Mirrors Mirrors

Honestly, none of the points Spivak made stood out to me, which is why it has taken me till Sunday night to respond. She didn’t seem to have any strong points, only things we have heard before. I also must agree that her language was very difficult. Her essay made for a difficult read, but I did make out a vague generalization of points, again, which made it difficult to respond. I will say I did like how she pointed out the “images of mirroring,” (WSS 242). I was glad to see that the things that seemed connected to me, where also seen a connection for someone else.
The fact that Tia is a mirror image of Antoinette is one point of mirroring Spivak points to, and it is interesting to me that Tia is also the rejection of Antoinette in her own world. We see this many times; while they play by the water, Tia steals her clothes (WSS 14), Tia throwing a rock at her, as part of a riotous local group (WSS 27). Even though Tia is her friend and the reflection of her as a native, she portrays the force of rejection and disintegration that Antoinette clearly faces. It is funny to me that Rhys builds this character of companionship for Antoinette in Tia, then shows us how even in her friendships, there is no loyalty. This in itself mirrors all of the relationships Antoinette has throughout her life. We see this in her mother who abandons her, her real father who left her, her stepfather and stepbrother who sold her, her husband who buys her and gives up on her, keeping her in bondage, and her closest friend Christophine who for all we know has kept her drugged her whole life to keep her under her control as well.
In the bigger picture, this story novella could be a story of a young woman growing up in a world of abandonment and rejection, and Spivak supports that point by showing us the ideas mirrored throughout.