In an article by Umberto Eco, published in 1984, the
author develops the theses that the mirror is not a
sign, and he supports it by seven arguments.
With all due respect to the above
mentioned author, in the present text I would like to argue that
the mirror is a real sign, on one hand, and on the other - to
remind shortly how the mirror is interpreted in art.
First argument - the mirror is not a
sign, as it "stands" for the object it represents, it is standing
in front of him. Against the First argument - there
are a lot of situations when the content, or more precisely - the
referent exists together and at the same moment with the sign.
There are even cases when the signs are heavily dependent on their
referents and "co-existing" becomes a key
word.
Second argument - the mirror reflection
is caused by the object. Against this - a lot of indicative signs,
for ex. the knocking on the door, caused by hand, are in casuistic
dependence.
Third argument - the mirror reflection
is not independent on the "channel" (the mirror, the material it is
made of). During the ages, mirrors have been made by different
materials, of course. The fact that the reflection will not be the
same in different mirrors is valid for many other signs. The
Christ`s image on Santa Veronika`s cloth is such a mirror
image.
Forth argument - it is not possible the
mirror to be used for cheating. Of course - this is not true - we
can just think of the deformed mirrors, which deform the
reflection. Similarly, photos also "lie".
Fifth argument - the mirror reflection
does not create copies of itself. Yes, mirrors do not meet this
criteria, but most paintings also exist in only one copy. This is
true for most of the "short-living" signs.
Sixth argument - the mirror reflection
presupposes the meaning. A lot of other signs also do not
presuppose the meaning, such as the pronoun "I". When an author
uses the "I" pronoun it is not its "duty" to open the character of
the person.
Seventh - it is impossible to interpret
the mirror image. Shortly - this is not true, - interpretation of
the mirror image is what the dentist is doing while working on the
tooth, or the woman, placing lipstick on her lips.