--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Suppose the looking glass smashes, the…" description: "\"Suppose the looking glass smashes, the image disappears, and the romantic figure with the green of forest depths all about it is there no longer, but o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/virginia-woolf-49_accounts_suppose-the-looking-glass-smashes-the-im_1047939.jpg" --- # Suppose the looking glass smashes, the image disappears… ![“Suppose the looking glass smashes, the image disappears, and the romantic figure with the green of forest depths all about it is there no longer, but only that shell of a person which is seen by other people - what an airless, shallow, bald, prominent world it becomes! A world not to be lived in…” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/virginia-woolf-49_accounts_suppose-the-looking-glass-smashes-the-im_1047939.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/virginia-woolf-49_accounts_suppose-the-looking-glass-smashes-the-im_1047939.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/virginia-woolf-49_accounts_suppose-the-looking-glass-smashes-the-im_1047939.jpg) > “Suppose the looking glass smashes, the image disappears, and the romantic figure with the green of forest depths all about it is there no longer, but only that shell of a person which is seen by other people - what an airless, shallow, bald, prominent world it becomes! A world not to be lived in. As we face each other in omnibuses and underground railways we are looking into the mirror that accounts for the vagueness, the gleam of glassiness, in our eyes.” [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The loss of authentic connection makes society feel empty and superficial, turning human interaction into a hollow performance. **In simple terms:** Loss of genuine connection creates a shallow world. Key Takeaway Seek deeper, authentic relationships. Themes alienation authenticity human connection Mood lonely reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - urban life - public transport - social media interactions Key Concepts existentialism psychology social critique Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster real intimacy in crowded spaces? - What does “mirror” symbolize in modern life? A Different Perspective The metaphor may overstate everyday interactions as merely reflective surfaces. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Forests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forests/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror/) [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Railway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/railway/) [Vagueness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vagueness/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“The looking-glass vision is of suprme importance because it charges the vitality; it stimulates the nervous system. Take it away and man may die,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-looking-glass-vision-is-of-suprme-importance-because-it-charges/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“She would not have cared to confess how infinitely she preferred the exactitude, the star-like impersonality, of figures to the confusion, agitation, and vagueness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-would-not-have-cared-to-confess-how-infinitely-she-preferred-the/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [There is a sadness at the back of life which some people do not attempt to mitigate. Entirely aware of their own standing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/there-is-a-sadness-at-the-back-of-life-which-some-people-do-not/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [As a viewed myself in a fragment of looking-glass..., I was so impressed with a sense of vague awe at my appearance ... that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/as-a-viewed-myself-in-a-fragment-of-looking-glass-i-was-so-impressed/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“I thought that probably meant something - that we could only really look at each other through a looking glass. Literally. I didn't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-crane/i-thought-that-probably-meant-something-that-we-could-only-really/) [Megan Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-crane/) > [“And just so you know—that winter forest we walked into first? That was from Through the Looking Glass too. Hey, if you’re going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-lothlorien/and-just-so-you-know-that-winter-forest-we-walked-into-first-that-was/) Elle Lothlorien > [Hullo… the wall is a looking-glass!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-leroux/hullo-the-wall-is-a-looking-glass/) [Gaston Leroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-leroux/) > [If you grow up in show business, you look beyond the looking glass. So, all of the surface facades get broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupaul/if-you-grow-up-in-show-business-you-look-beyond-the-looking-glass-so/) [RuPaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupaul/) > [“When you think everything is someone else’s fault, chances are that you’re looking at the wrong side of the looking glass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-megan-varnadore/when-you-think-everything-is-someone-else-s-fault-chances-are-that/) [Jennifer Megan Varnadore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-megan-varnadore/) > [It is no use to blame the looking glass if your face is awry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/it-is-no-use-to-blame-the-looking-glass-if-your-face-is-awry/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [“There is but one reality, that is true -- but the two of you experience it in slightly different ways. The older you get,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/there-is-but-one-reality-that-is-true-but-the-two-of-you-experience/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [What I would do to be Alice climbing through the looking glass, taking one of those pills that makes you small ... so small.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/what-i-would-do-to-be-alice-climbing-through-the-looking-glass-taking/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [You'll find truth in your looking glass, not on the tongues of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-find-truth-in-your-looking-glass-not-on-the-tongues-of-men/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Proverbs bear age, and he who would do well may view himself in them as in a looking glass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italian-proverb/proverbs-bear-age-and-he-who-would-do-well-may-view-himself-in-them/) Italian Proverb > [“Lewis Carroll is the writer who taught me the sheer delight of falling through a 'looking-glass' of my own!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-rose/lewis-carroll-is-the-writer-who-taught-me-the-sheer-delight-of/) Pamela Rose ## More by Virginia Woolf > [Fatigue is the safest sleeping draught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/fatigue-is-the-safest-sleeping-draught/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“The train slows and lengthens, as we approach London, the centre, and my heart draws out too, in fear, in exaltation. I am about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-train-slows-and-lengthens-as-we-approach-london-the-centre-and-my/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Across the broad continent of a woman's life falls the shadow of a sword. On one side all is correct, definite, orderly; the paths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/across-the-broad-continent-of-a-woman-s-life-falls-the-shadow-of-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Other worshipful objects were content with worship; men, women, God, all let one kneel prostrate; but this form, were it only the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/other-worshipful-objects-were-content-with-worship-men-women-god-all/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Why does Samuel Butler say, 'Wise men never say what they think of women'? Wise men never say anything else apparently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-does-samuel-butler-say-wise-men-never-say-what-they-think-of/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Sometimes he woke with a brain like lead; at others it was as if a thousand wax tapers were alight and people were throwing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/sometimes-he-woke-with-a-brain-like-lead-at-others-it-was-as-if-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The extraordinary woman depends on the ordinary woman. It is only when we know what were the conditions of the average woman's life -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-extraordinary-woman-depends-on-the-ordinary-woman-it-is-only-when/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [A veil of insanity everywhere: Oh why I was born in this age? It is a terrible age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-veil-of-insanity-everywhere-oh-why-i-was-born-in-this-age-it-is-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Love ought to stop on both sides, don’t you think, simultaneously?’ He spoke without any stress on the words, so as not to wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/love-ought-to-stop-on-both-sides-don-t-you-think-simultaneously-he/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“It is so vast an alleviation to be able to point for another to look at. And then not to talk. To follow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/it-is-so-vast-an-alleviation-to-be-able-to-point-for-another-to-look/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“What a vast fertility of pleasure books hold for me! (...) I think I could happily live here & read forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-vast-fertility-of-pleasure-books-hold-for-me-i-think-i-could/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“what a luxury to be alone once more,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-luxury-to-be-alone-once-more/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“...a woman writing thinks back through her mothers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-woman-writing-thinks-back-through-her-mothers/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“For one's children so often gave one's own perceptions a little thrust forwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/for-one-s-children-so-often-gave-one-s-own-perceptions-a-little/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“She would not say of anyone in the world now that they were this or were that. She felt very young; at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-would-not-say-of-anyone-in-the-world-now-that-they-were-this-or/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) [Explore all 1,872 Virginia Woolf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## More Accounts quotes > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [The Hindus have a peculiar slovenliness in business matters, not being sufficiently methodical and strict in keeping accounts etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-hindus-have-a-peculiar-slovenliness-in-business-matters-not-being/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [I had a very blessed journey with the upbringing I had. When you're working on sets as a stuntman, you have a firsthand account…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-roman-waugh/i-had-a-very-blessed-journey-with-the-upbringing-i-had-when-you-re/) [Ric Roman Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-roman-waugh/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [You've got to exercise. Your health account, your bank account, they're the same thing. The more you put in, the more you can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lalanne/you-ve-got-to-exercise-your-health-account-your-bank-account-they-re/) [Jack LaLanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lalanne/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [God puts you where God needs you. You are where you are supposed to be. The job you are doing may not be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kushner/god-puts-you-where-god-needs-you-you-are-where-you-are-supposed-to-be/) [Lawrence Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kushner/) > [Stop trying to treat music like it's a tennis shoe, something to be branded. 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