Goethe's Use of the Mirror Image

Goethe's Use of the Mirror ImageAuthor(s): Rita TerrasSource: Monatshefte, Vol. 67, No. 4 (Winter, 1975), pp. 387-402Published by: University of Wisconsin PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30165181Accessed: 04/05/2010 12:21Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available athttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unlessyou have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and youmay use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained athttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=uwisc.Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printedpage of such transmission.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.University of Wisconsin Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toMonatshefte.http://www.jstor.org

GOETHE'S USE OF THE MIRROR IMAGERITA TERRASConnecticut CollegeIn the year 1823, upon receiving some news from Sesenheim, Goethe wrotea brief essay generally known as "Wiederholte Spiegelungen." In it Goethecontends that important events in a person's life will, in that person's mind,undergo a process of assimilation and purification which may be compared tothe natural phenomenon of multiple reflections. In the same manner as mirrorsare capable of reflecting light, a symbolic mirror is able to reflect not only man'sdeeds and thoughts, but also the history of art, the sciences, the Church, andthe political world. Multiple reflections (the German word "Spiegelungen" iswithout the double meaning present in the English word "reflections"), Goethesays, do not pale, but rather enhance and magnify events, making the mirror amost powerful instrument. Thus the natural, optical phenomenon of multiplereflections may serve the poet as a useful symbol.'Although Goethe did not come to these conclusions until late in his life, themirror image appears constantly in his work, from the earliest period in Leipzigup through the works of his old age, from the "Tugendspiegel"(1767) toWilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre (1829) and Faust II. And so the image of themirror has been suggested to be one of the more important images in Goethe'swork. Konrad Burdach and Franz Koch have interpreted Faust as well asGoethe's entire artistic endeavor as the reflection of a creative mirror (einesschaffenden Spiegels).2 More recently, Karl Schlechta devoted a whole chapterof his book on Goethe's Wilhelm Meister to reflections in a mirror. WilhelmEmrich in Die Symbolik von Faust HII calls the phenomenon of reflection one offour basic conditions (Zustinde) in Goethe's poetic work, while L.A. Willoughbyrecognizes the mirror as one of a small number of images which recur throughoutGoethe's life with remarkable persistence.3 Without wanting to argue thevalidity of previous interpretations of the mirror motif in Goethe's work, Ishould like, at this time, to investigate the mirror image in a much narrowersense than has been done in previous research. Conceiving the image as a vehicleI should like to concern myself with the various modes of its use.Of course, words such as "Spiegel," "Glas," "Kristall,""sich spiegeln,""wiederspiegeln,""Spiegelung,""Spiegelbild" frequently occur where the mirrorimage is used. However, in examining this image one cannot limit one'sconcern to instances of the specific use of these words. While it is true that lyricMonatshefte, John D. Workman Issue, Vol. 67, No. 4, 1975

Goethe's Use of the Mirror Image 389flected by the mirror's powers. As seer of secrets the mirror was believed to beable to predict the future, and as such it was often consulted in matters of love,fortune, and death. Mystics of all kinds saw the soul as a mirror receiving andreflecting God. The image of God and man-creator and creation-as mirror andreflection was secularized in the eighteenth century and the idea developed thatthe soul of an artist functions as the mirror of the world.9 It is in this contextthat the mirror image attains, perhaps, the status of a primordial image showing,indeed, many similarities with other primal images. Goethe's use of the mirrorimage in this context can easily be documented. Yet, Goethe's mirror imagerycannot be fully understood in these terms.If we differentiate between the mirror as a figurative image and the mirroras a structural image or device, we find, first of all, that the mirror is not usedprimarily as a figurative image in Goethe's work. It appears just as often as astructural image or device with the mirrored object forming the substance of theimagery. When used in this latter manner the mirror, while a powerful instrument,is merely a catalyst which owes its significance to that which it reflects. Inits structural function the mirror image seems to be rooted in conscious intellectualactivity rather than unconscious animation of the archetype. The structuralmirror image has little or no connection with tradition; its use is based onscientific insights. As such it is not a psychological, but rather an aestheticphenomenon.When used by Goethe as a figurative image the mirror appears either as asymbol of knowledge or as an image of vanity, bringing into focus the questionof woman's virtue. As a figurative image it is often surrounded by other imageswhich sharpen the intended meaning either by concurrence or by polarization.Its use is confined to lyric poetry and to the more lyrical passages in othergenres.When used as a structural image the mirror is almost invariably a quietobserver of man. While so complex an instrument as to be able to producemultiple, magnified, reversed, true, and distorted reflections, it itself remainscompletely in the background. As a matter of fact, the mirror is often notmentioned at all. Of importance is only its reflection. In its structural functionthe mirror image is most important as an instrument of self-realization, ofself-identification. As a structural device the mirror is invested with the power todisclose what cannot be otherwise formulated, and to induce action. Its impactis dramatic, and it occurs with greater frequency in Goethe's novels and plays. In1827 Goethe described in a letter to K.J.L. Iken what is essentially the structural-ratherthan the figurative-use of the mirror image: "Da sich manchesunserer Erfahrung nicht rund aussprechen und direkt mitteilen lat|t, so habe ichseit langem das Mittel gewahlt, durch einander gegentibergestellte und sichgleichsam ineinander abspiegelnde Gebilde den geheimen Sinn dem Aufmerkendenzu offenbaren."10 In this explanation Goethe does not even mentionthe mirror itself. What is important to him are reflections and cross-reflections

390 Terrascreated by invisible mirrors. In the same way, the emphasis in his essay "WiederholteSpiegelungen" lies with the reflections of the mirror, not with the mirroritself. Reflected and cross-reflected forms, as Goethe calls them, manifest themselvesin a variety of manners in his work. Frequently a poetic character seeshimself reflected in a fictitious character created by another author. He may alsohear about a fate similar to his own, or a real or imagined substitution of onecharacter by another may occur. Finally, a real Doppelganger may appearopposite the poetic character.In Die Laune des Verliebten (1768) the mirror image is used as a stylisticdevice when Egle scolds Amine for reading love novels and taking them asexamples for her behavior towards Eridon, who constantly bothers her with hisjealousy.Ein seufzender Roman zu dieser Zeit gelesen,Verdreht uns gar den Kopf; wir glauben uns zu finden,Wir wollen elend sein, wir wollen iiberwinden.Ein junges Herz nimmt leicht den Eindruck vom Roman,Allein, ein Herz, das liebt, nimmt ihn noch leichter an (IV, 15).The same motif, but considerably more elaborate, appears in Die Geschwisterand also in Werther. Marianne in Die Geschwister tells her brother:Ich weilm wohl noch, daif du manchmal lachtest, wenn ich Romane las: esgeschah einmal mit der Julie Mandeville, und ich fragte, ob der Heinrich,oder wie er heiimt, nicht ausgesehen habe wie du.-Du lachtest-das gefiel mirnicht .... Mir war's aber ganz ernsthaft: denn was die liebsten, die bestenMenschen waren, die sahen bei mir wohl alle aus wie du. Dich sah ich in demgrollen Garten spazieren, und reiten, und reisen, und sich duellieren. Dai3 ichebenso auch gestehe: wenn eine Dame recht hiibsch war und recht gut-undrecht verliebt-das war ich immer selbst.-... Unter allem konnte ich amwenigsten leiden, wenn sich ein paar Leute liebhaben und endlich kommtheraus, dafi sie verwandt sind oder Geschwister sind (IV, 367).Here the intriguing aspect of the mirror image lies in the fact that the reader isdefinitely aware of matters as they really stand. Marianne, meanwhile, seems torelate her phantasies in complete naivete, assuming that she speaks to her olderbrother, and without realizing that she loves him with all her heart, as one lovesa husband. At the same time, the fact that she sees her brother riding, duelling,in short taking part in activities which he, being what he is, could hardly beexpected to engage in, means that the reflection of her brother in the mirror ofthe novel allows Marianne to realize a potential in her brother that wouldotherwise remain hidden. Observe how the novels, disliked by Marianne, presentan exactly reversed picture of her own situation. In the novels people fall in loveonly to discover that they are related; Marianne assumes that she lives with herbrother only to discover that he is not her brother. Goethe's use of the mirrorimage here stays very close to the optical fact of reverse reflection.

Goethe's Use of the Mirror Image 391In Werther (letter, June 16) Lotte remarks that she loved nothing betterthan to read and to take part in the fate of fictitious Miss Jenny, the character ofa novel. "Der Autor ist mir der liebste, in dem ich meine Welt wiederfinde, beidem es zugeht wie um mich," she continues and mentions Goldsmith's The Vicarof Wakefield as one of her favorites (VI, 23). Werther (letter, November 26)writes to Wilhelm: "Manchmal sage ich mir: Dein Schicksal ist einzig; preise dieuibrigen ghicklich-so ist noch keiner gequilt worden. Dann lese ich einen Dichterder Vorzeit, und es ist mir, als saihe ich mein eigenes Herz" (VI, 88). Lotte andWerther are fully aware of the similarity of their own fate with that of theirliterary reflections. They recognize themselves in the reflection, and this assuresthem of being part of some grandiose plan governing the universe instead of anindividual singled out and all alone. The effect of the use of the mirror is that ofpresenting a true and concentrated reflection.Even more substantial and impressive than the use of literary reflections isthe mirror image when used as a truly narrative-structural device, specifically incases when the plot of a story is advanced through knowledge, most oftenself-realization, gained by the story's characters through the observance of areflection of others, or of themselves. Some of the most striking instances ofsuch mirror imagery are to be found in Wilhelm Meister, this time with a realmirror present. In the Lehrjahre (1794-96; book III, chapter 10) Wilhelm ispersuaded to impersonate the absent Count by wearing his clothes and sitting inhis chair in his library. Looking up, Wilhelm suddenly sees the real Count'sreflection in a mirror. The Count unexpectedly arrived home early and uponentering his library finds himself confronted with his Doppelganger reflected inthe mirror. He does not realize that the reflection is that of Wilhelm impersonatinghim and, since seeing one's double traditionally means bad luck or evendeath, the encounter leaves the impetuous man in a quiet and reflective mood, achanged person (VII, 190f.). But it is not only the Count who is shaken intoself-contemplation by their confrontation. Wilhelm, too, feels subdued by theunexpected return of the Count whose figure he sees reflected in the mirror. Theanticipated adventure of meeting the Countess could have easily turned into atragedy. Goethe, through the medium of cross-reflections, brings into focus andexplains in a flash the complicated psychological processes taking place inWilhelm and in the Count. In Wilhelm the ill-fated prank changes slight feelingsof uneasiness into guilt. It produces self-reflection and self-evaluation in theCount, leading to catharsis in both characters.In the Wanderjahre, the novella "Wer ist der Verriter? " stands out for thestructural use of the mirror image. Reflection in a mirror is central to thedevelopment of its plot. Lucidor, the protagonist, believes that his belovedLucinde belongs to another when he observes her and a friend in a mirror. He isin despair. Later, when embracing his girl for the first time he coincidentallyfinds himself in front of the same mirror and gratefully recognizes the truth andhis own good fortune (VII, 85-104). Goethe uses the mirror as an instrumentof deception as well as of revelation. Lucidor perceives the mirrored reflection of

392 Terrashis beloved and another man not as a true but as a distorted image, which iscorrected only when he sees his own and Lucinde's reflection. The mirrorreflections create and solve the complexities of the plot of this novella. Thenovella itself is constructed as a parallel to the main story of Wilhelm Meister. Itrelates to the novel as a mirror reflection to the original, particularly as far as themain character is concerned. Lucidor is a second Wilhelm. He is at first completelyhelpless. Gentle guidance finally brings him to recognize his happiness.11Significantly, the "Spiegelglasszene" of the Lehrjahre is missing in WilhelmMeisters theatralische Sendung (begun in 1777), although the surrounding scenesare the same in both versions of the novel. This, apart from the more skillful useof the mirror image in Goethe's later work, suggests that the poet became moreand more aware of the importance of this image and used it more consciouslyand in accord with his theories of symbolic expression.The same can be shown also for Goethe's use of the Doppelgianger motif inWerther. In the 1774 version of the novel the protagonist has only one double,the clerk who loved Lotte and lost his mind when forced to leave her. Missing inthis version is the farmhand episode, in which the rejected lover kills hisopponent in a jealous rage. Without the figure of the farmhand the use of theDoppelgainger motif in Werther remains unclear and remote. Equally as unimpressiveas the use of the Doppelgianger image in the 1774 version of Werther isits use in Urfaust, unchanged in Faust I. Looking at it from a structural point ofview it may easily be missed completely. Gretchen's double, Birbelchen, doesnot even appear in the play. We simply learn about her through the words ofGretchen's friend, Lieschen.An interesting difference between the Doppelgainger motif in the earlyworks as opposed to the Wanderjahre, where Lucidor could be called Wilhelm'sdouble, may be found in the time dimension. The structural mirror image in theearlier works is used to foreshadow disaster, as we have observed in theLehrjahre and as we will see in Werther and in Faust L In the later works-this istrue for Die Wahlverwandtschaften (1809) as well-its function seems to becloser to that of a chorus in Greek tragedy. Its role is that of a commentator onthings past and present, but not on the future. In Werther, Faust I, andLehrjahre the double is a symbol of warning. The audience, well aware of theprotagonist's fate, immediately recognizes the double as a harbinger of misfortune.Not so the protagonist himself who, up to this point, has been unaware ofthe seriousness of the situation. Yet, intuitively and subconsciously he, too,comes to realize his own fate in that of the Doppelgainger, as he is beset bydoubts, by guilt, or by sorhe other kind of uneasiness. Eventually the reflectiontakes hold and the protagonist recognizes himself in it. Such is the case with theCount in Lehrfahre, with Gretchen, and with Werther.In the scene "Am Brunnen" Gretchen learns from her friend Lieschen thatanother friend, named Barbelchen, has become pregnant without being married.On the way home from the well Gretchen suddenly recognizes herself in

Goethe's Use of the Mirror Image 393Birbelchen and becomes aware of the warning. She is now unable to pass offLieschen's story as a mere piece of gossip. She says:Wie konnt' ich sonst so tapfer schmlilen,Wenn tiit ein armes M~igdlein fehlen!Wie konnt' ich iUber andrer StindenNicht Worte gnug der Zunge finden! (3577-80).Similarly Werther when he writes: "Wilhelm, der Mensch, von dem ich dirschrieb, der glickliche Ungliickliche, war Schreiber bei Lottens Vater und eineLeidenschaft zu ihr... hat ihn rasend gemacht. Fiihle, bei diesen trockenenWorten mit welchem Unsinne mich die Geschichte ergriffen hat, da mir sieAlbert ebenso gelassen erzlihlte, als du sie vielleicht liesest" (VI, 91). Note thatAlbert told the story without being moved by it, and that Wilhelm presumablyreceives it equally unperturbed. Gretchen's friend, Lieschen, too, remains unaffectedby Birbelchen's fate. Albert and Lieschen are merely the glass reflectingthe image of the clerk and of Birbelchen in which Werther and Gretchenrecognize themselves. The scientific fact that a mirror reflects what it "sees,"that the reflection depends upon the input and its perceptibility to the onlooker,is applicable here. Werther and Gretchen are mirrored because their own fate is,so to speak, on the line. For them the mirror clarifies and brings into focus whatwas vague before.In the later version of Werther (1787) there exists the unusual feature oftwo Doppelganger, i.e., a choice of possibilities. First, Werther meets the farmhandwho was dismissed by his employer, a "Biuerin," because he is passionatelyin love with her and finds himself unable to stay within the bounds ofpropriety. Later he kills his successor in love out of jealousy. Secondly, there isthe former clerk of the "Amtmann" who was relieved of his duties because ofhis love for Lotte, fell victim to madness, and finally is happy in his own littleworld of total unawareness. Both of the doubles foreshadow Werther's doom.The complexity of the situation is established with the second meeting betweenWerther and the farmhand. Now the Doppelganger's misfortune definitely fore-casts what Werther fears. He recognizes his "Schicksalsbruder in dem Knecht,"and finishes his letter to Wilhelm (September 4) with the words: "Lies, meinGeliebter, und denke dabei, dais es auch die Geschichte deines Freundes ist. Ja,so ist mirs gegangen, so wird mirs gehen, und ich bin nicht halb so bray, nichthalb so entschlossen, als der arme Ungliickliche, mit dem ich mich zu vergleichenmich fast nicht getraue" (VI, 79). After the meeting nothing is decided. ThenWerther meets the mad clerk and a new avenue opens up for him. In his letter,dated November 30, we read: "Wo ich hintrete, begegnet mir eine Erscheinung,die mich aus aller Fassung bringt. Heute! o Schicksal! o Menschheit! . . . Gott imHimmel, hast du das zum Schicksale der Menschen gemacht, dail sie nichtglicklich sind, als ehe sie zu ihrem Verstande kommen, und wenn sie ihn wiederverlieren!-" (VI, 88). Again the apparition disappears and Werther's fate still is

394 Terrasnot decided. Later we learn from the editor that Werther was present when thefarmhand was arrested after murdering his adversary. Werther makes everyeffort to save him, but his own sympathy for the unfortunate young man is notshared by anyone else. He fails. Among Werther's things the editor finds a notesaying: "Du bist nicht zu retten, Ungliicklicher! Ich sehe wohl, daB wir nicht zuretten sind" (VI, 97). Werther thus will share the fate of the farmhand-Doppelganger, not that of the madman-Doppelganger. He will not return to theparadisaical state of mental oblivion. He will instead exercise his own free will,not by killing Albert, to be sure, but rather by removing himself from a lifewhich has become senseless. The introduction of Werther'second double in thelater version of the novel seems to be a structural device which presentsWerther's alternatives more clearly. His choices, mental illness or murder, illustratethe hopelessness of his situation. Suicide is the only other way out.We have to return to Die Laune des Verliebten in order to mention yetanother utilization of the Doppelganger image, i.e., that of substituting oneperson for another to achieve certain ends. This particular use of the mirrorimage is, of course, nothing but another version of the age-old device firstmentioned in the Amphitryon legend. In Die Laune des Verliebten the doubleappears in a situation which Goethe explores to its fullest extent in the novel DieWahlverwandtschaften. A substitution occurs. Egle assumes Amine's identity.Eridon embraces and kisses Egle instead of his shepherdess Amine who, with thehelp of this little ploy, tries to cure Eridon of his raging jealousy (IV, 25). Thesubstitution serves a rather obvious moral intention. It lacks the sophisticationof the same image in Wahlverwandtschaften where Eduard is partner to Charlotte'slove-making when she imagines that the Hauptmann is present, whileEduard phantasizes that it is Ottilie and not Charlotte who is his partner in love.As it reaches Eduard's soul Charlotte's image is distorted, or enhanced, to thepoint of becoming Ottilie. Charlotte's inner mirror perceives Eduard and reflectshis image as that of the Hauptmann. Both Charlotte and Eduard are fullyconscious of the reflective powers of their imagination. They play what theyknow to be a dangerous game. Eduard leaves Charlotte's room as if it had beenthe scene of a crime. The couple shows embarrassment and regret when meetingwith the Hauptmann and Ottilie the next morning. What begins as a symbolicgame changes into a realized metaphor, as Goethe explains: "In der Lampendimmerung...behauptete die Einbildungskraft ihre Rechte uiber das Wirkliche.Eduard hielt nun Ottilie in seinen Armen, Charlotte schwebte der Hauptmannniiher oder ferner vor der Seele" (VI, 321f.). When a son is born to Charlotte andEduard nine months later he bears a striking resemblance not to his parents, butto Ottilie and the Hauptmann (VI, 421): the mirror has taken on magical powers.Illusion and reality become intertwined. The mirror of imagination seems to beable not only to present a reflection, but also to summon creative powersresulting in the birth of a being with the features of the mirrored reflections.The expression Doppelganger, or rather Doppeltganger, was coined by JeanPaul.12 For Goethe there existed only the concept of Ebenbild, even though he

Goethe's Use of the Mirror Image 395reports in Dichtung und Wahrheithat once, coming from Sesenheim, he met hisown reflection, dressed in grey and gold and riding in the opposite direction. Hecalls his double "das wunderliche Trugbild" (IX, 500). In other instances he usesthe designation Ebenbild. Wilhelm in Die Geschwister sees in Marianne "dasEbenbild" of her dead mother whom he loved (IV, 364). Faust fancied himselfas the biblical "Ebenbild der Gottheit" when rebuked by the Erdgeist (lines 516and 614). Ebenbild and Doppelganger are closely related concepts. The former isan older, less specific form of the latter. Goethe's realization of the concept notonly lacks the designation Doppelganger, but also shows a basic difference fromthe later, more common forms of the image in the works of Romantic andpost-Romantic writers. As Ralph Tymms points out in his study Doubles inLiterary Psychology, "an essential distinction is to be made between the doubleby-duplicationand the double-by-division.''"13 Only the double-by-duplicationfits the mirror image. The double-by-division, the split personality, such as Faustand Mephistopheles or Tasso and Antonio, does not present a reflection, butrather the supplementation of one person by another. Finally, Goethe's mirrorreflections are not imprisoned in any subjective individuality encounteringprojections of its own self. They are not mentally imbalanced. His doubles aresymbolic structures presenting rational choices open to his characters. Goetheuses them to enlighten the audience and, perhaps, even himself.Before moving on to the figurative mirror image I wish to mention a moreconventional, less striking but nevertheless common use of the structural mirrorimage. Throughout Goethe's writings, but predominantly in his early works, theeye or the glance (der Blick) and, slightly less frequently, other facial expressionsappear as a reflector of human emotions. Love, jealousy, rage, sweetness of thesoul, sadness, fright, or a guilty conscience are all shown reflected in the eye, onthe forehead, or in the face of Goethe's poetic characters. The eye, the forehead,the face have to be taken as extensions of the soul, and the soul has a longtradition as the mirror of human emotions. Very early, in 1769, and still deep inGoethe's anacreontic period, we find these lines in the idyllic narration "Kunstdie Sproden zu fangen":Wenn ich sie sah, und sie nicht kiitte,Sprach gleich ihr Blick, dais sie etwas vermiite.14In Faust I we find the lines:O schaudre nicht! LaB diesen Blick,Lal diesen Hiindedruck dir sagen,Was unaussprechlich ist (3188-90).The same metaphor appears again and again. What is interesting to observe ishow this particular metaphor gains in substance. Taken from the metaphoricarsenal of anacreontic poetry, where the eye reflects nothing but the gamut oflove, it begins to convey a more varied and more serious meaning as soon asGoethe's writing gains in substance and in seriousness. In Die Geschwister love,

396 Terrasnot yet fully recognized but nevertheless irrepressible, is clearly perceived byMarianne in Wilhelm's eyes. The perception is mutual, for Marianne says notonly: "Es tut ihm doch wohl, wenn er mich ansieht," but also, "ich sehs ihm anden Augen ab" (IV, 359). Their eyes reveal what cannot yet be expressed inwords. The physical phenomenon of repeated reflections is obvious here. Wilhelm'seyes reflect what he sees on Marianne's face. She perceives what his eyesreflect. Cross-reflection takes place. In Faust I the mirror image is even morestrongly charged with substance. All the uneasiness which Gretchen feels towardMephistopheles is expressed in the two lines:Es steht ihm an der Stirn geschrieben,Dail er nicht mag eine Seele lieben (3489-90).Even a Mephistopheles cannot hide the darker side of his soul behind a face notreally his own. The most extended use of the face as a mirror is made in Clavigo,where Goethe's stage notes prescribe every expression shown on Clavigo's facewhile Beaumarchaislowly reveals his identity and the purpose of his visit withClavigo. The mirror does not only show a descriptive painting limited in itstemporal aspects, but reflects a whole sequence of action, thus becoming a vitalpart of the dramatic impact of the whole scene (IV, 270-272). The eye or theface as a mirror of human emotions has now extended from merely expressingplayful love to revealing the sweetness of the soul, vice, a guilty conscience.Finally, I will present some examples of the use of the mirror as a figurativeimage, symbolizing vanity or utilized as a symbol of knowledge. AlthoughGoethe uses the figurative mirror image symbolizing vanity rather infrequently,and not at all in his later works, he resorts to it in characterizing a major figuresuch as Gretchen. An early example is found in the poem "Kleine Blumen,kleine Bliitter" (1771; new version 1789).Und dann tritt sie fiir den SpiegelMit zufriedner MunterkeitSieht mit Rosen sich umgeben,Sie wie eine Rose jung (I, 26).In this poem the mirror appears together with various rococo paraphernalia suchas ribbon, Zephyr, and rose. They strengthen the image of playful vanityinitiated by the mirror. Later, Goethe dispenses with the anacreontic metaphors,but he retains the mirror as a symbol of vanity and continues to surround it withother images. As such it brings into focus the question of Gretchen's virtue intwo scenes of Faust I: "Abend" and "Der Nachbarin Haus." The mirror is usedto characterize Gretchen as she steps in front of it after finding the jewelry boxleft by Mephistopheles. Adorning herself she says:Wenn nur die Ohrring meine wiren!Man sieht doch gleich ganz anders drein.Was hilft euch Schinheit, junges Blut?

Goethe's Use of the Mirror Image 397Das ist wohl alles sch6n und gut,Allein man lists auch alles sein,Man lobt euch halb mit Erbarmen.Am Gold hiingtDoch Alles. Ach wir Armen! (2796-2804).Gretchen's vanity borders on immorality in "Der Nachbarin Haus," where shefollows Marthe's devilish suggestion to wear her new jewelry in front of themirror even though her mother and the priest had taken Mephistopheles' firstgift from her.Margarete: Darf mich leider nicht auf den GassenNoch in der Kirche mit sehen lassen.Marthe: Komm du nur oft zu mir heriiberUnd leg den Schmuck hier heimlich anSpazier ein Stiindchen lang dem Spiegelglas voriiberWir haben unsre Freude dran (2883-87).In a strictly moralistic interpretation Gretchen's virtue is questionable. Vanityrather than obedience determine her behavior, possibly foreshadowing tragedyby revealing her human frailty. The contrast created by the use of imagery inthese two scenes is remarkable. In "Abend" the mirror is silently present as thedevil's insensitive and undiscerning accomplice. Its icy texture is expressed bythe use of the word "Spiegelglas" in "Der Nachbarin Haus." In stark contrast tothe coldness of the mirror in both of these scenes there appear the words "jungesBlut," "Erbarmen," and "wir Armen," all of which suggest warmth and pulsatinglife. The same can be said of Goethe's choice of the diminutive "Stindchen."Goethe's predilection for contrasting images has been sufficiently documented.1sThe figurative image of the cold mirror polarized with warmth andplenitude must be added to the existing list. We find another example of thispolarization of imagery in an early poem, Triumph der Tugend. Zwote Erzdhlung(1767), which shows deeper perception than other poems of the sameperiod and also has more substance which is present in the mirror image as well.In this poem the mirror appears both as a figurative image and as a structuraldevice. The mirror becomes central to the development of the rather dramaticpoem. A young man observes his girl friend sans clothes in front of a mirrorwithout her being aware of his presence. Her full beauty is revealed, enhanced bythe falling hair which is compared to the branches of a rose bush.Was sie mir nie zu sehn verg6nnte,Des Busens volle Bliite wiesSie dem verschwiegnen kalten Spiegel, lietDas Haar geteilt von ihrem Scheitel fallen,Wie Rosenzweig um Knospen, um den Busen wallen.16As in the Faust I scenes, the attributes of the mirror ("verschwiegen" and"kalt") label it as dispassionate, dead matter and place it in stark contrast to the

398 Terraswarm life of the surrounding images such as "des Busens volle Blilte," "wieRosenzweig um Knospen, um den Busen wallen." Because the girl shares thesecret of her beauty with the mirror, the symbol of vanity, her virtue isquestionable. Yet, as indicated by the title, virtue triumphs. The young man,overwhelmed by the mirror's reflection which not only reveals the beauty of hisbeloved but also her innocence, shows himself to be a perfect gentleman. Thefigurative image of the mirror thus becomes a structural device and as such servesto develop the theme of the poem.The figurative mirror image in its traditional role as a symbol of knowledgeoccurs throughout Goethe's work. In November 1767 the poet sent to Behrischthe first scene of a little comedy, titled "Der Tugendspiegel." Since we have onlythis first scene of the play little can be said about it. Whether the title"Tugendspiegel" is symbolic of the theme of the whole play, or merely symbolizesa character in the play, as Hanna Fischer-Lamberg assumes, cannot bedetermined definitely."7 In view of the rather traditional use Goethe makes ofthe figurative mirror image throughout his work, I would tend to interpret thetitle "Tugendspiegel" as referring to the theme of the whole play, i.e., in thetradition of the "Tugendspiegel" genre of earlier centuries. The mirror imageonce again symbolizing knowledge of some kind and following a long-standingtradition appears in a number of poems of Der west-ostliche Divan. The poem"La13 den Weltenspiegel Alexandern" is based on the legend that Alexander theGreat owned a mirror which dispensed knowledge of whatever happened anywherein the world. In this poem, too, Goethe polarizes images by contrastingthe expanse of the whole world with the intimate, intense world of two lovers.In two poems of the "Buch Suleika" the mirror occurs as a symbol of the secretshared by two lovers. In "Abglanz" a lover, in the absence of his beloved, findsconsolation in a mirror:Ein Spiegel, er ist mir geworden,Ich seh so gern hinein,Als hinge des Kaisers OrdenAn mir mit Doppelschein.Wenn ich nun vorm Spiegel steheIm stillen Witwerhaus,Gleich guckt, eh ich mich versehe,Das Liebchen mit heraus (II, 86).Suleika's answer to this poem provides a clue to the meaning attached by Goetheto the mirror:Ja! mein Herz, es ist der Spiegel,Freund, worin du dich erblickt;Diese Brust, wo deine SiegelKufB auf KuB hineingedriickt (II, 87).

Goethe's Use of the Mirror Image 399The mirror image in "Abglanz," surrounded by other puzzling images such as"Kaisers Orden," "Witwenhaus," has received a great deal of attention byscholars, but whether the mirror represents, as has been suggested, the whole ofthe "Buch Suleika," the secret code used in communications between Goetheand Marianne, or simply Suleika's loving heart, as suggested by her response tothe poem, the mirror definitely is the secret sharer of knowledge (II, 376).Goethe's use of the mirror image in "Abglanz" is particularly intricate. On theone hand, the title implies a dimmer reflection of the original. But then, theword "Doppelschein," describing the reflection of the emperor's medal, impliesmagnification, thus polarizing the action of the mirror. Furthermore, the normallypassive happening of reflection turns into active participation by the useof the verb "guckt... heraus," conferring upon the mirror an almost life-givingpower.Another instance of the mirror as the secret sharer of flowering love is to befound in Hermann und Dorothea. The two young people see each other'sreflection in the water of a well and exchange friendly greetings:Und sie sahen gespiegelt ihr Bild in der Bliue des HimmelsSchwanken und nickten sich zu und griitten sich freundlich im Spiegel(II 492).Although Hermann, at this point, is too shy to declare his love for iJoromtnea anatakes her home as a maid rather than as his betrothed, the intimacy of thefriendly encounter in the mirror signals future developments. The implication offuture happiness is enforced by the companion image of the blue sky. Themirror without doubt has knowledge of Hermann's and Dorothea's love for eachother, and the audience realizes this. In Faust I, in an obvious instance of themirror as a symbol of knowledge, the human mind is called the mirror of its time(lines 577-579), and the mirror itself is referred to as "der Spiegel ew'gerWahrheit" (line 615). The fact that the mirror symbolizing knowledge had had along tradition by the time Goethe used it in Faust I does not preclude giving thesymbol a new and deeper significance within the context of the Faust drama, asevidenced by the many attempts at interpreting the mirror of eternal truth.It is also in Faust that the powers of the magical mirror which traditionallygive the viewer a glimpse of his fate are evoked. It is a peculiarity of this niirrorthat it may reflect an illusory image. In the hands of the forces of evil the mirrormay serve evil ends. In Faust II the magic of the mirror produces Jupiter in theform of a swan:Sie setzt den Full in das durchsichtige Helle;des edlen K6rpers holde Lebensflammekiihlt sich im schmiegsamen Kristall der Welle.-Doch welch Get6se rasch bewegter Flilgel,welch Sausen, Plitschern wiihlt im glatten Spiegel?Die Midchen fliehn verschiichtert; doch alleindie K$nigin, sie blickt gelassen drein

400 Terrasund sieht mit stolzem, weiblichem Vergniigender Schwline Fiirsten ihrem Knie sich schmiegen,zudringlich-zahm. Er scheint sich zu gew6hnen. (6908-6917).The meaning of the word "Spiegel" in line 6912 is ambiguous. It could possiblybe a simple reference to the surface of the water. However, in the context of thescene and in view of the fact that the water in line 6910 is described as "Kristallder Welle" (another use of the mirror metaphor) the choice of the word"Spiegel" expands and takes on the traditional connotation of the image of themirror as the magical instrument which may produce past and future, real andlegendary events. Earlier in the Faust drama, the mirror takes on the function ofa fortune teller. In the scene "Vor dem Tor" two girls talk about a witch whoproduced for one of them, Agathe, a potential lover in her crystal ball (anotherform of the mirror, line 880). This traditional role of the mirror as a fortuneteller is dramatized in the mirror imagery of the "Hexenkiiche." The sieve, aneven older instrument of divination is introduced and reveals a thief (line 2416).Then a mirror is used to present to Faust the ideal woman. Seeing her beautyreflected in the mirror, Faust is unable to leave until Mephistopheles promises toproduce the woman herself (lines 2429f.). The reflections in the mirror areillusory: a soldier who never materializes, a thief who remains unnamed, and theideal of a woman who is never identified as either Gretchen or Helena. Theimage of the mirror which foretells the future is one of intentional ambiguityand trickery. Its appearance signals temptation.The often quoted Werther passage (May 10) about the poet's soul as themirror of God and nature is probably the very best example anywhere of thesecularized mirror image of mysticism. "Ach konntest du das wieder ausdrticken,konntest du dem Papier das einhauchen, was so voll, so warm dir in der Seelelebt, daf es wiirde der Spiegel deiner Seele, wie deine Seele ist der Spiegel desunendlichen Gottes!" (VI, 9). In a pantheistic vision the human soul reflectsGod in nature, and the work of art is a reflection of this reflection in the soul ofthe poet.In order to distinguish further between the mirror as a figurative and themirror as a structural image, we must turn our attention for a moment to thequestion of direction and reception. As a rule, symbolic meaning is meant forand recognized by the reader, or audience, alone and is not revealed to thepersonae of a novel or drama. Thus, it is clear to the reader that the mirror is asymbol of vanity in Faust I, revealing more about Gretchen than either sheherself or Faust are able to see. The same applies to the "Hexenkiiche" scene,where Faust is fascinated to the point of utter disregard of caution while theviewer is, and is meant to be, fully aware of the implications of the mirrorsymbol. One could say that the figurative image has a direct extrinsic effectwhile the function of the structural image is intrinsic to the work of art as awhole. Even though it is a symbol signaling to the audience, it is even more

Goethe's Use of the Mirror Image 401important as a device employed in the development of the story. This twofoldfunction of the mirror image originates, of course, with the peculiar nature of amirror which Goethe, through his studies in the natural sciences, recognized andclarified by using the mirror not only as the traditional figurative, but also as astructural image.'The title "Wiederholte Spiegelungen" was added by Eckermann. Goethe's text reads asfollows: "Bedenkt man nun, dai3 wiederholte sittliche Spiegelungen das Vergangene nichtallein lebendig erhalten, sondern sogar zu einem hdheren Leben emporsteigern, so wird mander entoptischen Erscheinungen gedenken, welche gleichfalls von Spiegel zu Spiegel nichtetwa verbleichen, sondern sich erst recht entziinden, und man wird ein Symbol gewinnendessen, was in der Geschichte der Kiinste und Wissenschaften, der Kirche, auch wohl derpolitischen Welt sich mehrmals wiederholt hat und noch tiglich wiederholt" (XII, 323).Unless stated otherwise, all Goethe references in this paper are to the HamburgerAusgabe.2Konrad Burdach, "Faust und Mosis," Sitzungsberichte der Koniglich Preuf3ischenAkademie der Wissenschaften (Berlin, 1912), part I, 358-403; part II, 627-659, 736-789.Franz Koch, Goethe und Plotin (Leipzig, 1925), chapter IV "Der schaffende Spiegel,"83-127.3Karl Schlechta, Goethes Wilhelm Meister (Frankfurt, 1953). Wilhelm Emrich, DieSymbolik von Faust HI (Bonn, 21957), p. 100. L.A. Willoughby, "Literary Relations in theLight of Goethe's Principle of 'Wiederholte Spiegelungen'," Comparative Literature, I(1949), 309 ff. "The Image of the Wanderer and the Hut in Goethe's Poetry," l'tudesGermaniques, VI (1951), 207-219.4E. Frenzel, Stoff- Motiv- und Symbolforschung (Stuttgart, 1963), p. 35: "Die Lyrikverwertet hauptsachlich das sprachliche, metaphorische Symbol, in den pragmatischenDichtungsarten konnen ganze Handlungsteile, Motive, Personen und Gegenstinde Symbolesein." Wilhelm Emrich, Protest und Verheif3ung (Frankfurt, 21963), p. 56, says with regardto the Wanderjahre: "Symbolisch sind nicht nur Bilder, die man im engeren Sinn alssymbolisch zu bezeichnen pflegt, sondern auch dichterische Sprachformen, Kompositionsweisen,geschilderte Vorginge usw."5J.E. Poritzky, "Austausch literarischer Stoffe und Formen in der Weltliteratur," DieLiteratur, 31 (1928/29), 508-511. Otto Rank, The Double: A Psychoanalytical Study(Chapel Hill, 1971), p. 50: "From the shadow-superstition.., developed a belief in theguardian spirit, which in its turn is closely related to the double-motif."6Der Junge Goethe, neu bearbeitete Ausgabe in fiinf Binden, ed. Hanna Fischer-Lamberg (Berlin 1963-1974), II, 169.7L.A. Willoughby, "The Image of the Horse and the Charioteer in Goethe's Poetry,"PEGS, XV (1946), 50.8C.G. Jung, Seelenprobleme der Gegenwart (Ziurich, 1946).9 To trace the mirror image in the history of literature the following works are helpful:August Langen, "Zur Geschichte des Spiegelsymbols in der deutschen Dichtung," GRM, 28(1940), 269-280. M.A. Abrams, The Mirror and the Lamp (New York, 1953). HerbertGrabes, Speculum, Mirror und Looking-Glass (Tiibingen, 1973).1"Goethe expressed a similar idea in Philostrats Gemdlde, Nachtriigliches: Das Symbol,"Es ist die Sache, ohne die Sache zu sein, und doch die Sache. Ein im geistigen Spiegelzusammengezogenes Bild, und doch mit dem Gegenstand identisch." Weimarer Ausgabe. 49,part I, 142."As Schlechta, p. 224, points out, parallel constructions of novellas and episodes inthe novel are part of its structure.'2Marianne Wain, "The Double in Romantic Narrative: A Preliminary Study," GermanicReview, 29 (1956), 262.13Ralph Tymms, Doubles in Literary Psychology (Cambridge, 1949), 16f.'4Derjunge Goethe. I, 173.

402 Terras15sIn Goethe's own work with titles such as Lehr- und IWanderjahre, Dichtung undWahrheit. Or in the essay "Polaritait." It is reflected also in titles of image research:"Wanderer and Hut..; "Horse and Charioteer"; "Garden and Wilderness."16Derjunge Goethe, I, 176.17"Unter T. ist hier offenbar eine Gestalt des Lustspiels, nicht das Werk als Spiegeloder Vorbild gemeint." Der funge Goethe, I, 483.KENTUCKY FOREIGN LANGUAGE CONFERENCEThe University of Kentucky Foreign Language Conference will be held April22-24, 1976 in Lexington, Kentucky. Featured are sections in Classical Languages,Comparative Literature, French, German, Italian, Linguistics, MedievalStudies, Portugese and Brazilian, Slavic, and Spanish. Special symposia on Detlevvon Liliencron, Benito Pbrez Gald6s and Seventeenth Century French Drama:Problems and Perspectives will be featured. For further information write toProfessor Theodore Mueller, Director, Foreign Language Conference, Universityof Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506.