Mirrors

In ¡°Mirrors¡± by Carol Shields, a middle-aged couple refuses to put any mirror in their summer cottage. They reflect on what pleasure and pain this habit brings them. At a first glance, this happily married couple seems to have everything they need. However, as the story processes, hidden doubts and feelings are revealed. Point of view, setting, and language play an essential role in this story and help to depict the central idea. Shields suggests that appearance can be deceptive.
Through out the story, Shields uses mainly total omniscience point of view. The narrator presents the thoughts and senses of the couple to the readers. For example, sometimes the husband ¡°thinks about the people he¡¯s known in his life¡± (1207), while his wife often worries about the ¡°failures of her body¡± (1210). The narrator also refers them using third person pronouns such as ¡°he¡± and ¡°she¡±. Total omniscience gives the reader an intimate and personal feeling, because...