Mirror, Mirror on
the Wall
By Melva Brown
In the popular Disney classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the evil Queen-witch consults a
magic mirror for revelation of who the fairest maiden is in the land. The witch held the honor of being
the most beautiful until her stepdaughter, Snow White, matured in age and beauty. You know the
story; Snow White was deemed the fairest of them all! Without the mirror’s validation, the witch felt
worthless; thus her evil actions that followed.
Fairytales aside, our society isn’t much different from the evil witch and her mirror. We look to
mirrors found in magazines, on Facebook and Twitter, in the media, and even in the eyes of others to
determine our beauty and our worth. It is what others say or think about us that often matters most.
Sadly, however, one may be beautiful today and forgotten by tomorrow, resulting in a feeling of
devastation and insignificance. I, too, have been guilty of looking to the magic mirror for validation.
Thankfully, I now understand that man’s opinion of me isn’t based on who I really am, but on who he
wants me to be for his own pleasure. Man’s magic mirror is deceptive. It provides momentary, shallow,
feel-good responses to those seeking to know their beauty.
FAITH HEART MAGAZINE l 13