A Summary and Analysis of ‘Dialogue with the Mirror’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘Dialogue with the Mirror' is a 1949 short story by the Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez. Published when he was just twenty-two years old, it is an early work written when Márquez was still finding his way towards his mature style. In the story, a man looks at himself in the mirror one morning as he prepares to shave before work. The largely plotless story concentrates on what goes through the man's mind as he shaves himself, cutting himself slightly in the process. Summary The story describes a man in front of the mirror, and the thoughts and dreams he has while he stands there. He itemises the various things – a shave, a bath, breakfast – which he has to complete before he leaves the house to go to work, allowing himself a specified number of minutes for each activity. We follow his train of thought as he tries unsuccessfully to remember the name of a local shop which sells provisions, hardware, medicine, and other items, but all he can recall with certainty is that it is owned by someone named Mabel and its name begins with a letter P. Briefly, as he looks into the mirror, he sees the image of his dead twin brother. He fills the basin with hot water. When the cloud of water vapour disappears from the surface of the mirror, he sees his reflection in the mirror and sticks out his tongue, watching as his reflection does the same back at him. Noticing his tongue is yellow, he diagnoses that his reflection – and therefore he himself – has an upset stomach. When he smiles, he notices an air of falseness and artificiality in his smile as it's reflected back at him. He experiences an almost childish glee as he lathers his face with soap suds ready to shave. But realising he is in danger of running behind schedule, he starts to speed up. The smell of food cooking in the kitchen downstairs makes him salivate as he shaves. When he catches sight of his elbow […]