life] in[to] mature perspective (Hall, 30). In The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath uses parallelism, stream of consciousness, the motif of renewal and rebirth, symbolism of the boundary-driven entrapped mentally ill, and auto-biographical details to epitomize the mental downfall of protagonist, Esther Greenwood. Plath also explores the idea of how grave these timeless and poignant issues can affect a fragileRead MoreThe Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath And Girl, Interrupted By Susanna Kaysen3528 Words   |  15 PagesA comparative literary study of the effect of mental illness on the central characters is the semi-autobiographical novels The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen. Comparing two women trying to deal with mental illness and are trying to cope with the mental pressures they put on themselves and by other people. Although the differences between these two novels are The Bell Jar shows Esther ’s life before she descends into mental illness whereas Susanna’s story is about