The Impact of the Mirror in Perelandra - Kate Bennett

 In class the other week, we discussed a scene from Perelandra that has really resonated with me as I continue through this course. Towards the end of the book, Weston - or the ‘Un-Man’ - offers the Lady a mirror. At this point, the Lady had never seen a mirror, nor had she ever even seen a reflection of her own face. The ‘person’ looking back at her in the mirror was completely unfamiliar. So unfamiliar that she didn’t even attribute the reflection to being a part of herself. Taken back in fear, she utters, “things being two when they are one. That thing is me (she pointed at the mirror) and not me” (117). Even as she is amazed by the phenomenon before her, however, she abandons the mirror shortly after, failing to understand why Weston was so insistent that she keep it. I’m not sure of Lewis’ intention for this scene, but I found it to be empowering nonetheless. Weston, who has always failed to connect with the beings he encounters, falls short of successfully fooling the Lady, as the Lady seemingly became content enough in herself. 

I can’t imagine what it would be like to discover the look of my own face for the first time. I can safely say that I would be much more fearful, and intrigued, than she appeared to be at the time. It’s interesting that the Lady didn’t understand the value of keeping the object that was supposedly being gifted to her. Lewis explains in the book that the Lady is unfamiliar with the concept of keeping it altogether, as procedures are different on Perelandra. This reminds me of the conversations we had in class about our first memories, our first experience with fiction literature, our first life lessons and more. What seems to come to us so naturally now, was something that we had to learn and adjust to years ago. In Perelandra, the Lady handled the interaction with Weston amazingly. She may not have realized her impact on the dynamic then, but it made a crucial ripple in the tidal wave that was forming throughout the book. As Lewis notes, “the image of her beautiful body had been offered to her only as a means to awaken the far more perilous image of her great soul” (118).

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