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The Gold Crucifix
In the novel-within-the-novel, Sophie Amundsen discovers a strange brass mirror that allows her to see her “real-life” counterpart, Hilde Møller Knag. It’s interesting that in Sophie’s World the mirror, a traditional symbol of self-contemplation, is depicted as a tool for interpersonal communication—a magical device that allows Sophie to see another part of the world. The message would seem to be that introspection and careful thinking, the qualities that Sophie’s philosophical education encourages, don’t just lead to a better understanding of oneself, but also to a better understanding of the world and other people.
The Brass Mirror Quotes in Sophie’s World
The Sophie’s World quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Brass Mirror. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
“Who are you?” Sophie asked.
She received no response to this either, but felt a momentary confusion as to whether it was she or her reflection who had asked the question.
Sophie pressed her index finger to the nose in the mirror and said, “You are me.”
As she got no answer to this, she turned the sentence around and said, “I am you.”
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Brass Mirror Symbol Timeline in Sophie’s World
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Brass Mirror appears in Sophie’s World. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 10: The Major’s Cabin
...“Berkeley.” There’s also another painting of a white house, captioned, “Bjerkely.” Sophie notices a large brass mirror hanging on the wall. When Sophie stares into the mirror and winks with one eye,...
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Chapter 13: The Postcards
Joanna and Sophie try to understand what’s going on. Joanna notices the large brass mirror that hangs in the cabin. Joanna senses that the mirror is somehow special, and begins...
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Joanna and Sophie leave the cabin with the brass mirror and spend the rest of the day camping in the forest. When Sophie gets home,...
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Chapter 16: The Renaissance
Back in her room, Sophie stares at the brass mirror and sees another girl’s face. The girl winks with both eyes, just as she did...
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Chapter 23: Bjerkeley
Hilde stares into her brass mirror . She has long blonde hair and green eyes. The mirror reminds Hilde of her...
(full context)
...real person. Hilde reaches the passage in her book in which Sophie stares in the brass mirror and sees a strange girl winking back at her—Hilde recognizes this strange girl as herself....
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Chapter 27: Hegel
...“mirror of the world spirit.” Sophie finds this interesting, since it reminds her of the brass mirror in her room. She wonders what the “significance” of this mirror could be. Alberto suggests...
(full context)
