The Mirror is inspired by Chapter 58 of Dumas's novel, The Count of Monte Christo. Monsieur Noirtier, once a man of great power over others, now spends every day in a wheelchair in front of a mirror, in which he can see his entire apartment. An early description of "locked-in syndrome", he communicates only with his grand-daughter, Valentine, who has had the patience to learn how to interpret his eye-movements, which are the only part of his body he is now able to control.