Acres of disappointment and monotony and hurts and rivalries but with flashes of wonder and beauty. She takes a bottle, hoping to die, but wakes up at midnight in a massive library. What is the main theme of The Midnight Library? "This is the best life. Readers first meet Nora almost two decades before she tries to end her life. How is the idea of success framed throughout the novel? Completely agree, feeling all of the feels is being alive even when the tears flow. In some lives shes been a mother and in others she raises no one besides her tabby cat, Voltaire. In a few instances, Nora chooses lives that are radically different from her root life. Faced with a number of promising opportunities in her lifehigh-level competitive swimming, a pending marriage, a record deal, a move to AustraliaNora has, at each turn, chosen inaction. It isnt long, however, until disappointment slowly creeps back into Noras heart and transports her, unwillingly, back to The Midnight Library. It's you, Nora. The closest secondary character, Mrs Elm, is witty, but feels more like a transient character without much power to accelerate the events in the novel. You dont need to be famous or rich or medal winning to lead a spectacular life. I wanted to be angry about something, to feel excited, hurt, happy. "Doing one thing differently is often the same as doing everything differently.". Writing from lived experience, Haig is right to critically examine the efficacy of powerful medication; however, in a book that treats every other aspect of mental health with such compassion, it is disappointing to find an implicit disregard for what is, for many who battle with suicidal urges, a life-saving and life-maintaining treatment. But it is boring. She ruminates on the failures she has made, believing, Every move had been a mistake, every decision a disaster, every day a retreat from who shed imagined shed be.. T he main themes in The Midnight Library are choice and regret, philosophy and the meaning of life, and relationships and forgiveness. Why are Ravi and Joe upset that Nora left the band? And don't give a second thought when people mock it or ridicule it. "This is the best life," she told herself, a little desperately now. And you can get to the other side and unlock all kinds of power., It is quite a revelation to discover that the place you wanted to escape to is the exact same place you escaped from. The Question and Answer section for The Midnight Library is a great He just makes the whole thing soeasy. WebThe Midnight Library by Matt Haig. We dont know if she will live another five years or five minutes. Note: this article may contain spoilers for The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. She imagined accepting it all, the way she accepted nature, the way she accepted a glacier or a puffin or the breach of a whale. Acceptance, posits Haig, is freedom, and this masterful novel is a more powerful guide to self-acceptance than any self-help book. Finally, there are plenty of allusions in this novel. Mrs. Elm, p. 32 This quote is taken from early in the novel, as Mrs. Elm explains to Nora how lives are shaped by seemingly minor choices. "The Midnight Library Quotes and Analysis". Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. Confused and self-questioning, Nora is eventually greeted by Mrs Elm, the school librarian, who guides Nora through the tomes, and encourages her to open a heavy book called The Book of Regrets. In another, shes a glaciologist. Already a member? After being able to see many different iterations of her life, and the impact her choices can have, she realizes there is still so much she can do to make her life better. To be the world, witnessing itself., Sometimes regrets aren't based on fact at all, The lonely mind in the busy city yearns for connection because it thinks human-to-human connection is the point of everything. In some cases, the shift in relationships is more dramatic. She now has a chance to sample some of those possibilities. In a parallel life, they are happily married. Where the Mind Is Without Fear (Gitanjali 35), The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child. Let us know your assignment type and we'll make sure to get you exactly the kind of answer you need. 1,304,772 ratings, 4.02 average rating, 141,977 reviews. The warped logic of severe depression is honestly and clearly expressed, as Haig describes the inescapable feeling brewing in the darkness when Nora sees Voltaire, her dead cat, lying on the road. There arent those difficult chapters at the beginning where you have to get to know the characters, you never say it took me a while to get into but youre just THERE, in the story from page one. There are lives in which both Joe and Izzy are dead, and their deaths can be indirectly traced to Noras presence or absence in their lives. WebThe talented aspiring Olympic swimmer turned aspiring rock star now aspires only to stop living. Elm is the librarian from Nora's elementary school days. He is portrayed as being more interested in the idea of being married to her than the reality of their relationship. "The Midnight Library - Themes" eNotes Publishing Melendez, John. The image of the chessboard symbolizes possibility in the novel. She discovers that she also cannot teleport back to the library. Note: When citing an online source, it is important to include all necessary dates. The feeling she experiences is envy: she is jealous of the cat's complete absence of pain. Nora's inner landscape is artfully rendered on the page: She was afraid of motherhood.The fear of deeper depression. I felt my gut wrench as I read this sentence never before has a writer so perfectly captured my experience of the power of mental illness to haunt and destabilise, to instill a fear of further suffering. 2. Not affiliated with Harvard College. And it became astoundingly clear to her, finally, in that moment: This quote occurs in the moment Nora is nearly attacked by a polar bear. "And within that library, the shelves go on for ever. The main themes in The Midnight Library are choice and regret, philosophy and the meaning of life, and relationships and forgiveness. She quickly learns that they are not very happy in this life, as he is continually dismissive of the things she says and seems distant. Izzy is Nora's best friend. In this way, the novel highlights how her life always had a hidden potential for change. Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. Let's look at some examples of these. In fact, in her life as a rock star and her life as a competitive swimmer, she has severe mental health struggles and some fractured personal relationships. Each book contains a life Chessboard (Symbol). In this life, she did not break off their engagement and they went through with his plan to buy a bar. But there are also limitations to this style of narration. All we know is shes been given a second chance, one she fought desperately for towards the end of the novel. What does the first potential life reveal? More opportunities to have. You get the flow of the story quickly Nora reflects on a key milestone or regret, she makes a decision, and she experiences the consequences of that choice. Ryan Bailey is a fictional movie star. After her overdose, the novel follows her imaginative journey through the various lives she didn't lead. WebA symbol can be an object, a sound, or a bodily sensation. This means that the novel can only rely on Nora Seed, and if she stagnates, then so does the reader. It means lack. This ability, she discovers, is double-edged: in one alternate life, she doesnt let anxiety undermine a record deal before she, her brother, and their friend Ravi sign with a major label. We dont know how she will spend it or who she will spend it with. This was not the life she imagined it to be. However, as this moment reveals, she comes to find that this life too has its shortcomings. One evening, she decides to put herself out of her misery and end it all. Refresh and try again. In this storyline, she owns a pub with her husband Dan. He also purchases a Simon and Garfunkel guitar songbook from her at the music store. Aim to be the truest version of you. I found the title of The Midnight Library to be particularly intriguing. . Then she wakes up in a mysterious library filled with books of other lives she might have led and an invitation from the librarian, Mrs. Elm, to enter their pages. After losing World War One in 1918, the Germans were in an utter state of disillusionment and despair. The Question and Answer section for The Midnight Library is a great Standing, Nineteen years later, after a series of painful events, including the loss of her job and the death of her cat, Nora feels that the world would simply be better off without her. She discovers that he cheated on her in the past and that in this timeline their relationship is deeply fractured. You might not be uplifted by Nora Seed, but the book deals with some dark themes in a quirky and sensitive manner, and for that, I would suggest you keep it in your reading list, albeit closer to the bottom than the top. This moment has a mixed tone, as it celebrates the fact that Nora has chosen to stay in her life but points out the slight comedy of her triumph coming in the form of "vomiting all over her duvet." I think this is a really interesting, really important hypothetical. Its a beautiful thing. Shes lived in Alaska, Australia and England. Work hard at it. We know well by now I think that life isnt about being blissfully happy all the time, but often this is replaced with the idea of the pursuit of contentment a low key level of satisfaction that comes from appreciating small things in life, managing our own expectations and generally trying to keep on an EVEN KEEL. She now has a from St. You are the power source. You get no sense of the length of those longitudes and latitudes. At the beginning of the story, Nora feels completely trapped in her bad circumstances. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. This is the best life.". There is also one life wherein Noras long-dead father never had his heart attack, having adopted much healthier habits after being inspired by his daughters success as an athlete. Symbolism is especially heavy in this story. Maybe that was the only meaning that mattered. I dont think I could have picked a better book to kick off this year with, definitely makes me want to explore the other what ifs and not regret the things I may have missed in the past. It can also be a character, or an act. How does Anita Desai use symbolism to develop a theme in "Games at Twilight"? I was both intrigued and uneasy about the use of a fantastical library to explore something as real and horrific as suicidal depression. Once a gifted swimmer and musician, she currently works in a music shop and gives piano lessons. Though this immediate danger quickly passesNora survives the encounter with the polar bear and is complimented for her bravery by the other members of the expeditionthis is an important moment in the book as it shows her definitively deciding she wants to keep living. She is portrayed as a thoughtful and sympathetic person, often thinking about the emotions of the people around her. She is a woman in her thirties, who leads a life she finds lonely and disappointing. He is described as being somewhat aloof and cold as a result of his continual journey through parallel timelines. In my head, Im thinking of libraries with grand architecture and hallways full of hidden secrets and rare books. This is a must-read for those of us given to endlesswhat ifs. BookRiot, Haig is one of the most inspirational popular writers on mental health of our age and, in his latest novel, he has taken a clever, engaging concept and created a heart-warming story that offers wisdom in the same deceptively simple way as Mitch Alboms best tales. Independent (UK), Just beautiful . Accessed 4 Mar. At the beginning of the story, Nora is playing chess with Mrs. Elm, who remarks to her that her life is full of possibility. resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss thenovel. Cloud State University M.A. WebMatt Haig's unique novel The Midnight Library ponders the infinite possibilities of life. As she explores her infinite possible lives, she encounters experiences from the ordinary to the remarkable, including narrowly avoiding being eaten by a polar bear in Norway having changed her university course from Philosophy to Geology and taking a role at the Polar Research Institute. . . 1614 Words7 Pages. But in her life as a competitive swimmer, he is alive. Most heartbreakingly, after choosing to go for a coffee with her kind neighbour instead of turning down his offer, Nora meets the seven-year-old daughter they could have had together. A) They were about to sign a record deal. It is like stage fright only worse, for Nora can never really get off the stage of her own life. "And Nora smiled as she stared at all the pieces she still had left in play, thinking about her next move.". Throughout the novel, Nora contemplates the meaning of life in terms that are often influenced by major figures of Western philosophy. Darling. Would any of these other lives truly be better? Like Nora, Hugo is a fellow traveler through his alternative lives. publication online or last modification online. She fights for her life and succeeds in throwing up the pills she took earlier that night. These figures appear as both brief references and conspicuous plot points: her cat is named Voltaire; she contemplates Bertrand Russells perspective on life and his many infidelities; and in one life, a favorite line from Thoreau is tattooed on her forearm. GradeSaver, 29 December 2022 Web. When Nora tries to kill herself, she ends up in a library with Mrs. Elm, the school librarian she knew in her childhood.
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