The Smallest Woman in the World

The mirror appears in the fifth vignette. The mother of the boy with the “clever idea” (168) is curling her hair in the bathroom while reflecting on the significance of the desire to play and possess that her son expresses. The symbol of the mirror concludes the moment of self-reflection: Looking in the bathroom mirror, the mother produces a deliberately refined and polite smile, placing between her own face and Little Flower’s “the insurmountable distance of millennia” (169). The mirror is a representation of self-reflection and self-perception, as well as of performance. The mother in the story uses the mirror to perceive what she has in common with Little Flower, such as womanhood and motherhood. However, the mirror also helps her rehearse the performance of distance that keeps the two women apart. The act of curling her hair in front of the mirror, as well as the “deliberately refined and polite smile” (169), illustrates the woman’s desire to present herself in a certain way to the world. These acts symbolize the character’s attempt to conform to societal expectations and norms, particularly in relation to her role as a mother. The mirror is also a reminder of societal pressures and standards, reflecting the scrutiny and judgment that mothers face in Western societies.