The Gold Crucifix
At several points in the novel, we hear about a gold crucifix—Hilde Møller Knag owns one, then loses it. The crucifix is an obvious symbol of Christ and, more abstractly, of religion and faith…
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The Brass Mirror
In the novel-within-the-novel, Sophie Amundsen discovers a strange brass mirror that allows her to see her “real-life” counterpart, Hilde Møller Knag. It’s interesting that in Sophie’s World the mirror, a traditional symbol of self-contemplation…
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The Binder / Sophie’s World
During the course of Sophie’s World, Hilde Møller Knag reads from a binder her father, Albert Knag, has sent her. In this binder, there’s a book called Sophie’s World, which corresponds pretty…
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The Hedge / Sophie’s Den
Especially in the beginning of the novel, Sophie Amundsen reads her letters from Alberto Knox in her “den”—a tiny, secure area in the hedge surrounding her family’s house. As the novel goes on, however, Sophie…
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