DOI: 10.47777/cankujhss.1824885 ISSN: 1309-6761

A Library in the Universe of Possibilities: Tracing Quantum and Chaos in Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library

İsmail Tekşen
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This study embraces an interdisciplinary approach to examine Matt Haig’s novel The Midnight Library through an analytical framework by blending the superposition principle of the quantum physics with the concept of unpredictability in chaos theory. The novel depicts a peripheral space where the protagonist of the book, Nora Seed, can experience alternative lives based on her regrets and wishes. The character’s state of vacillation due to unpredicted factors’ intervention across multiple realities holds significant potential through the recent lenses of the scientific endeavour to operate as a means of analysis. Building on this, Haig’s novel is analysed to reveal how these scientific theories allegorically inform its narrative structure, character development, and thematic depth. The article argues that the multiple life possibilities Nora encounters mirror the quantum superposition of states, while the unforeseen events in these lives align with the unpredictability factor of chaos theory. To this end, a qualitative analysis based on a close reading has been employed on the text. By elaborating on how the writer’s fantastical premise engages with the fundamental principles of modern physics, this study aims to offer a novel lens through which to appreciate the narrative’s exploration of human existence. It also examines the complex interplay between choice and chance. In doing so, the study contributes to the growing dialogue on the relationship between literature and science.

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