Unblemished Mirror Image

The unblemished mirror image gives reference to the unharmed, faultless memory belonging to Leonard Shelby. The first instance in which this is shown is when Leonard is talking to Teddy and states “There are things you know for sure”. Within this statement he is describing how his past life is not shattered in any way. Although there was an accident, Leonard does not forget his past as an investigator for an insurance company. The image of his past life, before the accident, is clear and concise. As well as anything he learned in the past. “I know what that’s going to sound like when I knock on it. I know what that’s going to feel like when I pick it up.”, he will not forget what he’s learned in that past. There is no evidence of a crack or shatter in the memory. It is evident throughout the movie that Leonard does not experience any difficulties when it comes to remembering his past. When he, repeatedly, introduces himself as “Leonard Shelby from San Francisco”, it shows that he remembers the past clearly. His past identity is all he remembers and Teddy clarifies this, only for him to forget it moments later, by stating “That’s who you were, not who you’ve

It is evident that the mirror is beginning to shatter. That “perfect” image that Leonard see’s in his memory near the beginning of the movie begins to crack near the end. When Teddy tells his that “It was your wife who had diabetes”, it describes Leonard’s confusion. The image of his wife lying on the bed is similar to the image of her lying on the bathroom floor after the accident. Leonard altered his own memory of her to make sense of his condition and situation. Throughout the movie Leonard has a frequent, short, flashback of his wife lying on the bathroom floor. It can be inferred that as he progresses through this cycle of finding the “John G. [that] raped and murdered [his] wife that the image of his wife will begin to shatter more and