The Mirror

The mirror symbolizes perception. The mirror is the poem's speaker, main character, provider of the woman's reflection, and metaphor through which Plath contemplates aging and identity. On one hand, the mirror functions as a medium for objectivity; when one looks in the mirror, what they see is what they are. The mirror is "silver and exact," with "no preconceptions," "unmisted by love or dislike" (1-3). As impartial as the mirror makes itself out to be, however, it also imparts pain and distress, which the woman extricates from its reflection. The mirror therefore becomes a complex symbol, being simultaneously objective but also reminding whoever looks in its reflection of their impending death and old age. The mirror's multi-function as a symbol, metaphor, speaker, and idea challenges the reader to question whether true objectivity can ever exist.

The Woman

The woman symbolizes mortality. An important counterpart to...