"Tricks With Mirrors" by Margaret Atwood

Tricks With Mirrors by Margaret Atwood In Part I of Tricks With Mirrors, Atwood uses a seemingly vague introduction to the subject matter, but gets straight to the point. Within five lines, she distinctly identifies her role as a mirror as she says, "I enter with you and become a mirror," (4-5). She gives the impression that she is merely an object in this relationship. She is a mirror through which her self-absorbed lover may …

…her endeavors, and continues to give throughout her quiet rebellion. All her lover ever does is take from her what he pleases a faithful reflection of what he wishes to see in himself. Atwood defines these traditional roles in relationships while forming her opposition to the nature of these unfair dynamics. A deeper message may be found in the poem, however, as she conveys her detached unhappiness do not become a mirror, she tells us.