Fairest

Mirrors serve as a motif of The Impact of Beauty Standards on Self-Worth. For most of the novel, Aza avoids looking at her reflection lest she be reminded of how her appearance diverges from Ayorthian beauty standards. At times, the shame and dread that she experiences when she looks in the mirror is so severe that she “burst[s] into tears” (35). Levine reinforces the connection between mirrors and beauty standards by using them as a metaphor for the narrator’s self-judgment: “I’d avoided looking in actual mirrors, but I’d gazed constantly in the mirror in my mind and always hated what I showed myself” (315). By the end of the novel, Aza’s growing self-esteem makes her want to reframe her relationship with mirrors: “Perhaps someday I might even be able to smile at myself in a mirror. Not yet. But maybe someday” (304). As the protagonist learns to value herself, mirrors and beauty standards lose much of their power over her.

Levine also develops the motif through the character of Skulni, who dwells within a magic mirror. A mirror is a fitting prison for the creature because vanity is one of the primary human failings that he uses to manipulate people. Even conventionally pretty individuals like Ivi are not immune to his machinations. Lucinda gives Skulni’s mirror to Ivi after she says, “I wish you would make me as beautiful as you are” (274). This demonstrates that beauty standards harm everyone by distorting their perceptions and making them overly critical of themselves and others. The shattering of Skulni’s mirror marks a key moment for the motif. Aza is not only breaking Skulni’s hold over herself and Ivi but also defying the constricting beauty standards that have harmed her self-worth for as long as she can remember. By making the magic mirror the antagonist in her reinterpretation of “Snow White,” Levine emphasizes the damaging effects of beauty standards.