Photo by Kelly Sikkema.
I’m still nursing my most recent cold-that-will-not-die, so this month’s post will be particularly focused and brief.
Can you spot the problem with the following sentence?
“Her face reflected a deep anger.”
Phrases like this show up all the time in manuscripts, just as they show up all the time in speech. The issue is with the word “reflected,” which we often use metaphorically as a synonym for “showed” or “indicated.” There are plenty of contexts where this swap works perfectly, as in “Her behavior is a reflection of the society she lives in” or “His tastes reflect his upbringing in 1960s Paris.”
The difference between the first and later examples is one of directionality. “Reflect,” at its core, refers to one thing bouncing off another (think of light reflecting off a pond or your face reflected in a mirror). This sense of an outside force hitting one thing and then being cast back is preserved when we say someone’s behavior reflects their upbringing or society. In contrast, when we read people’s bodies as conveying something about their interior selves, we are experiencing that communication not as reflections but as straight lines directly connecting us to those other people through their faces or gestures.
Now, can you find dictionary definitions that would allow the first sentence to pass as proper English? Yes, you can. And I doubt anyone reading the phrase would be confused about its meaning. But good writing involves thinking deeply about language and choosing the words that best convey the ideas you want to express. When it comes to describing the relationship between a character’s thoughts or feelings and his appearance, please take a moment to reflect on the fact that there are many, far better words to use than reflected.
Photo by Dmitry Ratushny.