An imitative image is one that hides its true nature and seeks to deceive its audience. It pretends to be real and have substance, but in reality, it is nothing more than an illusion. Ovid, a Roman poet, discusses the nature of imitative images in the story of Narcissus from his narrative poem, Metamorphoses. When Narcissus falls in love with a man who he later finds out is his nothing more than his own reflection, Ovid highlights why this type of imagery is so deceptive and dangerous. The duality of these images, the way they simultaneously appear real and are unreal, creates a conflict that the mind cannot resolve. It is this conflict that ultimately drives Narcissus to his death. When Narcissus first sees his reflection in a pool of water, he is “overcome by the beauty of the image that he sees; he falls in love with an immaterial hope” (Ovid, 107). The image Narcissus sees is so beautiful that he is instantly captivated and hopelessly desires the man staring up at him from the water’s surface. The mysterious man appears so tangible and so lifelike that Narcissus is unable to recognize that the form before him is merely a reflection of his own appearance. He becomes emotionally committed to this imitation of a person, and that commitment is indistinguishable …show more content…
The image cannot deny the true imitative and immaterial nature of medium any longer, but it does not have to, because Narcissus manages to do it all by himself. He knows now that it is a false projection, but he is unable to accept it and move on. The image still seems so real and just beyond his reach that he ends his life in the hopes that after his death, he can transcend the boundary between them and they can be united in the afterlife in a way they never could within the confines of a natural