Mirror of Erised
Chapter Twelve of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,"The Mirror of Erised," is the second chapter named after a magical item (the first is Chapter Seven, "The Sorting Hat"). The Mirror of Erised is one of several remarkable devices for revealing character, as it reflects your deepest desires. In the Prisoner of Azkaban two more devices are introduced: boggarts [POA7], magical creatures which show your deepest fear, and dementors, magical creatures which compel you to relive your worst memories [POA5].
Late on Christmas night during his first year, Harry escaped from Filch and Snape by entering an unused classroom. Against the wall was magnificent mirror, which had an ornate gold frame as high as the ceiling and stood on two clawed feet. Carved around the top was the inscription Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi [PS/SS12].
When Harry stepped in front of it, he saw his own family, whom he had been yearning for all his life. Late the next night Harry and Ron set out under the invisibility cloak to see the mirror. Harry again saw his family, but Ron saw himself as Head Boy and Quidditch captain, holding both the house and Quidditch cups [PS/SS12].
The next day, however, Ron wisely encouraged Harry not to visit the mirror again: "I've just got a bad feeling about it" [PS/SS12]. On the third night Harry set out alone again to visit the mirror. However, this time he encountered Professor Dumbledore, who explained what the Mirror of Erised was: "It shows us nothing more or less then the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. … this mirror gives us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced … or driven mad. … It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live" [PS/SS12]. This understanding of desire is important for Harry in his confrontation with Voldemort. This is also the site of the first intimate and friendly conversation between Harry and Dumbledore, foreshadowing Harry's future successes in fighting for Dumbledore's side in the coming clash.
Symbolically, the Mirror of Erised is a mirror into the soul, because it reflects your heart's deepest desire ("Erised" is "desire" spelled backwards). The mirror image of the inscription "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi" reads "I show not your face but your hearts desire." In the Mirror of Erised you do not see reality, you see exactly what you want to see. Both of Harry's desires, as reflected in the mirror, were noble; he wanted to see his family, and then he wanted to find the Sorcerer's Stone for the good of the wizarding community. When Quirrell looked into the mirror, his desires were entirely selfish [PS/SS16].
In an interview, Jo said that if Voldemort looked into the Mirror of Erised he would see: "Himself, all-powerful and eternal. That's what he wants." Apparently, Harry would see: "Voldemort finished, dead gone, wouldn't he? Because he knows now that he will have no peace and no rest until this is accomplished" [MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron interview, 16 July 2005]. Dumbledore would have seen a vision similar to Harry's: a complete family, reunited and happy [JKR Interview].
Dumbledore noted how very unusual Harry was: "In spite of all the temptation you have endured, all the suffering, you remain pure of heart, just as pure as you were at the age of eleven, when you stared into a mirror that reflected your heart's desire, and it showed you only the way to thwart Lord Voldemort, and not immortality or riches. Harry, have you any idea how few wizards could have seen what you saw in that mirror?" [HBP23].
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