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Symbols
The endless shelves of books in the Midnight Library symbolize the countless lessons to be learned in Nora’s alternate lives as well as the unavoidable similarities among them. Each book in the library (except for the Book of Regrets) is a story; each one gives an account of a different path that Nora’s life could have taken if she had done things differently. The books literally transport Nora to her alternate lives, but they also serve as a symbolic representation of those lives. Books can represent knowledge, wisdom, and lessons to be learned from the stories in their pages. So, when Nora experiences a new life by opening one of the library’s books, she’s simply learning something new about her life and life in general, almost like she would in an ordinary library. In a more "meta" sense, this also reminds the reader that they’re experiencing Nora’s lives and learning with her by reading a book themselves.
There’s always more to learn, so the books stretch on forever, but they’re all bound by the same limitations despite continuing infinitely. All of the books in the Midnight Library are varying shades of green (some lighter and some darker). This is a visual representation of how Nora’s lives vary in many ways, but all of them are still fundamentally Nora’s lives. Nora can no more escape from herself than she can find a book in the Midnight Library that’s red or blue. No matter which version of reality she visits, she’s always herself, imperfections and all.
Library Books Quotes in The Midnight Library
The The Midnight Library quotes below all refer to the symbol of Library Books. 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:
).
Chapter 7 Quotes
The books were everywhere, on shelves so thin they might as well have been invisible. The books were all green. Greens of multifarious shades. Some of these volumes were a murky swamp green, some a bright and light chartreuse, some a bold emerald and others the verdant shade of summer lawns.
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Library Books Symbol Timeline in The Midnight Library
The timeline below shows where the symbol Library Books appears in The Midnight Library. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 7: 00:00:00
...about this bizarre situation, Nora steps inside and finds that the building is full of books on rows and rows of shelves that seem to stretch on forever. Every book is...
(full context)
Chapter 8: The Librarian / The Midnight Library / The Moving Shelves
...shelves surrounding Nora and Mrs. Elm begin to move, quickly and smoothly shifting the endless books around on their own. Mrs. Elm tells Nora that it’s time to begin, and reiterates...
(full context)
Chapter 10: Every Life Begins Now
...asks her which regret stood out the most—which regret she’d most like to erase. The books don’t allow Nora to visit her past, but each book will take her to a...
(full context)
...that Nora and the library are still here. Mrs. Elm tells Nora to choose a book, and Nora thinks again about Dan. She asks Mrs. Elm if there’s a life where...
(full context)
Chapter 15: Fish Tank
...hadn’t quit swimming and had never let her father down. Before giving Nora the requested book, Mrs. Elm remarks that the Rook is her favorite chess piece, as the most straightforward...
(full context)
Chapter 31: Love and Pain / Equidistance
...should go on, and Nora once again says she doesn’t want to try any more books. The library begins to shake, knocking books off the shelves, and the lights flicker and...
(full context)
As Nora and Mrs. Elm pick up the books and chess pieces from the floor, Mrs. Elm reminds Nora of when the two of...
(full context)
Chapter 37: Lost in the Library
...Mrs. Elm tells Nora that she’s lost her way and points out that the same book cannot be revisited twice, but the books on the shelves nonetheless remain infinite, giving Nora...
(full context)
...said yes to the coffee date, and married Ash. Mrs. Elm shows her the correct book.
(full context)
Chapter 43: Nowhere to Land / Don’t You Dare Give Up, Nora Seed!
...any of that. A spark flies from one of the flickering lights and sets the books on the shelves on fire, and Mrs. Elm and Nora duck under a table as...
(full context)
