The Looking Glass – Class 11 English Unit 5 Notes, Summary & Exercise Solutions

THE LOOKING GLASS by Anton Chekhov Class 11 English – Solution and Explanation of Pathways

"The Looking Glass" Summary

Anton Chekhov’s “The Looking Glass” is an investigation of volatile point where imagination meets reality. It trails a young woman named Nellie who peers into a mirror on New Year’s Eve and loses herself in a bright daydream.

Nellie is daydreaming that she is married to a good looking man. But mirth soon vanishes when she sees her husband as a sick man. Alone and helpless, she speeds through cold snows to obtain a doctor. A flicker of light touches her and she’s ruled by panic, fear, sorrow.

All at once, as if mechanically, the mirror falls from her hand and shivers to the ground. Nellie recoils from the make-believe terror and retreats to her silent chamber. All this ends when she finally sees that reality is not what the romantic daydream is like.

Key Themes in the Story

• Imagination vs. Reality
• Romantic Expectations
• Fear of the Future
• Youthful Dreams and Illusions
• Loneliness and Helplessness

Exercise Questions & Answers

a. Where does the tale take place?

The scene is a quiet room on New Year’s Eve, Nellie seated alone before a looking glass.

b. Who is Nellie and what does she see when she looks into the mirror?

Nellie is a romantic, young woman. When she gazes into the mirror, she envisions herself married, but her husband is dying and she is frantic to save him.

c. How does Nellie feel during her dream?

She is panic-stricken, afraid, helpless, sad and desperate.

d. How does Chekhov move from the imagined to the real?

The shattered break in the flow of Nellie’s dream Chekhov causes by having the mirror come crashing down and shattering. "That snaps her out of it, it brings her back to reality," he adds.

e. What is the importance of the looking-glass in the story?

The mirror represents the gate between dreams and reality. It’s about how people get to check out for a little bit and then they gotta come back to the world.

f. How is adolescence depicted in the narrative?

Youth is represented as a period of dream, of romantic delusions and of exaggerated expectations. Nellie symbolizes the naive youth who think that happiness comes from love and beauty.

Grammar Focus: Reported Speech

Conversion of Direct and indirect speech. In this unit, grammar activities will include conversion of direct statement into indirect speech.

Examples:

• Reported: Nellie said that she had seen her husband in the mirror.
• Reported: Nellie said to have seen her husband in the mirror.

Practice:

• “I need to see a doctor,” she said. 👉 “I had to find a doctor,” she said.
• “Where is my husband?” Nellie asked. 👉 Nellie wanted to know if her husband was around.

Conclusion

“The Looking Glass” is an allegorical short story and a manifestation of the age-old warning not to walk close to the edge of the precipice, for transient romantic dreams are apt to give place to bitter realities. Chekhov skillfully blurs the line between fantasy and reality to reveal that life can take a turn for the worse and does not always unfold as perfectly as we envision. Through Nellie’s vantage, the story tells us not to exist too much in fantasy but to confront life as it is.