Mirrors and Reflections in Jane Campion's The Piano

Abstract

Several theoretical discourses take up the question of mirrors and reflections based on ancient myths and various works of art; the presence of duality and various repetitive motifs, the myth of Narcissus, the bondage between mothers and daughters, and numerous other themes are all approached by these theories. However, I chose to represent these themes within Jane Campion’s most successful film, The Piano. What is interesting about this film is that the director represents these strongly visual motifs via the medium of the film, in a way that she is able to deconstruct several patriarchal imprints that are based mostly on images exactly through a pictorial framework.