The Lady in the Looking Glass

The juxtaposition and conflict between perception and reality is the underlying theme that supports the narrative of “The Lady in the Looking Glass.” The story uses the character of Isabella to move through changing perceptions granted by the looking glass’s reflection. The constant shift of perception highlights the subjective nature of reality and the human experience.

The looking glass situated in Isabella Tyson’s drawing room offers a very particular vantage point: The narrator (and reader) can see her drawing room and a slice of her house and garden as reflected in the mirror. These physical attributes are discussed by the narrator as a means to understand who Isabella is. Not only that; the narrator engages with the extent to which these external things can be expressive of her as a person. Her extravagantly decorated home offers the conclusion that she is well traveled and rich, her garden and the fact that she is walking leisurely through it suggests that she is outside snipping flowers. The locked drawers represent the sense that Isabella herself is locked away, and that the