Omg the reference to the broken mirror- Buddy you're onto something 😭🙏 But I believe it's mostly how the members of the circus were despised since they're "freaks," like what happened with Pierrot at the beginning of the story. "Abominations! Get out of our town! FREAKS!" I don't think there is any sort of connection to Harlequin, but... I like that idea!
We know the story of Colombina's death but I feel like Harlequin's motive has not been crystal clear. The only thing that has changed in the three different versions of the retelling was why Harlequin killed Colombina. Did he just did out of hunger or even a desire to feed Pierrot and the rest? Or perhaps did he want to save Colombina? Or was it just because he was envious? It's too vague and it's really bugging me... Does he even regret his actions?! I refuse to believe that he's just completely evil, but he does not show any signs of remorse for that crime. At the same time, the role of Arlecchino is supposed to be multifaceted.
Your analysis on the tragic event is very great, I must say, such as the remark about the ellipsis; I also thought of the same thing. The numerous mention of Harlequin being poisonous feels more like an actual fact than a metaphor at this point💀
But at the same time... Colombina has explicitly said that she did NOT want to die -- it wasn't an option -- so for her to thank Harlequin for killing her is practically agreeing that death will somehow grant her protection... Let us also remember that she thanked him BEFORE he killed her, as if she he must have thought he got out of the cage to protect her but instead: attacked her. I also wanna point out that Jester had absolutely no problem with Colombina being sacrificed.