Near the beginning of the seventeenth week (on the one hundred and
thirteenth day) the child for the first time regards his image in the
glass with unmistakable attention, and indeed with the same expression
with which he is accustomed to fix his gaze on a strange face seen for
the first time. The impression appears to awaken neither displeasure nor
pleasure; the perception seems now for the first time to be distinct.
Three days later the child for the first time undoubtedly laughed at his
image.
When, in the twenty-fourth week, I held the child again before the
glass, he saw my image, became very attentive, and suddenly turned round
toward me, manifestly convincing himself that I stood near him.
In the twenty-fifth week he for the first time stretched out his hand
toward his own image. He therefore regarded it as capable of being
seized.
In the twenty-sixth week the child is delighted at seeing me in the
glass. He turns round toward me, and evidently _compares_ the original
with the image.
In the thirty-fifth week the child gayly and with interest grasps at his
image in the glass, and is surprised when his hand comes against the
smooth surface.
In the forty-first to the forty-fourth week, the same. The reflected
image is regularly greeted with a laugh, and is then grasped at.
All these observations were made before a very large stationary mirror.
In the fifty-seventh week, however, I held a small hand-mirror close to
the face of the child.
Pages:
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273