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Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
The Midnight Library
The Midnight Library symbolizes a place between life and death where Nora can learn the true nature of life. When Nora tries to commit suicide, she ends up in the library, a place of limbo where time has stopped and where the onslaught of her everyday grief is paused. Mrs. Elm says that the library is between life and death, which evokes places such as the Catholic purgatory or the Buddhist bardo. Visitors to these in-between places are able to examine the choices they have made in their lives, gain new perspective on their fundamental beliefs, and find either a path toward enlightenment or damnation. Nora follows a similar path on her journey through the Midnight Library. She learns that the regrets and self-recriminations that led to her despair are often based on false ideas. She lets go of her drive to create a successful life as determined by external achievements. Instead, through many trials and many lives, Nora discovers that the meaningful life is grounded in love and kindness. In a sense, this process of continual death and rebirth mirrors a cycle of reincarnation. For Nora, who gets a chance to live many lives and a second chance to live her root life well, her journey through the Midnight Library leads to redemption.
Mrs. Elm
The version of Mrs. Elm who exists in the Midnight Library represents Nora’s higher self, the wise guidance of the self that exists beyond ego. Before Nora attempts to end her life, she is ensnared in a litany of toxic stories she tells herself about who she is, how she’s failed, and the worthlessness of her life. These stories, many of which are inherited from her family and from the people she loves, prioritize conventional definitions of success above personal experiences of joy and connection. As Nora strives to meet these extrinsic definitions of a good life, she grows more and more dissatisfied, believing herself to be a failure on every level and unworthy of life itself. In the Midnight Library, Mrs. Elm helps the lost Nora dismantle these beliefs. She questions what it means to succeed, pushes Nora to interrogate her fixed beliefs, and encourages Nora to dig deep within herself to understand what she truly wants out of life.
Chess
The game of chess symbolizes the infinite possibilities inherent in a single life. Mrs. Elm plays chess with herself and with Nora throughout the novel, often using the game to teach Nora to look at her life from a different perspective. For example, when Nora comes back from visiting her first alternate life, Mrs. Elm plays chess against herself as she tells Nora that it’s hard to predict what will make a person happy. The act of playing against herself parallels Nora’s journey to grapple with her own shadow self to find a winning path forward in her life. What’s more, Mrs. Elm often uses the chessboard to illustrate that life is both unpredictable and filled with endless possibilities. These lessons help Nora let go of her regrets, which are often based on the faulty assumption that she knows what the future holds. Chess also helps Nora understand that, as long as there are still pieces on the board of life, there’s still hope for a new way forward.
