A very important symbol that comes towards the end of the
story is actually the mirror that Gurov sees himself reflected in just as he is about to
"make a joke" to Anna, having decided that their relationship must end. Of course
interestingly, what he sees in the mirror changes his view as he sees himself for who he
really is for the first time and then is able to see his relationship for what it
represents. The reflection that Gurov sees in the mirror causes him to realise that, for
the first time in his life, he has fallen in love. Note how the text describes this
epiphany to us:
His hair was already beginning to turn grey. it
struck him as strange that he should have aged so much in the last few years, have lost
so much of his looks. The shoulders on which his hands lay were warm and quivering. He
felt a pity for this life, still so warm and exquisite, but probably soon to fade and
drrop like his own. Why did she love him so? Women had always believed him different
from what he really was, had loved in him not himself but the man their imagination
pictured him, a man they had sought for eagerly all their lives. And afterwards when
they discovered their mistake, they went on loving him just the same... Time had passed,
he had met one woman after another, become intimate with each, parted with each, but had
never loved. There had been all sorts of things between them, but never
love.
Thus we can see that
the mirror becomes a symbol of self-understanding in the short story. Literally, Gurov
sees himself, but symbolically, the vision of himself triggers an important epiphany
that moves beyond his physical appearance to how he has led his life and his
interactions with others. Seeing himself for who he really is moves him from treating
Anna like just another casual seduction to realising that he was in love with her
"properly, thoroughly," and that this was the first time in his life that he had
experienced this.
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