Aspects of Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly!)

[Silver Bullet]

I came across this on the web, a little essay that looks at the Firefly episodes and characters at a deeper level than I do:

http://www.soulfulspike.com/aspects_of_mal.htm

I guess this is much more "right-brained" than I am, but I undertstand what the author is saying. I think she makes a compelling case for her main point, that each of the other characters represents a particular aspect of Malcolm Reynolds.

The author described Jayne as representing Mal's self-interest, and Inara as Mal's heart. In her analysis of Heart of Gold, she makes this observation:

Both Jayne and Inara are also shown being reflected in mirrors, indicating that they were exactly reflecting Mal's conflicting feelings of post-coital bliss and aching heart.

This is the most interesting statement in the entire essay. My question is: Is this observation true; is this the intent of the show's writers ? Is every bit of what the author is describing valid ? That is, does this ring true for a significant people who watch the show, for a significant number of THR folks who watch Firefly ? More specifically, did the show's creators intentionally show them reflected in mirrors for that purpose ?

Or is this (and the entire essay) just some artsy mumbo-jumbo, one viewpoint out of a million viewpoints, each equally as valid and invalid as the next ?

 

[Danus ex]

I've read my fair share of literary criticism and this is fairly typical. The question of whether or not the author meant all of these things is always debatable, but the question that should be most important to the critics (in my opinion) is rhetorical: does the audience read/interpret/analyze what they're experiencing deeply enough for such subtleties to matter? I guess we'll find out as people respond. I know that I have lots of training in English and I sure as hell don't notice that kind of stuff.

 

[Preacherman]

Sorry, but this one really isn't THR material. Try it on our sister forum, APS.