Images in a Mirror

Images in a Mirror is the story of Fru Hjelde, an actress who abandons in a burst of passion her successful career and marries a man with whom she had little in common. After the passing of ten years, Uni—as Fru Hjelde is called—finds that her husband and five children have become, not an impetus, but rather an intractable obstacle to a life of fulfillment. Eager for diversion, Uni finds the opportunity to expand her world after a chance encounter with a charming acquaintance from her past. First appearing in English in 1938 as the last of Undset’s modern background novels, Images in a Mirror takes the emotional trappings of a prosaic life—nostalgia, ennui, discontent—and casts them in such light that they become visible for what they truly the signs and signals of the human heart seeking its ultimate desire.