Virginia Woolf

Viginia Woolf had a very hard and painful childhood. She continually had emotional breakdowns which ended up in her committing suicide. When she was a child, her mother died then her substitute mother, then her father, and also her brother. I can understand why she was having breakdowns because I could not imagine having to deal with all of this loss. I strongly believe that all of these events in her life had a great deal of impact in her works. One story that I felt was very impacted was "The Lady in the Looking-Glass: A Reflection".

While I was reading this story, I did not completely understand the significance of it. It was not until the last couple of lines that I think I was able to come up with an idea of what it was about. In the beginning, Woolf makes it perfectly clear that it is not good to have a looking glass in ones home. I did not understand why a looking glass would be a bad thing because every home has a mirror.

I am still not sure who the speaker of this story is supposed to be. I know it can not be Isabella because she is the one that is being talked about, so maybe someone else is in the house observing all of the events taking place. This speaker talks about the characteristics of this mirror. In the introduction, I learned that Woolf likes to give ordinary objects some kind of subject. It seems like the mirror has two different sides. It can tell the complete truth by imitating common orjects that are placed in front of it such as the letters that are placed on the table. It can also show things that do not seem to be there. "The room that afternoon was full of such shy creatures, lights and shadows, curtains blowing, petals falling".

After introducing the mirror, the speaker introduces the woman that the story is about, Isabella Tyson. She is between the ages of 55 and 60, and she supposedly leads a good life because of all the riches that she has. She has never married but it seems that she has been in love before, "she had never married, and yet, judging from the mask like indifference of her face, she had gone through twenty times more of passion and experience than those whose loves are trumpeted forth for all the world to hear".

This story continues with trying to find the inner truth of Isabella which seems to have never been done before. She is a very quite person who seems like she lives a perfect life. One line that really struck me was "To cut an overgrown branch saddened her because it had once lived, and life was dear to her. Yes, and at the same time the fall of the branch would suggest to her how she must die herself and all the futility and evanescence of things". After reading this, I felt like this was Woolf talking. She had gone through so many deaths in her life and I think this is her talking about the importance of life. This is one of those times that her personal tragedies had an impact on her personal beliefs and writings.

It is not until the end of this story that the truth is revealed. Once Isabella stands in front of the looking glass naked, it can read her truth, "And there was nothing. Isabella was perfectly empty. She had no thoughts". This is a harsh reality, but it is seen that money cannot buy happiness. I think there are times when Woolf feels alone due to her losses and maybe Isabella is a side of her personality. Most people do not like to hear the truths about themselves and it can be a very painful process. I think that is why this story is advocating not have looking-glasses in ones room because of the truth they can bring.