Sophie's World

Hilde parts her eyes from the page and is taken aback once more by all she has read. She sees her father in the pages not-so-subtly hinting at her adventures with new age superstitions. She cannot help herself and continues reading and finds Sophie on the bus home to her party. Sophie finds her mother on the bus, and her mother asks about the book. Helene begins reading the first page and guesses Alberto has written a book about Sophie. Sophie tells her mother she could not understand and reminds her they should focus on the party. They then ride past a group of people holding signs announcing the major’s return, and Sophie’s mother is extremely confused. They get home and spend the rest of the day preparing for the party that evening.

Sophie’s guests arrive, and everyone gives Sophie philosophy-related gifts. Finally, Alberto arrives carrying roses for Sophie and setting off firecrackers as a show of his importance. Sophie’s mother announces him as Sophie’s philosophy teacher, who can “draw a live rabbit out of a hat” (471). The guests eat dinner, and Joanna gets up suddenly and kisses a boy named Jeremy. It begins a chain of misbehavior among the teens, so Sophie’s mother tries to distract them with a speech about Sophie and her long journey to the age of 15. In an odd shift of mood, Joanna and Jeremy go off into the bushes to kiss and the entire crowd follows them. Only Sophie and Alberto remain at the table, and Alberto finally calls the crowd back with a speech of his own.

Alberto begins by telling the guests about the philosophical investigation he and Sophie undertook over the past couple of weeks. He announces that everyone there is living inside the mind of a major who is writing a book for his daughter Hilde. In other words, they are inventions of someone else’s imagination. People begin protesting that it could not be true, and Alberto points out how ridiculous the events of the party have thus far been. A couple of younger boys are curious to hear more, but Alberto is done his speech and notes that it is sometimes “wisest to be silent” (475). Alberto tells them there is nothing they can do that will be of consequence since they are all just shadows. He then lets them know that he and Sophie will soon be disappearing, and her mother is pained but understands if she must go. Sophie is reminded that her mother does not really exist, so she should not feel bad for her. Joanna emerges from the bushes and announces she is pregnant, to which no one has any significant reaction. Sophie’s mother asks her to brew coffee once more before she leaves, so Sophie does just that. She feeds all her pets and begins tearing up at the thought of leaving the only home she has ever known. When she returns to the party, however, she sees clearly just how chaotic things are becoming. Firecrackers are going off, there is a mess everywhere, and a few people even begin playing ring toss with the birthday cake. All of this Alberto calls the “death throes” (478) of the book. Things digress at a rapid rate. Alberto grabs Sophie’s arm and takes her into the den of the garden. Suddenly, the two of them vanish into thin air.

Hilde rises from her book wondering how it could end that way and where Sophie and Alberto ended up. It strikes her that if they did manage to escape, it would not be written in the book since the major would not know what happened to them after that. Hilde realizes she needs to reread the book again and search for clues that might hint at what happened to them. She finds they have gone through the borderland of the major’s mind and out of reach through a trapdoor in the cabin floor. After they enter, everything turns black. Hilde keeps re-reading as the days continue, and she ponders where Sophie and Alberto are now. In fact, they have made it out and reached Oslo, Norway. Having both exhausted and distracted the major, they were able to make an escape through the trapdoor cellar. People pass them on the streets of Oslo, and Sophie approaches some to ask exactly where they are. Nobody replies or even seems to see her, and Alberto explains that they cannot “have exactly the same status as the author” (482). However, they are truly there and will continue to exist that way. Alberto spots a car he recognizes from a movie, and when he sees a boy drive right through it as if it is not there, it confirms that it is the car he and Sophie are meant to use.

Albert arrives in Copenhagen, proud to wear his UN uniform and represent the world. He hears his name over the speaker of the airport and instantly becomes apprehensive. Albert is informed that he has a letter, and it is from his daughter Hilde. She hints at the contents of the book and says she has planned well for her father’s arrival. Next, he finds a note pinned to the deli. It too is from Hilde, requesting that her father bring home some salami. The major begins to feel like he is being watched and controlled like a doll and goes in to buy the salami. He finds another note in the electrical appliance store, this one telling him that Sophie sends greetings and thanks for the birthday gifts via Hilde. The major cannot figure out if his daughter is at the airport or not, and his guard is up. He finds yet another note in the tax-free store asking for candy and warning him to keep his senses alert on the way home. Albert is relieved when he finally boards the next plane without running into Hilde or someone possibly nefarious.

The pages turn back to Sophie and Alberto, who are driving through the forested trees along the highway. Alberto explains to Sophie that they are not separate from the rest of reality; they are simply more solid than the objects and people surrounding them and can thus pass through everything like mist. Alberto wants a coffee, but when they go into a shop to get some, he finds he cannot interact with the machine. He begins yelling in frustration before a woman hears him. She assures them she is from an old Grimm fairy tale and says to them, “Welcome to eternity then, children” (490). She leads them to a different part of town where other characters from stories have gathered for a Midsummer Eve celebration. They thank the lady for her hospitality but regret that they must be moving on. Sophie and Alberto want to reach Lillesand in time to see the major arrive. At the same time, the major sits down in his airplane seat to find another letter from his daughter. This one pokes direct fun at him, claims to know his every move, and warns him to rest well before getting home. Albert cannot help but laugh at the cleverness of his daughter. When he wakes up, he is finally in Lillesand. He lands to a demonstration of people holding signs that read: “Welcome home, Dad. Hilde is waiting in the garden. Irony lives” (492).

Meanwhile, Sophie and Alberto reach the cabin just as the major arrives home. Sophie sees Hilde on the dock, just as in the dream, and goes to greet her. Just as in the dream, Hilde does not hear or see her, but she reacts slightly as if she did detect something faint. From behind, the major shouts Hilde’s name, and she runs to her father and greets him with love. They laugh about the book and the tricks Hilde played on him on his way home. They sit down to a turkey dinner, and the major hints the philosophy course has more yet to come. Sophie watches everything unfold and is unable to stop herself from crying. She knows she will never get to experience these real-life joys Hilde has. Alberto assures her everything is a trade-off, and while they cannot experience those things they will also never die like Hilde will. Furthermore, they can revisit the pages of Sophie’s World any time, for it is immortalized in history. They watch as the family enjoys their evening. Finally, Hilde’s mother retires to bed while Hilde and her father walk out into the dark to discuss the universe.

Hilde and her father get comfortable under the stars. He begins musing about the strangeness of their existence on a planet in space. They discuss the distance between planets and whether life exists elsewhere. Everything that is seen through a telescope, notes Albert, is a vision of the past because of the distance it takes to reach Earth. Looking at a star in the Milky Way is like “gazing back 50,000 years in time” (499) or even longer. Because of this it is impossible to know what the distant parts of the galaxy and universe look like at the present. Looking into space is essentially going back through time and witnessing events of the past unfold before one’s own eyes. Albert explains the galaxies are all drifting away from each other at great speeds and expanding the universe. This is because, as astronomers theorize, a Big Bang sent matter flying in all directions and “gradually formed stars and galaxies and moons and planets” (501). Alberto tells his daughter of the possibility the universe could one day experience an inertia effect and collapse in upon itself. After this, a new Big Bang would occur and start the same process over. Another possibility is that the universe will just continue expanding forever. Albert explains that for Christians, the eternal expansion makes more sense because some god or first-mover may have started that. On the other hand, in many Eastern religions, there is a notion that the world “continually unfolds and folds again” (502). Hilde suddenly feels a sharp sting on her forehead and thinks she was stung by a gadfly. Her father remarks that “it was probably Socrates trying to sting [her] to life” (504).

Sophie and Alberto sit listening to their conversation. Alberto remarks that their roles have now reversed—they can see and hear Hilde and her father, but Hilde and her father cannot see or hear them. Thinking of the Big Bang, Sophie gets an idea. She grabs a wrench out of the back seat of the car and throws it straight at Hilde’s head. Sophie begins trying to push the glider Hilde swings on, and Hilde feels a light breeze. Hilde remarks to her father that “there’s something in the air” (504), proposing it might be Sophie and Alberto. Her father is skeptical, but Hilde is certain she feels their presence. Alberto is impressed with Sophie’s stubbornness and skill and tells her she will have a promising future. Hilde and her father ponder their existence and talk about how they come from the same material as the stars above them. Albert describes it as a search for home or a way back to the self. There are still many mysteries left unanswered, though: “[W]hat is this earthly substance? What was it that exploded that time billions of years ago? Where did it come from?” (506). Sophie has a sudden impulse to take the rowboat out on the lake. She convinces the skeptical Alberto and reminds him that “a true philosopher must never give up” (507). Moments later, Hilde sees the boat drifting out and is shocked because she is sure she tied it up earlier. Realizing they will have to swim out to get it, Hilde and her father set off toward the boat.