The Mirror Chapter 17: Awake, Aware, and Crossing Time

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Chapter Seventeen opens with Sonya and Trey waking together in the manor, sharing a tender morning. After they discuss their routines—Sonya plans to work out, Trey heads to the office—Sonya returns from the gym to discover the mirror standing in the library. This time she is completely awake and aware. She walks through the mirror and finds herself in the same library decades earlier, at night, during Patricia Youngsboro’s engagement party.

Sonya watches Patricia enter the library, gloating over her upcoming marriage to Michael Poole and her future as mistress of the manor. Hester Dobbs appears, warning Patricia that she will die if she becomes a bride in the manor. Dobbs throws Patricia to the floor, and Patricia’s compact falls, its mirror shattering. After Patricia flees, Dobbs senses Sonya’s presence but cannot see her. When Dobbs vanishes, Sonya picks up the compact and carries it back through the mirror to the present.

She shows the compact to Cleo, and they realize this object proves Sonya can retrieve physical items from the past. Sonya speculates the rings might be recovered the same way. Later, Owen and Trey deliver the custom doghouse Sonya designed for Yoda, complete with a turret and tiny fireplace. The chapter ends with Cleo serving meatloaf for dinner, as Sonya prepares to tell Trey about her latest mirror crossing.

Key Events

Sonya and Trey share a quiet, intimate morning after a night together.
Trey discusses his worry about Marlo’s situation and thanks Sonya for pushing him to talk.
Sonya works out; upon returning, she finds the mirror in the library.
Awake and aware, Sonya walks through the mirror into the past library.
She witnesses Patricia Youngsboro admiring her engagement ring and planning her life as Mrs. Poole.
Hester Dobbs confronts Patricia, warns her that entering the manor as a bride will lead to death, and knocks her to the floor.
Patricia’s compact falls and its mirror shatters.
After Dobbs vanishes, Sonya picks up the compact and brings it back to the present.
Sonya and Cleo discuss the implications: if Sonya can retrieve the compact, she might retrieve the rings.
Owen, Trey, and John Dee deliver Yoda’s custom doghouse; Yoda and other dogs inspect it.
Cleo serves meatloaf for dinner; Sonya prepares to recount the mirror crossing to Trey.

Character Development

Sonya: Demonstrates growing control over her mirror travels. She remains fully conscious and makes deliberate choices—walking through, observing, and then picking up the compact. Her determination to use this ability to retrieve the rings shows she is moving from passive experiencer to active investigator.
Trey: Opens up about his stress over Marlo, showing willingness to share burdens with Sonya. His support for her work and his practical gifts (doghouse) reinforce his role as a steady partner.
Cleo: Acts as a sounding board and emotional support for Sonya. She quickly grasps the significance of the compact and insists on accompanying Sonya to see Gretta Poole.
Hester Dobbs: Reveals her motivations: she respects Patricia’s lust for power yet still threatens death. Dobbs senses Sonya’s presence, indicating her awareness may be growing.
Patricia Youngsboro: Introduced as arrogant and calculating. Her terror at Dobbs’s threat explains why she later closed the manor and never lived there.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

The Mirror as a Threshold: Sonya’s ability to cross the mirror while awake marks a new stage in her relationship with the supernatural. The mirror is no longer just a passive portal; it responds to her intention.
Objects as Bridges: The compact serves as proof that physical items can be moved between timelines. This foreshadows the possibility of retrieving the cursed rings.
Power and Control: Dobbs’s warning to Patricia centers on power—the desire to be mistress. Dobbs respects a similar hunger in Patricia but still condemns her to death if she marries.
Home and Belonging: Sonya’s growing attachment to the manor is reinforced by Trey’s family gesture (the doghouse) and her determination to protect the house from Dobbs.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 17 is a turning point. Sonya’s awake, willful passage through the mirror changes the rules of engagement with the ghost. She can now bring objects back from the past, directly linking her to the rings’ potential recovery. The confrontation between Dobbs and Patricia provides crucial backstory on why the manor was closed for decades and underscores Dobbs’s relentless curse. Additionally, the doghouse gift deepens Sonya’s bond with Trey and Owen, making her fight for the manor more personal.

Study Questions and Answers

1. What makes Sonya’s mirror crossing in this chapter different from her previous experiences?
Previous crossings occurred while Sonya was dreaming, sleepwalking, or unaware. In Chapter 17, she is fully awake and aware. She decides to walk through the mirror after seeing it appear in the library, and she consciously observes the past scene and retrieves an object.

2. How does the compact’s retrieval change Sonya’s strategy going forward?
The compact proves that Sonya can bring physical items from the past to the present through the mirror. This leads her and Cleo to conclude she might be able to retrieve the rings that Hester Dobbs stole from the murdered brides. It shifts Sonya from a passive witness to an active investigator who can potentially break the curse.

3. What does Dobbs’s interaction with Patricia reveal about Dobbs’s character and motives?
Dobbs respects Patricia’s ambition for power, which is why she offers a warning instead of immediate murder. However, she is still bound by her curse to kill any bride who enters the manor. Dobbs’s line “I will not regret giving you death” shows she can feel a flicker of mercy but chooses to follow her malevolent nature. The scene also confirms that Dobbs has been killing brides for over a century and plans to continue.