Abstract
This article considers the role of mirrors and portraits in several fairy tales by Charles Perrault, Henriette-Julie de Murat, Marie-Jeanne L’Héritier, and especially Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy. I examine how these objects, made magical, exert agency in the tales. The depicted image begins to hold power over its subject. Other scholars have seen in the blurred distinction between representation and reality an invitation to critical reflection; here, I show how mirrors and portraits also fuel narrative innovation by troubling the reader’s sense of diegetic reality as the objects assert control over characters—and the plot.
Recommended Citation
Claussen, Alexander. "Enchanting Images: Magic Mirrors and Moving Portraits in French Fairy Tales." Marvels & Tales 38.1 (2024). Web. <https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/marvels/vol38/iss1/1>.
