MIRROR IMAGE IN TURKISH PAINTING AND LITERATURE

Abstract

The imagery of mirror that we encounter in painting and literature since Tanzimat usually has references to female sexuality. The woman sees her beauty, elegance, and charm through the mirror. The mirror is the confrontation field of the individual who is fascinated or destroyed by her own image. What is seen in this field is between reflection and reality. Although the person reflected in the mirror is usually a woman, it can also appear as a confrontation field for a man who uses the woman as an object. At this point, the mirror carries an indirect reference to the use of the woman as a sexual commodity. The man hates his own action and shatters his reflection in the mirror. The confrontation of the cheated, raped woman with the mirror is not active like that of the man. Passive actions in the form of hiding and moving away correspond to the woman's otherness and positioning by the patriarchal order in the mirror.