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Chapter 25
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Midnight Library, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Regret, Depression, and Suicide
Philosophy and the Meaning of Life
Possibility and Perseverance
Embracing Imperfection
Summary
Analysis
Nora asks Mrs. Elm if she’s God, and Mrs. Elm replies by simply saying she is who she is: the librarian. Nora expresses frustration about nearly dying, and Mrs. Elm is very pleased about Nora’s change of attitude towards death. But Nora still isn’t convinced that her original life had been worth living, despite Mrs. Elm’s disagreement. Mrs. Elm reminds her that she most likely doesn’t have as much time as Hugo did; she needs to find the life for her quickly, while her root self is still suspended between life and death. If Nora’s original self fully dies, the Midnight Library will be no more. Nora remembers Hugo telling her to think bigger, and she chooses the life where she had stayed with her brother’s band and made The Labyrinths a worldwide success.
This conversation adds increased pressure and stakes to what has been a somewhat meandering journey so far. The implied time limit and Hugo’s advice compel Nora to aim higher and hurry to choose a life that’s more ambitious and has more potential to be fulfilling. Mrs. Elm’s cryptic answer to Nora’s question keeps the precise nature of the Midnight Library somewhat mysterious, despite Hugo’s possible explanations involving quantum physics.
Active
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