Take Down Your Mirrors: Virginia Woolf

Woolf was a very powerful female writer. She felt like an outsider because of the expectation of women. Women were not supposed to be formally educated, so she was in a realm of educated men. She was full of wisdom despite the limitations of her experience and education. Early on, Woolf discovered that "voyaging out had become a matter of voyaging within." (1222) This statement is true on many different levels. First off, this statement just drips of modernism. Secondly, my fiction teacher always used to say that writing about what you know is usually the best way to go. The genuine, natural writing style is easier for people to relate to and allows for more ambiguity.
Reading Woolf's biography gives insight to the inspiration for much of her work. Her mother died when she was only thirteen and caused her to have a mental breakdown. I am not sure if I would have a mental breakdown, but I would certainly be emotionally crushed if my mother passed away. She also dealt with the loss of her father and a brother as well. Thus, loss of loved ones was near and dear to Virginia's heart. The other issue that she wrestled with in her writing frequently was feeling no sense of belonging and trapped within a stereotypical expectation of women.
Her marriage was formed of two people that felt out of place. The devotion that they had to each other was romantic and ideal. He helped her find her place in the literary world. The thing that most saddened me was her death. She killed herself so her husband would not have to deal with another mental breakdown. Was she not concerned that she might be the cause of his mental breakdown or further digression into isolation? In my opinion, her suicide was a selfish escape, masked by her thinking she was doing him a favor.
The Lady in the Looking-Glass: A Reflection is perfect example of modernism. Beautiful descriptions of a room open the story. A woman named Isabella is seen in the reflection of the mirror. The majority of the poem is the narrator trying to figure out Isabella. She appears perfect in the muted view of the mirror. The narrator seems to have been observing her for sometime, hopefully as a friend and not a stalker. The tone suggests a sense of innocent curiosity about the mysterious girl. The lights of the room are constantly changing and the narrator cannot seem to define the rhythm of the room. In the same sense, he sees Isabella as an undefinable presence. The narrator sees only her outward appearance, but knows that there must be more to this woman: "The comparison showed how very little, after all these years, one knew about her; for it is impossible that any woman of flesh and blood of fifty-five or sixty should be really a wreath or a tendril." (1224) This statement applies to not only Isabella but also to Virginia. She is more than just an aesthetically pleasing object like society viewed her. Women were often treated as objects and that's one reason that Virginia felt out of place. The narrator seems to credit Isabella with similar death. He speaks of letters that are stored in her like metaphorical locked cabinets or drawers. No one can see her inner workings, but he still senses their presence and longs to encounter them. Isabella's exterior is described as well-kept and adorned. Her interior still remains the most desired to discover. He defined her as: "she was one of those reticent people whose minds hold their thoughts enmeshed in clouds of silence--she was filled with thoughts." (1227) Her mind is imagined to have the same fluid-like quality of the light in her room. The curiosity of the narrator is increasingly heightened as he attempts to "get into her head".
In the end, she is naked physically and metaphorically in front of the mirror. She does not see any light or depth within herself. When she gazes into the mirror, all she sees is emptiness.
I think this poem is very easy to relate to. Image is an important issue to women even today. We may have more liberties and freedoms, but we are still enslaved by an expectation of how women should be. Women are still treated like aesthetic objects, hence why there are so many plastic surgery options and diet pills. Mirrors are still dangerous for women. Image distortion is a common suffering for women. Emptiness is still reflected back through mirrors. However, I have a very cool, curvy mirror from IKEA, so I will probably keep mine anyways.