Among all the everyday objects, there is hardly a thing more controversial and mysterious than a mirror. In Antiquity, many myths and legends were associated with it. In the Middle Ages, entire states kept the secret of its production. The mirror was seen as both an instrument for correcting morals and an attribute of vice. At different times, looking in the mirror, a person found in it either the reflection of the image of God or the grin of the Devil. The history of a mirror is not just the history of a household item, but also the history of a person’s relationship with his reflection, with his double. Connecting truth and appearance, external and internal, intimately personal and collective, the mirror absorbs human passions and ideas about the world. French researcher Sabine Melchior-Bonnet examines the many aspects of this symbolic object and describes the amazing impact it has on people. A person faces his reflection and discovers himself as an individual. This phenomenon, called the “mirror stage” by J. Lacan, is shown in the book against the backdrop of thousands of years of history.