mirror
c.1225, from O.Fr. mireor "a reflecting glass," earlier miradoir (11c.), from mirer "look at," from V.L. *mirare, from L. mirari "to wonder at, admire" (see miracle). Fig. usage is attested from c.1300. The verb. meaning "to reflect" is first attested 1820 in Keats's "Lamia." Used in divination since classical and biblical times; mirrors in modern England are the subject of at least 14 known superstitions, according to folklorists. Belief that breaking one brings bad luck is attested from 1777.
stage (n.)
c.1300, "story of a building, raised floor for exhibitions," from O.Fr. estage "a story or floor of a building, stage for performance," from V.L. *staticum "a place for standing," from L. statum, pp. of stare "to stand" (see stet). Meaning "platform for presentation of a play" is attested from 1548; generalized for "profession of an actor" from 1589. Sense of "period of development or time in life" first recorded 1608, probably from M.E. sense of "degree or step on the 'ladder' of virtue, 'wheel' of fortune, etc.," in parable illustrations and morality plays. The verb meaning "to put (a play) on the stage" first recorded 1879; general sense of "to mount" (a comeback, etc.) is attested from 1924. Stage-coach is 1658, from the sense of "division of a journey without stopping for rest" (1603). Stage mother is from 1919. Stage-Door Johnny "young man who frequents stage doors seeking the company of actresses, chorus girls, etc." is attested from 1912. Stage-struck is from 1813; earlier stage-smitten (1682). Stage-whisper first attested 1865.
The mirror stage was the subject of Jacques Lacan's first official contribution to psychoanalytic theory (Fourteenth International Psychoanalytical Congress at Marienbad in 1936). He described it in "The Mirror Stage as formative of the function of the I as revealed in psychoanalytic experience", the first of his Écrits. In the early fifties, he no longer considers it as a moment in the life of the infant, but as representing a permanent structure of subjectivity, the paradigm of the Imaginary order: it is a phase in which the subject is permanently caught and captivated by his own image.
There are days when I look in the mirror and I stand, highly irritated and somewhat in awe before the fact that the image reflected there is me. A total feeling of de-identification with my self, my image, my body, my history, my story, my life. That's how I feel today: I just can't believe I'm myself.
c.1225, from O.Fr. mireor "a reflecting glass," earlier miradoir (11c.), from mirer "look at," from V.L. *mirare, from L. mirari "to wonder at, admire" (see miracle). Fig. usage is attested from c.1300. The verb. meaning "to reflect" is first attested 1820 in Keats's "Lamia." Used in divination since classical and biblical times; mirrors in modern England are the subject of at least 14 known superstitions, according to folklorists. Belief that breaking one brings bad luck is attested from 1777.
stage (n.)
c.1300, "story of a building, raised floor for exhibitions," from O.Fr. estage "a story or floor of a building, stage for performance," from V.L. *staticum "a place for standing," from L. statum, pp. of stare "to stand" (see stet). Meaning "platform for presentation of a play" is attested from 1548; generalized for "profession of an actor" from 1589. Sense of "period of development or time in life" first recorded 1608, probably from M.E. sense of "degree or step on the 'ladder' of virtue, 'wheel' of fortune, etc.," in parable illustrations and morality plays. The verb meaning "to put (a play) on the stage" first recorded 1879; general sense of "to mount" (a comeback, etc.) is attested from 1924. Stage-coach is 1658, from the sense of "division of a journey without stopping for rest" (1603). Stage mother is from 1919. Stage-Door Johnny "young man who frequents stage doors seeking the company of actresses, chorus girls, etc." is attested from 1912. Stage-struck is from 1813; earlier stage-smitten (1682). Stage-whisper first attested 1865.
The mirror stage was the subject of Jacques Lacan's first official contribution to psychoanalytic theory (Fourteenth International Psychoanalytical Congress at Marienbad in 1936). He described it in "The Mirror Stage as formative of the function of the I as revealed in psychoanalytic experience", the first of his Écrits. In the early fifties, he no longer considers it as a moment in the life of the infant, but as representing a permanent structure of subjectivity, the paradigm of the Imaginary order: it is a phase in which the subject is permanently caught and captivated by his own image.
There are days when I look in the mirror and I stand, highly irritated and somewhat in awe before the fact that the image reflected there is me. A total feeling of de-identification with my self, my image, my body, my history, my story, my life. That's how I feel today: I just can't believe I'm myself.

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