Title: The Lady of the House of Mirrors
Author: Rafaela F. Ferraz
Date of First Publication: 2015
Place of Publication: Daughters of Frankenstein: Lesbian Mad Scientists
Type: Short Story
Characters: No Character
Themes: QUEER FRANKENSTEIN; WOMEN WRITING MONSTERS; MAD SCIENTIST/ MONSTER; ANDROID
Critical Summary: “The Lady of the House of Mirrors” by Rafaela F. Ferraz brings mad science into the feminine sphere by casting a female mastermind, creator, and monster. In this uncanny short story, the protagonist Rosie—a young woman who studied under Dr. Varadys, a controversial doll maker—is tasked to create a life-like companion for a reclusive woman known as the lady of the house of mirrors. Rosie is renowned for her fine craftsmanship at Varadys’ Automata, Dolls for Dreamers, and her unique skill set of bringing inanimate dolls to life intrigues Miss G. (the lady of the house of mirrors). Miss G. gives Rosie a set of requirements for her new companion. It must be life-like, conversational, and obedient. Both eager to take the next step in her doll making career and taken by Miss G.’s beauty, Rosie sets out to fulfill this dark request. Rosie asks her assistant, Theo, to procure a newly deceased corpse, so she can create a companion with real human skin and real human features. However, when Theo actually finds the corpse of a young man with the help of the morgue director, Aiden, Rosie lets the body rot before she begins to work on it. This process repeats twice more, but once the third body decomposes to no avail, Rosie takes the advice of her Aunt’s freed slave, Max, and obtains a living, breathing human that can act like a robotic companion to Miss G. Rosie, Theo, and Aiden finally journey to the house of mirrors with a white coffin in tow. Inside this coffin, there is a young woman in a suit with a scar on her chest. Rosie tells Miss G. that this is the companion she has hoped for, who will assist her in every task and fulfill her desires. Unfortunately, soon after, a cryptic note arrives on Rosie’s doorstep. It states that Miss G. sees through Rosie’s lies, and the human heart in the box confirms that the living doll was not a doll at all, but a human slave.
Similar to Shelley’s Frankenstein, “The Lady of the House of Mirrors” challenges morality by gifting the power of creation to a human being. Just like Victor Frankenstein, the original mad scientist, Rosie attempts to bring life to the dead and is alarmed by the grotesqueness of the task. Her deep desires for approval, appreciation, and status drive her to exploit the dead and the living, defiling bodies and ignoring the sanctity of autonomy and freedom. This short story also uses feminine characters and symbols to flip Frankenstein’s masculine frame. In place of the massive, horrific creature from Frankenstein, Ferraz depicts a feminine doll to explore similar themes; however, Ferraz’s creature does not exact revenge or take charge with a murderous rampage. Her creature submits, silently having her power taken away and abused by a women in higher standing. Lastly, Ferraz uses queer characters to explore the sub-textual relationship between Victor and the Creature in Frankenstein. Rosie is attracted to women, as is Miss G. in theory, so the companion Rosie “creates” for her is a beautiful women. This android doll is meant to be a life partner for Miss G., but Miss G. denies her just as Victor denies the Creature, brutally rejecting a fulfilling relationship and cursing the other for their desires.
Administrative Notes: Elise Peregrin, CSUF; Kyle Kalmanson (editing)