The Image in the Mirror
Encyclopedia
"The Image in the Mirror" is short story by Dorothy L. Sayers
, featuring Lord Peter Wimsey
and published as the first story in Hangman's Holiday
.
A man, who states that his body is a mirror image of the normal body plan
, confesses to Lord Peter Wimsey that he is worried he is going mad, due to blackouts in which he (or somebody identical to him) has committed crimes.
Lord Peter Wimsey states that as soon as he heard that the man was a mirror image he knew there must be an identical twin who was the other, 'right' half, briefly mentioning experiments with salamander eggs to back up this claim. This reference is to genuine experiments, pioneering knowledge about the chemical gradient that exists in all mammalian embryos, defining the development of front versus back, top versus bottom and left versus right. Though it is possible to have mirror image twins, in fact this is a very rare occurrence, and not a near certainty as described in the story.
Having deduced the existence of the evil twin it was an easy matter to find and arrest him, freeing the good twin from the shadow of his evil twin's misdeeds.
It is noteworthy that the story's solution involves a revelation about an unmarried woman who secretly gave birth and let her child be raised by a relative - which Sayers herself did in real life, though this was unknown at the time when the story was published.
Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
, featuring Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a bon vivant amateur sleuth in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries; usually, but not always, murders...
and published as the first story in Hangman's Holiday
Hangman's Holiday
Hangman's Holiday is a collection of short stories, mostly murder mysteries, by Dorothy L. Sayers. This collection, the ninth in the Lord Peter Wimsey series, was first published by Gollancz in 1933 and has been frequently reprinted .-Contents:*Lord Peter Wimsey stories:**"The Image in the...
.
Plot summary
This story is notable for its inaccurate depiction of right/left mirror image twins and may be an early example of the myth of the 'good' twin versus the 'evil' twin.A man, who states that his body is a mirror image of the normal body plan
Situs inversus
Situs inversus is a congenital condition in which the major visceral organs are reversed or mirrored from their normal positions. The normal arrangement is known as situs solitus...
, confesses to Lord Peter Wimsey that he is worried he is going mad, due to blackouts in which he (or somebody identical to him) has committed crimes.
Lord Peter Wimsey states that as soon as he heard that the man was a mirror image he knew there must be an identical twin who was the other, 'right' half, briefly mentioning experiments with salamander eggs to back up this claim. This reference is to genuine experiments, pioneering knowledge about the chemical gradient that exists in all mammalian embryos, defining the development of front versus back, top versus bottom and left versus right. Though it is possible to have mirror image twins, in fact this is a very rare occurrence, and not a near certainty as described in the story.
Having deduced the existence of the evil twin it was an easy matter to find and arrest him, freeing the good twin from the shadow of his evil twin's misdeeds.
It is noteworthy that the story's solution involves a revelation about an unmarried woman who secretly gave birth and let her child be raised by a relative - which Sayers herself did in real life, though this was unknown at the time when the story was published.