Flesh and the Mirror (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Angela Carter
- First Published: 1974
- Type of Plot: Autobiographical
- Time of Work: Summer, probably early 1970's
- Setting: Tokyo, Japan
- Principal Characters: An English woman, Her lover, A young man
- Genres: Short fiction
- Subjects: 1970’s, Love or romance, Sex or sexuality, Twentieth century, Self, Manners or customs, Obsession, Asia or Asians, England or English people, Visions, epiphanies, or revelations, Japan or Japanese people, Tokyo, Self-revelations
- Locales: Tokyo, Japan
The Story
“Flesh and the Mirror” is narrated by an English woman, who recalls a day-and-a-half period in which she wanders the streets of Tokyo, weeping, searching for her lover. She turns herself into a character in a melodrama, she later realizes, living her life as a performance, relishing her anguish and hysteria. She observes her own life from outside, as if it were taking place on stage. She has always lived as if she were a actor in a romantic play and now she eagerly throws herself into the age-old role of abandoned lover, loving the opportunity to indulge in...
[The entire page is 1389 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
See Also
