Mrs. Elm Character Analysis in The Midnight Library

There are two versions of Mrs. Elm that Nora encounters: the real Mrs. Elm (Nora’s former school librarian) and the otherworldly Mrs. Elm who lives in the extradimensional Midnight Library. Both versions of the librarian serve as a guide and mentor for Nora, doing their best to lead her to the truth and a better life. While the nature of the Midnight Library is never fully explained, the version of Mrs. Elm in the Midnight Library is assumed to be Nora’s way of simplifying the vast complexity of the multiverse into understandable images. This is why Mrs. Elm appears exactly as Nora remembers her from her school days, despite many years having passed; this version of Mrs. Elm is only Nora’s memory of Mrs. Elm. It’s this unreal version of Mrs. Elm that Nora interacts with the most during the novel, as she facilitates Nora’s journey through alternate realities by finding the books (i.e., the lives) that Nora requests. This Mrs. Elm fills the role of a spirit guide or guardian angel, caring deeply about Nora’s well-being and maintaining a wry and no-nonsense attitude towards the situation. She seems to know more about Nora than Nora does herself, but she usually chooses to let Nora discover the truth firsthand, knowing that direct experience is a better teacher than a lecture. The otherworldly Mrs. Elm fades away along with the Midnight Library at the end of Nora’s journey, but Nora chooses to visit the real Mrs. Elm in a nursing home afterwards. In this final chapter, Nora shows how far she’s come by becoming an emotional support to Mrs. Elm’s herself. She comforts her old school librarian by reaffirming how meaningful her life was to Nora.

Mrs. Elm Quotes in The Midnight Library

The The Midnight Library quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Elm or refer to Mrs. Elm. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Regret, Depression, and Suicide Theme Icon

“Doing one thing differently is often the same as doing everything differently. Actions can’t be reversed within a lifetime, however much we try… But you are no longer within a lifetime. You have popped outside. This is your opportunity, Nora, to see how things could be.”

Related Characters: Mrs. Elm (speaker), Nora

Page Number and Citation: 32

Explanation and Analysis:

“But I still don’t get why you let me go into that life if you knew Volts was going to be dead anyway? You could have told me. You could have just told me I wasn’t a bad cat owner. Why didn’t you?”

“Because, Nora, sometimes the only way to learn is to live.”

Related Characters: Nora (speaker), Mrs. Elm (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 67

Explanation and Analysis:

“I was shy. It was one of the reasons why I preferred the library to the playing field. It seems a small thing, but it really helped, having that space.”

“Never underestimate the big importance of small things,” Mrs. Elm said. “You must always remember that.”

Related Characters: Mrs. Elm (speaker), Nora (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 86

Explanation and Analysis:

“The game is never over until it is over. It isn’t over if there is a single pawn still on the board. If one side is down to a pawn and a king, and the other side has every player, there is still a game. And even if you were a pawn—maybe we all are—then you should remember that a pawn is the most magical piece of all. It might look small and ordinary but it isn’t. Because a pawn is never just a pawn. A pawn is a queen-in-waiting. All you need to do is find a way to keep moving forward.”

Related Characters: Mrs. Elm (speaker), Nora

Related Symbols: Chess

Page Number and Citation: 188

Explanation and Analysis:

“There are more possible ways to play a game of chess than the amount of atoms in the observable universe. So it gets very messy. And there is no right way to play; there are many ways. In chess, as in life, possibility is the basis of everything.”

Related Characters: Mrs. Elm (speaker), Nora

Related Symbols: Chess

Page Number and Citation: 195

Explanation and Analysis:

“I just don’t understand life,” sulked Nora.

“You don’t have to understand life. You just have to live it.”

Nora shook her head. This was a bit too much for a Philosophy graduate to take.

Related Characters: Nora (speaker), Mrs. Elm (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 218

Explanation and Analysis:

“You’re going to win this,” Nora observed.

Mrs. Elm’s eyes sparkled with sudden life. “Well, that’s the beauty, isn’t it? You just never know how it ends.”

And Nora smiled as she stared at all the pieces she still had left in play, thinking about her next move.

Related Characters: Mrs. Elm (speaker), Nora (speaker)

Related Symbols: Chess

Page Number and Citation: 288

Explanation and Analysis:

Mrs. Elm Character Timeline in The Midnight Library

The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Elm appears in The Midnight Library. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...in the small library of Hazeldene School and plays chess with the kindly old librarian, Mrs. Elm . The librarian discusses all the possible paths that Nora’s life could take, noting Nora’s... (full context)

...She mentions that her father is disappointed about her no longer participating in swimming competitions. Mrs. Elm says there’s more to life than swimming fast, and suggests that Nora might study to... (full context)

...Geographic purchased by her father. Their images of the arctic (along with the encouragement of Mrs. Elm ) had inspired her to pursue a brief interest in becoming a glaciologist, but this... (full context)

...to be about 60 years old. Nora recognizes the woman as her old school librarian, Mrs. Elm , looking exactly as Nora remembers her from those days. Nora remembers that day in... (full context)

Mrs. Elm explains that Nora is now in a library that exists between life and death. While... (full context)

The shelves surrounding Nora and Mrs. Elm begin to move, quickly and smoothly shifting the endless books around on their own. Mrs.... (full context)

This exceptional book is called The Book of Regrets, and Mrs. Elm explains that it contains every single regret that Nora has ever had. Finding it very... (full context)

As Nora catches her breath, Mrs. Elm asks her which regret stood out the most—which regret she’d most like to erase. The... (full context)

Mrs. Elm warns that if Nora loses her will to go on, the Midnight Library and Nora... (full context)

...she last saw. She notices a small office area with a desk and a computer. Mrs. Elm sits nearby, playing chess with herself at a different table. The two of them discuss... (full context)

...fades back to the Midnight Library when she touches Volts and realizes that he’s dead. Mrs. Elm explains that Volts had a rare condition that would have killed him, anyway, meaning that... (full context)

Philosophy and the Meaning of Life Theme Icon

Mrs. Elm has Nora take another look in the Book of Regrets, where Nora sees that her... (full context)

Nora appears back in the Midnight Library, seeing Mrs. Elm playing chess with herself again. The two of them discuss how Nora became “stuck” in... (full context)

Nora asks Mrs. Elm to find her a life where she’s successful, but Mrs. Elm tells her to be... (full context)

...she notices that things look a bit different. She’s in the small office area, and Mrs. Elm is hunched over the computer, looking tense and worried. The lights above are flickering, and... (full context)

...away. The creature stops momentarily, but still seems intent on approaching her. She screams for Mrs. Elm to take her back to the Midnight Library, but she realizes that her intense fear... (full context)

...the nature of the guiding mentor figures who appear to the sliders. For Nora, it’s Mrs. Elm , while Hugo’s guiding figure is his uncle. Nora asks if these guides could be... (full context)

Nora asks Mrs. Elm if she’s God, and Mrs. Elm replies by simply saying she is who she is:... (full context)

Upon arriving back at the Midnight Library, Nora forcefully tells Mrs. Elm that she wants this game to end. The two of them argue about whether Nora... (full context)

As Nora and Mrs. Elm pick up the books and chess pieces from the floor, Mrs. Elm reminds Nora of... (full context)

...never committing to one side or the other and always struggling just to stay afloat. Mrs. Elm points out that despite Nora’s hardships, she pushed through her doubts on that day and... (full context)

As the library shifts back to its normal form, Mrs. Elm reminds Nora that she swam to the other bank that day because she persevered and... (full context)

Wondering which life to try next, Nora plays a game of chess with Mrs. Elm , who describes the pre-game chessboard as orderly and perfect but boring. As the game... (full context)

...the librarian that he recalls Nora had always spent time with. Nora reminds him of Mrs. Elm ’s name, and he mentions that he saw her the other day, being ushered into... (full context)

With the help of Mrs. Elm , Nora goes on to try many, many more lives, experiencing almost every sort of... (full context)

When Nora returns to the Midnight Library, she finds it pitch-black. Both she and Mrs. Elm know that this is a bad sign, and Nora says she can’t go on. She’s... (full context)

Mrs. Elm goes on to explain that Nora is forgetting who she is because she’s becoming disconnected... (full context)

...and she makes her way to the reception desk. She asks if she can see Mrs. Elm , and the receptionist regretfully informs her that Mrs. Elm passed away peacefully in her... (full context)

...in the Midnight Library and sees that it’s shaking and falling apart like never before. Mrs. Elm sits at the old computer, and Nora begs her to send her back to that... (full context)

Confused and frustrated, Nora tells Mrs. Elm that she had found the perfect life and wanted to stay there, but Mrs. Elm... (full context)

Nora worries for Mrs. Elm ’s safety, but Mrs. Elm assures her that she cannot leave the library with Nora,... (full context)

Through the smoke, Mrs. Elm calls out to Nora, telling her not to give up. Nora escapes from the debris,... (full context)

At the Oak Leaf Care Home, Nora plays chess with Mrs. Elm , who looks much older than the version of her in the Midnight Library had... (full context)

Mrs. Elm admits that she gets very lonely at the care home, haunted by her regrets about... (full context)

The Midnight Library

Mrs. Elm Character Analysis

Mrs. Elm Quotes in The Midnight Library

Chapter 8 Quotes

Chapter 13 Quotes

Chapter 15 Quotes

Chapter 31 Quotes

Chapter 32 Quotes

Chapter 37 Quotes

Chapter 47 Quotes

Mrs. Elm Character Timeline in The Midnight Library