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The [[concept ]] of the [[mirror stage]] is [[Lacan]]'s first important contribution to [[psychoanalysis|psychoanalytic theory]], [[Lacan]]'s first innovation within the field of [[psychoanalysis]], propounded at an [[IPA]] conference at [[Marienbad ]] in [[{{Y}}|1936]]. The concept is a constant point of reference throughout [[Lacan]]'s [[Jacques Lacan:Bibliography|work]], and becomes increasingly [[complex ]] as it is reworked in various different contexts.

The "[[mirror stage|mirror test]]" was first described by the [[French]] [[psychology|psychologist]] and friend of [[Lacan]], Henri Wallon, in 1931, although [[Lacan]] attributes its discovery to Baldwin.<ref>{{E}} p. 1</ref> It refers to a [[particular ]] experiment which can differentiate the [[human]] [[infant]] from his closest [[animal]] relative, the chimpanzee. The six-­month-old child differs from the chimpanzee of the same age in that the former becomes fascinated with its [[reflection ]] in the [[mirror]] and jubilantly assumes it as its own [[image]], whereas the chimpanzee quickly realizes that the [[image]] is [[illusory ]] and loses interest in it.

[[Lacan]]'s concept of the [[mirror stage]] represents a fundamental aspect of the [[structure]] of [[subjectivity]]. Whereas in [[{{Y}}|1936-49]], [[Lacan]] seems to see it is a [[development|stage]] which can be located at a specific [[time]] in the [[development]] of the [[child]] with a beginning (six months) and an end (eighteen months),<ref>{{E}} p. 5</ref> by the end of this period there are already [[signs ]] that he is broadening the concept.

By the early 1950s [[Lacan]] no longer regards it simply as a [[moment ]] in the [[life ]] of the [[infant]], but sees it as also representing a permanent [[structure]] of [[subjectivity]], the paradigm of the [[imaginary|imaginary order]]; it is a stadium (''stade'') in which the [[subject]] is permanently [[captation|caught]] and [[captation|captivated]] by his own [[image]]:

<blockquote>[the mirror [[stage ]] is] a phenomenon to which I assign a twofold [[value]]. In the first [[place]], it has historical value as it marks a decisive turning-point in the [[mental ]] development of the child. In the second place, it typifies an essential [[libidinal ]] [[relationship ]] with the [[body]]-image.<ref>{{L}} 1951b. "[[Works of Jacques Lacan|Some Reflections on the Ego]]," ''Int. J. [[Psycho]]-[[Anal]].'', vol. 34, 1953: 14</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>[[The mirror stage ]] is far from a mere phenomenon which occurs in the development of the child. It illustrates the conflictual [[nature ]] of the [[dual ]] relationship.<ref>{{S4}} p. 17</ref></blockquote>

The [[mirror stage]] describes the [[formation ]] of the [[ego]] via the [[process ]] of [[identification]]; the [[ego]] is the result of [[identifying]] with one's own [[specular image]].

The key to this phenomenon lies in the [[helplessness|prematurity]] of the [[human]] [[infant|baby]]: at six months, the baby still [[lacks ]] coordination. However, its [[visual ]] [[system ]] is relatively advanced, which means that it can recognize itself in the mirror before attaining [[control ]] over its [[bodily ]] movements.

The [[baby]] sees its own [[image]] as [[gestalt|whole]], and the [[dialectic|synthesis]] of this [[image]] produces a [[sense ]] of contrast with the uncoordination of the body, which is experienced as a [[fragmented body]]; this contrast is first felt by the [[infant]] as a [[rivalry ]] with its own [[image]], because the [[gestalt|wholeness]] of the [[image]] threatens the subject with [[fragmentation]], and the [[mirror stage]] thereby gives rise to an [[aggressivity|aggressive tension]] between the [[subject]] and the [[specular image|image]].

In [[order ]] to resolve this [[aggressivity|aggressive tension]], the [[subject]] [[identifies]] with the [[image]]; this [[identification|primary identi­fication]] with the [[counterpart]] is what forms the [[ego]]. The moment of [[identifica­tion]], when the [[subject]] assumes its [[image]] as its own, is described by [[Lacan]] as a moment of jubilation,<ref>{{E}} p. 1</ref> since it leads to an [[imaginary]] sense of [[master|mastery]]:

This [[identification]] also involves the [[ideal ego]] which functions as a promise of [[future ]] [[gestalt|wholeness]] which sustains the [[ego]] in [[time|anticipation]]. The [[mirror stage]] shows that the [[ego]] is the product of [[méconnaissance|misunderstanding]] ([[méconnaissance]] and the site where the [[subject]] becomes [[alienation|alienated]] from himself.

It represents the introduction of the [[subject]] into the [[imaginary order]]. However, the [[mirror stage]] also has an important [[symbolic|symbolic dimension]]. The [[symbolic order]] is [[present ]] in the [[figure ]] of the [[adult ]] who is carrying or supporting the [[infant]].

The moment after the [[subject]] has jubilantly assumed his [[image]] as his own, he turns his head round towards this adult, who represents the [[big Other]], as if to call on him to ratify this [[image]].<ref>{{L}} ''[[Seminar X|Le Séminaire. Livre X. L'angoisse, 1962-3]]''. Unpublished. [[Seminar ]] of 28 November 1962</ref>

The [[mirror stage]] is also closely related to [[narcissism]], as the story of [[Narcissus]] clearly shows (in the Greek [[myth]], [[Narcissus]] falls in [[love]] with his own reflection).<ref>* "[[Le stade du miroir comme formateur de la fonction du Je]]." ''[[Écrits]]''. [[Paris]]: Seuil, 1966: 93-100 ["[[The mirror stage as formative of the function of the I]]." Trans. [[Alan Sheridan]]. ''[[Écrits: A Selection]]''. [[London]]: Tavistock, 1977; New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1977: 1-7].</ref>