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Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

The Library

Stephen Albert’s library is the most important symbol in the story. Situated at the center of the metaphorical maze Yu Tsun navigates to find Albert, the library represents the enlightenment possible when people transcend national and ethnic boundaries. Albert has filled the library with the best of the East and West, including the European technology of the phonograph playing Chinese music and Chinese art such as the ancient vase colored using a technique the Chinese learned from the Persians. Improbably, this English library is the site of Yu Tsun’s awakening to the purpose and meaning of his Chinese great-grandfather’s life’s work. Borges suggests that the library exists as one of the meeting points of the many strands of reality created by the forking paths at decision points. One indication of its special status is the existence within the library of bound editions of the Lost Encyclopedia, which Yu Tsun notes was never printed. Yu Tsun sees the infinite iterations of himself and Albert converging on the library, illuminating his understanding that it represents a moment that exists in many variations of reality. Borges uses these elements to emphasize the importance of the library as a symbol of cross-cultural understanding and enlightenment.

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