While the mirror is presented as purely objective in Sylvia Plath’s Mirror, the personification allows the poem to analyze the relation between human emotions and truth. The woman’s raw emotions are juxtaposed to the indifference of the mirror.

The first stanza of the poem emphasizes the mirror’s objective truth. It brings an indifferent tone saying, it has “no preconceptions” and is “unmisted by love or dislike” (Plath). The poem creates an interesting premise by personifying the mirror, but still exempting it from emotion. In most literature humanity is expressed by the ability to feel and care; however the mirror has the ability to think, but remains entirely indifferent. As one point, when talking about the opposing wall, the mirror says, “I think it is a part of my heart,” (Plath). While the heart is usually associated with love, this statement from the mirror simply means the wall is a part of it, since it is always reflecting it. The mirror thinks of it as a part of itself simply because of how long the wall has been there, not because of some sort of emotional bond. This first stanza establishes the mirror as a reflection of reality with no opinion of its own.

The second stanza introduces a woman who is brought into the story to juxtapose the mirror with the depth of her emotions. Her emotions are expressed through, “tears and an agitation of hands,” (Plath). The woman expresses her humanity in these actions, while the mirror simply stands as a witness. While the woman frequently returns to the mirror, “It [it] she has drowned a young girl, and in [it] an old woman,” (Plath). While the first stanza had elaborated on the mirror staying, this stanza explains how the woman returns and changes. The woman’s humanity is shown through growth, change, and feeling. The mirror juxtaposes these ideas as a silent observer reflecting what it sees.

The relationship between the mirror and the woman is created to illuminate the aspects of humanity in the woman. She may be disheartened by the mirror, but the object itself cannot be blamed. As shown in the woman, humanity has the opportunity to change, while a mirror can only truthfully display what is. The woman can take what it reflects and form her own judgement, but the mirror’s purpose is not to judge, only to reflect.