Books Within Books: Who Is Reading What?
In literature, characters sometimes read books that serve as more than mere props; books can profoundly influence their decisions, beliefs, and transformations. These embedded texts act as mirrors, windows, or even catalysts within the narrative, offering readers insights into the characters’ psyches and the thematic undercurrents of the story.
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the Creature learns to read by studying three core texts he finds in a lost satchel: Paradise Lost, Plutarch’s Lives, and The Sorrows of Young Werther. Each shapes his understanding of morality, identity, and suffering. Paradise Lost becomes a foundational myth for him—he sees himself as both Adam and Satan.
Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, while not as explicit as Shelley’s intertextuality, opens with Mr. Lockwood reading Catherine’s childhood diary scribbled in the margins of religious books. This moment layers the sacred and the personal, the written word and emotional truth, and sets a Gothic tone of haunted memory and forbidden history.
In Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, the protagonist Catherine Morland’s voracious consumption of Gothic novels skews her perception of reality. Her imagination, fueled by tales of haunted castles and sinister villains, leads her to concoct dramatic and erroneous assumptions about the people and situations she encounters. Austen uses this to satirize the effects of sensational literature on impressionable minds, highlighting how fiction can blur the lines between reality and fantasy.
In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, set against the backdrop of Nazi Germany, young Liesel Meminger discovers solace and empowerment through stolen books. She learns to read from The Gravedigger’s Handbook, surely a gothic choice. Her clandestine reading becomes an act of resistance, allowing her to assert control in a world dominated by oppression.
My book, too, follows this aspect of character development. In Mademoiselle Frankenstein, Océane inherits a collection of medical texts from her father. These volumes, rich with anatomical diagrams and experimental theories, become her gateway into the world of science and reanimation. Knowledge gleaned from these books propels her toward groundbreaking yet morally ambiguous endeavors.
Books within narratives can act as catalysts for plot development, deepen character complexity, or underscore thematic elements. They often leave an indelible mark, guiding decisions, molding beliefs, and influencing the course of one’s story, sometimes with startling consequences.
Have you encountered instances in literature where a character’s reading material significantly impacted their trajectory? Or your interpretation of the story? I would love to hear your thoughts!
