The Library as the Liminal Space: An Analysis...

The Library as the Liminal Space: An Analysis of Matt Haig’s novel The Midnight Library

Author Name : Christina Paul V, Dr M G Priya

ABSTRACT

The concept of Liminality is a significant theory in Anthropology and Literature and it discusses the in-between space or the passage from a previous existing stage to the next; the primary focus is on the period of disorientation when the protagonist has left the previous stage but not yet reached the next stage. This research paper endeavours to examine the novel The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, applying the concept of Liminality by Arnold van Gennep and Victor Turner. The purpose of this study is to illustrate the parallels between the liminal stage of ‘Rite of Passage’ and the author’s use of the liminal stage to explain the development and transformation of Nora’s character in the novel. This analysis seeks to identify the core similarities between liminality and the library space as they appear in the novel. It further tries to understand how the novel attempts to illustrate liminality, its profound effect on an individual and the consequences it has on that individual.

Keywords: Liminality, Arnold van Gennep, Victor Turner, Matt Haig, The Midnight’s Library, Rites of Passage.