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Description in the Mirror
- 134 statements
- 25 feature instances
- 26 referencing feature instances
| Description in the Mirror | type |
FeatureClass | |
| Description in the Mirror | label |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror | page |
DescriptionInTheMirror | |
| Description in the Mirror | comment |
Say you're writing a story from a certain person's POV, and you want to describe the main character without being awkward. Since the character's eyes are attached to their heads, they can hardly describe themselves, but there's a way around that - have the character look at themselves in a mirror, and describe what they see. This is usually slipped into a Morning Routine sequence, or when the character catches themselves in the mirror abroad. As well as being used for descriptive purposes, it can effectively be used to reflect character - suppose this person hates her appearance and usually avoids mirrors, or else closes in to focus on the flaws (pimples, wrinkles, whatever); have her get a good look at herself (say, in a mirror at someone else's house) where she can't spend time obsessing over her flaws, or are unable to close the distance due to a crowd (so that she's forced to stand back and get a view she doesn't often see). It could also be used to show their vanity - reflection on how gorgeous they look, or how they were sure no-one has as stunning [body feature]. A work set recently enough can use a security camera instead of, or in addition to, a mirror. But be warned, dear Writer: this trope is looked down on in some circles, partly because it's seen as a cliché and partly because of the amount of amateur fiction that use it poorly. The most common abuses are using it as a lazy substitute for feeding the audience a description naturally over the course of the story, and incongruously describing the character's appearance in much greater detail than is used in the rest of the story, which is usually just another way to tell us how awesome your character is. It is also subject to a bit of Fridge Logic - you'd think most characters would know what they look like without having to check in the mirror, so having them examine themselves carefully and note down every detail comes off as unnatural. That's not to say it can't be done well, just that it's easy to get wrong. Often uses the syntax "[Character] looked in the mirror, and a [description of character] looked back." Don't confuse this with Mirror Reveal, which is when a transformed character discovers their new appearance via a mirror. |
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| Description in the Mirror | fetched |
2024-03-11T17:01:41Z | |
| Description in the Mirror | parsed |
2024-03-11T17:01:41Z | |
| Description in the Mirror | processingComment |
Dropped link to WhatIf1952: Not an Item - UNKNOWN | |
| Description in the Mirror | processingUnknown |
What If— (1952) | |
| Description in the Mirror | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_1367cea0 | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_1367cea0 | comment |
Done by Taylor in the first chapter of Worm, after getting drenched in fruit juice: | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_1367cea0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_1367cea0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Worm | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_1367cea0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_17e4dacc | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_17e4dacc | comment |
Forward the Foundation: In "Cleon I", Raych looks into a mirror to describe his "plucked" baby-face after being given a disguise to join the Jorumites in sector Wye. | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_17e4dacc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_17e4dacc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Forward the Foundation | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_17e4dacc | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_27770180 | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_27770180 | comment |
Handbook for Mortals features this when the Author Avatar gets a glimpse of herself in her car's side mirror, including the I'm Not Pretty cliche. | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_27770180 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_27770180 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Handbook for Mortals | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_27770180 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_34776309 | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_34776309 | comment |
An unusual example occurs in More Than Human as it occurs six chapters into the book, not at the beginning. | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_34776309 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_34776309 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Alterworld | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_34776309 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_37e69c9e | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_37e69c9e | comment |
Evershade: Of Face Doodling done by a mad / sad sister, leading to a Mirror Reveal with the same mirror as well: | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_37e69c9e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_37e69c9e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Evershade (Fanfic) | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_37e69c9e | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_4522fd1 | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_4522fd1 | comment |
Whateley Universe: Used at least once. Absinthe has her Curtains Match the Window revealed this way: | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_4522fd1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_4522fd1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Whateley Universe | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_4522fd1 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_46d48eba | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_46d48eba | comment |
James Bond Bond does this in the novel Casino Royale. Vivienne, the main character of The Spy Who Loved Me, gives a rundown on her face when she checks herself on a mirror after being in a receiving end of an electric shock. |
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| Description in the Mirror / int_46d48eba | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_46d48eba | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| James Bond | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_46d48eba | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_53f46238 | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_53f46238 | comment |
"Search by the Foundation": In the first chapter, Arkady Darell turns to her bedroom mirror so that she can examine her appearance. She's disappointed that she isn't a bombshell beauty at two days past fourteen, having too much baby fat in her cheeks. | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_53f46238 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_53f46238 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Search By The Foundation | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_53f46238 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_686710c4 | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_686710c4 | comment |
Vivienne, the main character of The Spy Who Loved Me, gives a rundown on her face when she checks herself on a mirror after being in a receiving end of an electric shock. | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_686710c4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_686710c4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Spy Who Loved Me | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_686710c4 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_6f8866e6 | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_6f8866e6 | comment |
Northward's "Storm in a Glass" has the female protagonist looking in the mirror, apparently after a good cry relating to her significant other. | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_6f8866e6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_6f8866e6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Northward (Music) | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_6f8866e6 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_70da6e51 | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_70da6e51 | comment |
R.L. Stine uses this technique to describe Gary in Why I'm Afraid of Bees, as well as Wade in Revenge R Us | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_70da6e51 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_70da6e51 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Goosebumps | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_70da6e51 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_7698a40b | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_7698a40b | comment |
Parodied in The Glimpses of the Moon by Edmund Crispin. | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_7698a40b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_7698a40b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Gervase Fen | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_7698a40b | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_822b3920 | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_822b3920 | comment |
Bond does this in the novel Casino Royale. | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_822b3920 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_822b3920 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Casino Royale | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_822b3920 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_8cb3a247 | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_8cb3a247 | comment |
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire we get the following narrative after Harry wakes from his accidental Dream Spying on Voldemort: | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_8cb3a247 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_8cb3a247 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_8cb3a247 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_91cf7917 | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_91cf7917 | comment |
Foundation Series: "Search by the Foundation": In the first chapter, Arkady Darell turns to her bedroom mirror so that she can examine her appearance. She's disappointed that she isn't a bombshell beauty at two days past fourteen, having too much baby fat in her cheeks. Forward the Foundation: In "Cleon I", Raych looks into a mirror to describe his "plucked" baby-face after being given a disguise to join the Jorumites in sector Wye. |
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| Description in the Mirror / int_91cf7917 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_91cf7917 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Foundation Series | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_91cf7917 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_96e4679c | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_96e4679c | comment |
Discussed a few times in the Writing Excuses podcast, where they discourage and occasionally mock the practice. | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_96e4679c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_96e4679c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Writing Excuses (Podcast) | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_96e4679c | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_98037c5 | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_98037c5 | comment |
The Mandarin Cypher. A different version of this trope occurs when Quiller is being hunted by Red Chinese agents and finds that one of them is carrying a surveillance photograph of him, taken while on a previous mission. | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_98037c5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_98037c5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Quiller | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_98037c5 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_9a2a0105 | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_9a2a0105 | comment |
Subverted in Tealove's Steamy Adventure. Tealove looks into the mirror, and there's a paragraph-long description of the face staring back at her. It finishes with: "In short, it looked nothing like her." (It turns out Pinkie Pie has found a way to appear inside this mirror—that's who Tealove is looking at.) | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_9a2a0105 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_9a2a0105 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Tealove's Steamy Adventure / Fan Fic | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_9a2a0105 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_b1058237 | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_b1058237 | comment |
Temeraire: Justified in Blood of Tyrants when the protagonist suffers a major head injury that temporarily damages his memory. He's unaware that he's lost eight highly eventful years, so when he looks in the mirror for the first time, he's shocked by how much older and more heavily worn he looks. | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_b1058237 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_b1058237 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Temeraire | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_b1058237 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_b28f43ff | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_b28f43ff | comment |
Used in Altered Carbon when the narrator, a frequent body surfer, sees his new face in the mirror for the first time. | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_b28f43ff | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_b28f43ff | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Takeshi Kovacs | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_b28f43ff | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_bb478d5e | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_bb478d5e | comment |
Done in the first chapter of Bait and Switch to describe viewpoint character Eleya. | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_bb478d5e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_bb478d5e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Bait and Switch (STO) (Fanfic) | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_bb478d5e | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_d1fbfbbc | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_d1fbfbbc | comment |
This is Bella's occasion for describing her own appearance in The Twilight Saga. She considers her appearance unremarkable, but the description she gives suggests good looks, similar to those of the author. She gets it again after she has become a vampire, only this time she does consider herself pretty. |
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| Description in the Mirror / int_d1fbfbbc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_d1fbfbbc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Twilight Saga | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_d1fbfbbc | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_e186e2cf | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_e186e2cf | comment |
This is strongly discouraged in How NOT to Write a Novel under the title "What Color Am I?" (Where the character must be in front of a mirror to know what she looks like). | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_e186e2cf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_e186e2cf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_e186e2cf | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_e2b86487 | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_e2b86487 | comment |
Shadow of a Dark Queen: Erik von Darkmoor describes himself at length, complete with comments on his demeanor and public image, in the course of washing his face. | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_e2b86487 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_e2b86487 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Riftwar Cycle | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_e2b86487 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_e2ea40b | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_e2ea40b | comment |
Used rather neatly to show both Terisa's appearance and a large part of her characterisation in The Mirror of Her Dreams. | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_e2ea40b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Description in the Mirror / int_e2ea40b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Mirror of Her Dreams | hasFeature |
Description in the Mirror / int_e2ea40b |
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