Before the Mirror

It is interesting to note that Owens poem Greater Love is inspired by Swinburne’s poem, Before the Mirror since both though describing the actions or emotions of a woman are quite different in content. Owens poem a wars per my analysis uses the female gender as a seductress as a metaphor for the war. The war (woman) with her allure and feminine wiles seduces young men to fight in World War 1 only to have them heartbroken by their disillusionment at the harsh reality to war. Please refer to my link

On the other hand Swinburnes’ poem deals with three women a mistress in part 1, a wife in part 2 and a prostitute in part 3. This was actually inspired by a series of three paintings by James Whistler (Symphony in white no 1, Symphony in white no 2 and Symphony in white no3). The title “Before The Mirror” conjures up the imagery of a woman staring at herself in front of a mirror, which is of course a feminine trait of vanity. But staring at ones reflection we are able to see into our soul. Each face tells a story of a life lived. From examination of every line, wrinkle scar or mark or color reflects a past since these are the wounds of a life lived in the same way a soldier holds war wounds. And of course beauty fading with the onset of age is hard for a woman to bear. A woman has many burdens in life and all this is reflected in the spirit of her face. Her sadness, heart break or happiness is there for all to see and especially her as she stares at her reflection.

In part 1 describing the mistress the first line reminds us of Owens poem “Red lips not so red”, and here “White rose in red rose-garden is not so white”. The former refers to a woman who has lost her allure while the second, the mistress is tainted by being party to an extra marital affair. White is the color of purity while red is passion but both women lack purity and are tainted. The reference to the “behind the veil forbidden shut up from sight “refers to the clandestine nature of their relationship which breaks the Christian Commandment of ‘thou shalt be faithful’. Ironically the veil normally refers to a bride dressed in white but here it is the veil the mistress needs to hide behind to keep her relationship a secret from society who does not condone such a liaison. The poem questions the many lovers that may have drifted into her life often leaving her lonely and heartbroken as she waits for crumbs from a man who will never commit to her. I think the last stanza here also refers to the danger a mistress faces of abandonment by her lover when she ages and her beauty fades.

Part 2 refers to the wife. The wife has many duties to perform such as looking after children, home and hearth and after many years often like the mistress can feel lonely and neglected especially if love has faded and is replaced by mundane routine. A wife is often egged by society to play a sacrificial role and stand by her husband as divorce often brings shame. The wife stares at her reflection and wonders at her life lived and her aging face. She knows she is simply “a rose at heart and not in reality now. “She knows not loves that kissed her” reflects her pain of no longer being loved and looks at her hand with a wedding ring “my hand a fallen rose” to depict the breakdown of her marriage. As she sees her face in the mirror she no longer recognizes herself and therefore describes her reflection as a “art thou the ghost my sister”, showing years have passed and she has changed physically but also internally. In the last stanza she ponders about the future, “new years will bear” but she consoles herself that surely she still has true self which cannot be taken away with time, “what grief what joy for dower, but one thing knows the flower, the flower is fair”.

Part 3 deals with a prostitute who in society is considered as the lowest rung in the ladder of woman hood as she knows not of love but sells her body to the highest bidder for profit. The first stanza reflects that as many men pass through her door on a temporary basis she feels little joy but little grief and all become her past quickly as she sexually, “lie down and lie”. The lie means lying down sexually but also lie as the lies she often tells to please her clients. The second stanza further builds on the temporary liaisons she forms , “take flight and fly”. She performs a service for men that serves not just their physical needs but their emotional ones as they bear their heart to her without the judgement, nagging or condemnation a wife or to a lesser extent a mistress will give, “the flowing of mens’ tears beneath the sky”.