Abstract

This paper analyzes literature as a means of embodying the notion of the Other in the light of possible synthesis of perspectives of philosophers such as Hegel, Bakhtin, and Levinas, and highlights the possible uses of mirrors in literature, not only as descriptive elements but as symbols with far deeper meanings than that. To achieve this goal, several aspects of three pieces of literature from different ages were selected and analyzed: Brothers Grimm’s “Snow White”, Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking Glass”, and Kenneth Branagh’s film “Hamlet”. The paper elucidates the fact that mirrors enable plot exposition in these works by serving as little, compact scenes in which characters address their inner worlds in the eyes of others and their own. The narrative conclusion of this critical essay, therefore, states that the use of the concept of otherness in other works of literature has been stigmatized. Mirrors are put into practice not only as artifacts within the drama. Instead, they are integrally treated as antagonists who have a noticeable effect on the self-development or self-image of others or both.

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