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Einstein'sDreamsStudy Guide by Course Hero
What's Inside
j Book Basics 1 .................................................................................................
d In Context 1 .....................................................................................................
a Author Biography 2 .....................................................................................
h Characters 3 ..................................................................................................
k Plot Summary 5 .............................................................................................
c Chapter Summaries 8 ................................................................................
g Quotes 21 .........................................................................................................
l Symbols 23 .....................................................................................................
m Themes 23 ......................................................................................................
b Motifs 24 ..........................................................................................................
e Suggested Reading 24 ..............................................................................
j Book BasicsAUTHORAlan Lightman
YEAR PUBLISHED1993
GENREFiction
PERSPECTIVE AND NARRATORThe events of Einstein's Dreams are described by a third-
person omniscient narrator. During the Interlude sections of
the novel, the narrator uses a third-person limited perspective
for the character of Michele Besso to show Albert Einstein in
his waking life.
TENSEEinstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman is written in the present
tense.
ABOUT THE TITLEThe title Einstein's Dreams refers to the physicist Albert
Einstein and a fictitious rendering of an imagined series of
dreams he had while composing his theory of time.
d In Context
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was born in Germany in 1879 to a middle-class
Jewish family and was schooled in Switzerland. Unable to find
a teaching job after he graduated, he first worked in a patent
office similar to the one depicted at the start of Einstein's
Dreams. While there he developed and wrote much of his
theory of relativity, working off Isaac Newton's previous
theories. He received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. In
1932, shortly before Adolph Hitler became German chancellor,
Einstein and his family immigrated to the United States to
escape the dangers they faced as Jews, and he taught at
Princeton University until 1945.
Einstein condemned violence in war and believed the welfare
of humanity as a whole must always take precedence over
individual nations' goals. In addition to his scientific pursuits, he
worked diligently for peace and nuclear disarmament until his
death in 1950. He is considered one of the greatest scientists
and thinkers in history.
Einstein's Dreams Study Guide Author Biography 2
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Theory of Relativity
Einstein's theory of relativity was published in 1905, but it didn't
become widely accepted until the 1920s. While his work on the
subject built off the work of previous scientists, Einstein's
discoveries upended previous theories about the nature of
time created by Isaac Newton. Newton believed that space and
time operated independently of each other, and Einstein's
theory investigated how to interpret motion between objects
that are traveling at relatively the same speed. His findings
revealed that time and space are linked in this relative way.
Einstein ultimately combined his ideas about time and space
into a single entity: spacetime. His theory of relativity is
exemplified by the Global Positioning System (GPS), a
navigation system featured in cars and smartphones that
works accurately by relying on satellites using relativistic
clocks accurate to the nanosecond.
In Einstein's Dreams Lightman creates a fictional version of
Einstein in order to imagine how he might have conjured up
these complicated theories while working as a patent clerk. To
make the complicated science palatable to a wider audience,
Lightman uses the idea of Einstein's dreams to help him work
though a variety of theories and scenarios about time and its
effect on people. This unique depiction also reflects the
different approach that Einstein used to prove his theory:
rather than assume that experiments were failures of correct
theories he assumed the opposite—that the experiments were
correct and the theories were what failed. This innovation in
testing theories led to his discovery of relativity.
Einstein's Friend, the Swiss
Engineer Michele Besso
While Albert Einstein's name is instantly recognizable to most
readers, his friend, Michele Besso—named in the Interludes—is
not, though he was just as real. Michele Besso, a Swiss
engineer, was Einstein's longtime friend, and the two
maintained a correspondence for more than 50 years. Einstein
confided in his friend about everything from his personal
relationships to his theories about time. Besso was born in
Switzerland in 1873, and he met Einstein during a musical
performance at a mutual friend's house. Einstein eventually
introduced Besso to the woman he would marry, Anna, who is
also featured in Einstein's Dreams. When Besso died at age 81,
Einstein wrote a letter to his family that read, "Now he has
departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That
means nothing. People like us, who believe in physics, know
that the distinction between past, present and future is only a
stubbornly persistent illusion." His words reveal how closely
linked to Besso he felt, both as a friend, a philosopher, and a
scientist. Einstein passed away a month after Besso's death.
Lightman uses the character of Michele Besso to offer a
different lens through which the reader can understand
Einstein in his waking life. Other than Einstein's dreams, the
reader is never given a glimpse into the working of Einstein's
mind. In the Interlude sections featuring Besso, he tries to
puzzle out what Einstein is thinking and how he is feeling.
Lightman also shows Besso to be a human anchor for Einstein,
keeping him tethered to the real world containing his wife and
family.
a Author BiographyAlan Lightman was born on November 28, 1948, in Memphis,
Tennessee. As a child, he was deeply fascinated by both
science and art, designing his own science projects and writing
his own poetry, both of which earned him numerous awards as
a young student.
He attended Princeton University, where he earned a degree in
physics in 1970. He went on to earn an advanced degree in
theoretical physics from the California Institute of Technology
in 1974 and began teaching at Harvard University and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He continued to
publish poetry and became the first professor at MIT to teach
in both the sciences and the humanities. In the field of
astrophysics, Lightman made significant contributions on the
subject of black holes, as well as the behavior of matter and
radiation.
Lightman's scientific studies contributed greatly to his first
novel, Einstein's Dreams, since his complex understanding of
gravitational theory allowed him to intimately understand
Einstein's theory of time. His creative background helped him
write about Einstein's theories from a unique point of view,
melding details of Einstein's life with speculation about his
thought process. Lightman was struck by the notion that few
of his colleagues anticipated Einstein's scientific successes
while he was still working as a patent office clerk in the early
1900s, when the novel takes place. These unlikely origins
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inspired Lightman to imagine how Einstein's theories of time
began to take hold inside his mind. The book became an
international best seller and went on to become translated in
more than 30 languages.
In 2003 Lightman founded the nonprofit Harpswell Foundation
to support emerging female leaders in Cambodia. He has also
published numerous other fiction, essays, fables, and scientific
tracts, along with a memoir. Some of Lightman's other notable
titles are The Accidental Universe and A Sense of the
Mysterious.
h Characters
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein is introduced at the beginning of the novel as a
weary patent clerk working nonstop on his scientific theory of
time. Although the reader only catches glimpses of him in the
novel's Interludes, his dreams reveal he is as imaginative as he
is scientifically brilliant. In the Interludes his good friend
Michele Besso depicts him as quiet, aloof, and distracted,
though deeply caring and devoted. The character of Albert
Einstein in Einstein's Dreams is based on the real physicist, but
the reader is aware that this is a fictional envisioning of him.
The author uses him as an inspiration to imagine the ways in
which dreams and science might intersect to create new
innovations.
Michele Besso
The author reveals Michele Besso only throughout the novel's
brief Interludes, which are narrated from his perspective. His
worries about his good friend Albert Einstein show Besso to be
a caring, engaged friend who is also a good husband to his
wife. Michele Besso is based on the real-life close friend of
Albert Einstein by the same name. The real Michele Besso also
acted as a sounding board and confidant for Albert Einstein,
and in the novel he functions as a separate lens through which
to view the fictional Einstein in his waking world.
Dream Figures
The Dream Figures are featured throughout the novel's dream
vignettes. Purposely left nameless, they stand for humanity as
a whole and depict the different ways in which people relate to
time. Their relationships, sorrows, hopes, and fears figure
heavily in each vignette, showing the common human
experience. Rather than follow each character through a
beginning, middle, and end of a complete story, the reader is
meant to view the Dream Figures as a collective. Even though
they are nameless and appear and reappear randomly,
Lighman makes it easy for the reader to identify with their
hopes and fears regarding the ways in which time impacts their
lives. They provide the human connection and identification
that is necessary to humanize Einstein's abstract and scientific
concepts of time.
Anna Besso
Anna Besso seems to be happily married to Michele, although
the couple appears to be childless. She enjoys cooking dinner
for Albert and Michele, and the domestic scene is peaceful and
harmonious. The real Michele Besso's wife's name was actually
Anna.
Mileva Einstein
Mileva Einstein does not appear to be very happily married,
and Einstein refers more than once to what seems like a
dysfunctional marriage. He prefers to avoid Mileva, preferring
the company of the Bessos, for example—to the point where
Mileva comes to their home with their infant son to get Einstein
to return to his own home.
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Character Map
Friends
Inhabit Albert Einstein's dreams
Spouses
Albert EinsteinYoung, dreamy scientist;
developing a theory of time
Michele Besso Loyal and concerned man
Dream Figures Nameless characters
Mileva EinsteinIgnored and neglected
woman
Anna BessoKind and friendly woman
Spouses
Main Character
Other Major Character
Minor Character
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Full Character List
Character Description
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein is the novel'sprotagonist, a young scientist andpatent clerk who dreams aboutdifferent theories of time.
Michele BessoConcerned, thoughtful, Michele Bessois deeply intrigued by his good friendAlbert Einstein.
Dream Figures
The Dream Figures are the namelesspeople who inhabit Einstein's dreamworlds, which depict different theoriesof time.
Anna Besso Anna Besso is Michele Besso's loyal,friendly wife.
Mileva Einstein Mileva Einstein is Albert's often ignoredyoung wife.
k Plot SummaryEinstein's Dreams features the fictional dreams of the real-life
scientist Albert Einstein during the year he developed his
theory of time. The Prologue introduces him as a young man
who works in a patent office; he is asleep at his desk before
dawn, having stayed up most of the night working. From here
the novel becomes a series of dream vignettes, each from a
different day that spans from April 14, 1905, to June 28, 1905.
Each dream world presents a different, unique concept of time,
and each world is inhabited by nameless Dream Figures whose
lives are depicted as they cope with the structures and limits of
time.
Although the setting and structure of time vary from dream to
dream, the characters and depictions of life grow recognizable
and familiar. Even though time can flow backward, or loop in a
circle, or become stuck, the characters are held together
through their common quest for meaning, connection, and a
sense of control over their fate. Paradoxes abound, as do the
differing, opposing ways the Dream Figures of each world
choose to deal with time. Lightman takes great care to show
humanity's connection to time and how it affects their
relationships with other people as well as their relationships
with the past, present, and future. Some recurring motifs and
themes emerge in Einstein's dreams: people trying to
manipulate time in ways that only make them unhappy; people
trying to understand the limitations of free will; and people
trying to become unstuck from their past memories. Through
these dreams Lightman shows the common threads of
humanity's anxieties, hopes, and fears.
Interludes interspersed throughout the novel, like the dream
vignettes, don't adhere to any kind of chronological
consistency. The Interludes provide the only glimpses of Albert
Einstein other than those provided in the Prologue and
Epilogue, and they appear primarily through the lens of
Einstein's good friend Michele Besso. Besso depicts Einstein
as brilliant, distracted, and aloof, but the two share an
emotional bond. Besso also shows Einstein as rather
disconnected from his wife and family, wondering why Einstein
got married in the first place. Despite their closeness Einstein
hesitates to reveal his dreams to Besso, though he reveals his
work on time is an effort to become closer to God.
The novel's Epilogue finds Einstein on the same morning as the
Prologue, still in his patent office, exhausted but ready to have
a secretary type up his theory of time. Yet rather than feeling
pleased or fulfilled by his completed work, Einstein feels empty
and vaguely dissatisfied. It seems his work has brought him no
closer to God. Einstein's brilliant and vivid dreams have
influenced his scientific work only subconsciously—though
clearly powerfully.
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Plot Diagram
Climax
Falling ActionRising Action
IntroductionResolution
21
3
4
6
7
5
Introduction
1. Albert Einstein dreams about time in different worlds.
Rising Action
2. Einstein and Michele Besso discuss Einstein's theories.
3. Einstein's time dreams grow theoretical and complicated.
4. Besso begins to worry about Einstein's health.
Climax
5. Einstein's dreams continue.
Falling Action
6. Besso and Einstein go fishing.
Resolution
7. Einstein finishes his theory of time at his patent office.
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Timeline of Events
Mid-April 1905
Albert Einstein dreams of time as a circle.
Late April 1905
Einstein dreams of a world with no cause and effect.
Early May 1905
Einstein and Michele Besso go for a walk and discuss
time.
Mid-May 1905
Einstein dreams of a world in which there is no time.
Late May 1905
Einstein dreams of a world in which everything is in
motion.
Early June 1905
Einstein and Besso sit at a café and discuss Einstein's
progress.
Mid-June 1905
Einstein dreams of a world in which time is a dimension.
Mid-June 1905
Einstein and Besso go fishing.
Late June 1905
Einstein dreams of a world in which birds are time.
Late June 1905
Einstein finishes his theory of time.
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c Chapter Summaries
Prologue
Summary
In the distance a clock tower chimes six times as dawn breaks,
while a young patent clerk sits at his desk, exhausted. The
clerk has been dreaming about time for months, and these
dreams have influenced his research. Now he holds a stack of
papers containing his new theory of time. The city wakes up
around him, and as the light filters through the windows,
objects in his office begin to take shape.
Analysis
The Prologue introduces the young Albert Einstein, who in real
life won the Nobel Prize for Physics based on his theories of
time and space. Here Einstein is years away from winning the
prize; he is still working on his theories. The Prologue also sets
the stage for Einstein's dreams, which will be integral to the
majority of the novel. The only other glimpses of Einstein's daily
life come from the Interludes, which offer memories from his
past. The Prologue also introduces the setting for many of
Einstein's dreams: Berne, Switzerland.
14 April 1905
Summary
The narration from the Prologue shifts from the waking world
to the world of Einstein's dreams in this first vignette. This
unnamed narrator of Einstein's dreams invites the reader to
"suppose time is a circle, bending back on itself," which means
the world repeats itself endlessly. People never realize their
lives are an infinite loop: they have lived each moment before,
so no moment is temporary. The narrator zooms in on Dream
Figure, a woman who is watching her husband die of cancer,
unaware she and he will experience their life together all over
again. And yet just as everyone will live their lives all over again,
so have they lived their lives millions of times previously. A few
suspect their decisions have already been made, and they are
made chronically unhappy by this feeling they can't shake.
Analysis
The shift from the Prologue's setting to the worlds and "Dream
Figures" Einstein conjures in his sleep signals the narration has
shifted from observing the waking world to showing the inner
workings of Einstein's mind as he develops his theory of time.
The narrator purposely refrains from assigning the Dream
Figures names so they come to stand for all humanity's hopes,
fears, and anxieties about time. The nameless woman who is
introduced is one of these Dream Figures, and she also serves
as an example of the principle of endless repetition. This first
dream introduces the reader to the concepts and theories of
time Einstein will explore in his dreams. In this world time is an
infinite loop in which everything will be repeated cyclically. As a
consequence, nothing ever can be changed. This introduces
the theme of free will in people's lives—the past will always
return to the present at some point, so time is unalterable.
Most people are blissfully unaware of this; they believe their
actions in the present will have an impact on their future.
Others, however, believe the course of their lives has already
been decided, leaving them with a sense of futility. The Dream
Figure of the woman in this vignette symbolizes this dual sense
of home and futility—she is spared from knowing that she will
watch her husband die of cancer again, but neither does she
get to experience the hope that they will live their lives
together again.
16 April 1905
Summary
In this vignette a pattern begins to emerge: each night's dream
starts with a narration or principle of time that the dream will
show, which resembles a journal entry of the dream. In this
world time is "like a flow of water." It flows in one direction, but
it can be disturbed and carried to its past. People who have
experienced this transportation to the past move carefully to
avoid making changes that will affect their future. One such
person is crouched in the shadows of a building, careful not to
kick up any dust because it might make a Peter Klausen, a
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passerby, pause; if he pauses he might not buy ointment for his
wife, which might prevent her from making a trip in which she
will have an indirect effect on Hans Klausen's birth. Hans
Klausen played a role in forming the European Union in 1979.
The woman crouched in the shadows knows the slightest
alteration to the past might destroy the future.
Analysis
Here Einstein's dream shows the ways in which humanity
attaches emotions to time. Fear permeates this world as the
Dream Figures worry about the consequences of his or her
decisions if they are carried back to their past. This reflects a
universal human anxiety about the future; everyone is
constantly aware of the ways in which their past affects their
future. The example of the past affecting the future birth of
Peter Klausen shows that the Dream Figures are aware that
their very existence hangs in the balance of the smallest
actions, decisions, or interference. The paradox in this dream
world is no one knows which slight move or change in the
present will affect the future, so those who are transported to
their past are careful not to alter even the tiniest thing. It is
unclear whether or not the Dream Figures in this world have
been transported to the past of their own accord, but they do
seem acutely aware of the potential consequences of their
actions in the past.
19 April 1905
Summary
Snow is falling while a man in a long leather coat stands on his
balcony overlooking the street below, contemplating whether
he should go visit a woman. He decides against it, since she is
manipulative and judgmental. A few years later he meets
another, nicer woman, and she comes to live with him. Their life
together is peaceful and loving.
In an alternate world the man decides to go see the first
woman. She persuades him to leave his job and move close to
her. Their life together is volatile and tempestuous, and he
feels anguished yet happy. In yet a third world the man also
decides to go and see the first woman. They have a polite
meeting and then he leaves, feeling empty. He returns home
and stands on his balcony, gazing down at the street below.
These three outcomes all happen simultaneously; in this world
time has three dimensions, as space does. Just as objects can
move in three different directions, so can people's futures.
Each future moves in a different direction of time and then
splits into three more possible futures—leading to an infinite
number of futures.
Analysis
This dream world continues to explore the concept of free will.
Here there are infinite outcomes for each action, based on the
theory time has three dimensions. Lightman also introduces
the paradox of how humanity responds to the knowledge of
limitless free will. Some believe choice is inherently
meaningless; others give each choice great weight and
consideration because each consequence is real. Individuals
experience time differently based on their unique nature and
personal history.
24 April 1905
Summary
In this world there are two times: mechanical and body.
Mechanical time is rigid and predetermined, like a swinging
pendulum; body time squirms and is unfixed. Many don't
believe mechanical time exists: they don't see clocks or
understand the time reflected on their watches. Instead they
keep time by their heartbeats, moods, and desires. Body time
speeds up or slows down according to what people
experience: bad things slow time down; good things speed it
up.
However, some live by mechanical time alone. These people
keep a rigid, set schedule. They think of the body as a
"collection of chemicals, tissues, and nerve impulses"; it is a
machine governed by the same rules as a clock. Although both
kinds of time are true, their "truths are not the same."
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Analysis
In this dream world Lightman continues the investigation of
time as subjective, even when it has its own "rules." Those who
believe in mechanical time lead a rigid existence; those who
perceive body time instead "listen to their heartbeats ... they
feel the rhythms of their moods and desires." In contrast to
mechanical time, body time defies quantification. Here
Lightman shows the concept of the divided self, at war
between head and heart when it comes to making rational
decisions. For those experiencing either kind of time, the
experience feels true but the outcomes differ: "each time is
true, but the truths are not the same." For those who perceive
mechanical time, even though their time is true its truths are in
a different realm of perception than body time. Neither group
can understand the other's way of perceiving time, and here
Lightman points out how important the perception of time as
true is to people, and how different it can feel at the same time.
26 April 1905
Summary
In this world everyone lives in the mountains; there are no
houses in the valleys or plains. Scientists have discovered time
moves more slowly—but only by a few seconds—the farther
time is from the center of Earth. Thus people believe moving to
the mountains will slow the aging process. Some build their
houses on tall stilts; the height of their stilts is a status symbol
that reveals how much closer they are to living longer than the
people below them. Others stop caring whether they will age a
few seconds slower or faster, and they spend more time in the
valleys below. Eventually people begin to forget why living at
higher altitudes is better, but they continue to live in the
mountains anyway, convinced the air is superior. They eat only
the lightest, airiest foods as well; this causes them to grow
bony and old before their time.
Analysis
In this dream world Lightman continues investigating the
theme of paradoxes and the subjective nature of time. He also
connects the way people perceive time to their personal
happiness. People's sense of time dictates the way they make
decisions and plan for the future. Because they believe living at
a higher altitude buys them a few more seconds of time,
people arrange their lives to maximize those seconds. This
demonstrates time as perhaps humans' most precious
commodity. Yet people's obsession with gaining time costs
them contentment and even youthfulness. An obsession with
gaining time comes at a steep cost.
28 April 1905
Summary
Time is a visible reminder everywhere in this world, from clock
towers to wristwatches. These objects neatly divide time into
increments, but beyond them is "a vast scaffold of time" where
all time is equal and absolute. In the town of Berne people
convene every afternoon to pay tribute to time and set their
watches by the tolling of the clock tower chimes. Those who
are religious see time as evidence God exists; time is so
perfect and precise it must be divine. For these people time is
a way to judge actions. This idea of time as an absolute also
provides consolation: people can be unpredictable, but time
never is. In this way time can become a refuge from
uncertainty.
Analysis
In this dream world Lightman continues to investigate how a
rigid concern with time affects people's happiness and
comfort. Here people feel reassured by the stability and
prescriptions of time—it offers rules and guidelines about the
past, present, and future. The narrator points out, "while the
movements of people are unpredictable, the movement of time
is predictable." This means people can find a sense of safety
and certainty in time, something absent from personal
relationships. People are mercurial, changing, and fickle; time
remains constant and assured.
3 May 1905
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Summary
In a world where cause and effect are erratic, cause may come
before effect, or the two may be deeply intertwined and
impossible to tell apart. A man's friends begin to ignore him,
and he can't understand why. A week later he begins acting
horribly to everyone. Meanwhile, in the city of Zurich the
Council begins approving strict laws, searching visitors and
auditing banks. Soon after crime skyrockets. A Dream
Figure—a young woman—visits a flower garden and begins to
feel overwhelmingly happy and anxious for no reason. A few
days later she meets a man and falls in love. In all these
situations, what was the cause and what was the effect?
In this world of blurry relationships between cause and effect,
scientists become useless since they can no longer make
predictions. They can find no logic; either they are irrational or
the universe is irrational. On the other hand artists thrive in this
world, since they pride themselves on unpredictability in their
work. Most people live "in the moment" since dwelling in the
past will provide little insight about the present or future.
Everyone is judged as they are in the present, not for their past
or potential future selves. As a result people behave more
impulsively and honestly.
Analysis
This dream world provides the counterpoint to the previous
dream world of 28 April 1905, in which time was reassuring,
stable, and constant. In this world cause and effect have no
discernable, reliable relationship; time is chaotic and
undependable. The relationship between past and present or
future is essentially unknowable. Lightman offers another
paradox in people's subjective relationship to time: those who
thrive in this world are artists, because their work thrives on
unpredictability. Scientists, on the other hand, are useless and
helpless since they can't make accurate predictions based on
hypotheses. This dream world poses the question of how and
when events, actions, and outcomes become linked.
4 May 1905
Summary
Two couples sit at their usual table one evening in the dining
room of a hotel where they vacation together here every June.
They discuss the weather and horse racing and eat their
dinners. Not much new has happened since they met the
previous year, and such is the case for people in general; even
though time passes not much happens. Thus time seems
barely to move at all, since time is linked to events beginning
and ending. Either time is hardly moving or people themselves
are hardly moving.
Analysis
This dream world shows how time relates to humans'
perception of change. The effect of slow-moving time on the
two vacationing couples highlights the way time's structure
shapes their resistance to change because this glacial time is
the only kind of time they have ever known. People's
experience of time shapes their feelings about time, as well as
their own sense of free will.
Interlude
Summary
Although the Interludes are not given dates in the same
manner as Einstein's dreams, they do follow a narrative
progression through time. In this first Interlude Einstein and
Besso walk together one afternoon, discussing time. Einstein
explains his interest in time but does not tell Besso about his
dreams. At Besso's house, Einstein says he wants to
understand time "to get close to The Old One." Besso points
out The Old One (meaning God) may not be interested in his
own creations, even if they are intelligent. But Besso has a
great deal of respect and admiration for Einstein, who has
become a PhD and has written prestigious papers. The two
friends have known each other since college. Besso tells
Einstein his brother is coming to visit so they won't see much
of each other for a while. Besso worries Einstein will miss his
company and their talks, but Einstein reassures him he will be
fine.
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Analysis
The first Interlude introduces Einstein through the lens of
Besso, his good friend. Besso sees Einstein as dreamy and
preoccupied, immersed in his own thoughts. Although Besso
and Einstein are close in many ways, Einstein's advanced
intelligence keeps a certain distance between them. This
Interlude also introduces Einstein's understanding of God's
connection to his scientific work; Einstein says he conducts his
research to be closer to God. Einstein believes that by
understanding time on a deep scientific level he will be able to
understand God's designs and intentions for humanity. For
Einstein it seems as though both the scientific and
philosophical understanding of time are linked to God, though
it is unclear whether he believes that God designs time.
8 May 1905
Summary
In this dream world the end is nigh: the exact date, known to
all, is September 26, 1907. A year before the world ends
schools close, since there is little point in investing in the
future. A month before the world ends businesses close since
people won't be needing things much longer. Everyone feels
strangely liberated—a mother and daughter plan a
spontaneous last-minute trip together. No one seems
distraught over the impending end since everyone will
experience it at the same time. In fact the day before the world
ends people are lighthearted; they laugh, greet their neighbors,
and swim in fountains. Some try to correct past mistakes by
making amends. The minute before the world ends, everyone
gathers in a circle to hold hands; no one speaks as the end
approaches.
Analysis
This dream world continues to investigate the themes of free
will and consequence. In this world there will be no future
consequences for people's actions because there will be no
future. This bolsters everyone's sense of free will since it
detaches their decisions from consequences. The decisions of
the Dream Figures in this world show the ways in which this
prior knowledge affects their present—they close schools and
businesses and find a lightheartedness in knowing their days
are numbered. Here, there is no "tomorrow"; everyone enjoys
their present to the fullest. People's relationships with
themselves and one another take on a different structure as
well. The fact that they are silent in the final moment suggests
a sense of peace and resignation at their fate rather than
struggle or anxiety.
10 May 1905
Summary
In this world a town is composed of many pieces. One
neighborhood lives in the 15th century; another lives in the 18th
century; yet another lives in the present. Each piece of the
town is "fastened to a different time." The texture of time can
be smooth or rough, hard or soft. But in this world the texture
of time is sticky, so pieces of the town become stuck in a
moment in history. People also can get stuck at some point in
their lives. But the tragedy of this world is no one is happy,
even if the moment they are stuck in is one of joy, because
everyone around them has moved ahead in time. Everyone who
is stuck is alone because the past can't be shared with the
present.
Analysis
Throughout the novel Lightman investigates people's sense of
becoming stuck in time. In this dream world people become
stuck in a literal sense; this illuminates the metaphorical ways
in which people become trapped by their memories and past
actions, choosing to "live" there even in their present lives. This
shows yet again that people's sense of time is subjective and
can shape their perceptions about reality as well as their
actions. Feeling time's influence can also shape people's
emotional reactions; in this world people become unhappy
when they feel stuck in their past because they feel alone.
Here Lightman points out the importance of shared
experiences in humanity, and suggests that this sense of being
understood is integral to one's well-being.
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11 May 1905
Summary
Everything in this world is organized, aligned, and tidy. Broken
things repair themselves, and even falling leaves arrange
themselves into neat lines. Passing time only brings more order
to this world. The Dream Figures don't need to clean or garden
or organize on their own since the world will take care of it for
them. They inevitably grow weary of all this order in their lives;
in the spring they attempt to make things more disorganized by
breaking windows and smashing furniture. But by summer
people come back to their senses and stop fighting against
order.
Analysis
Here Lightman continues to show how the perception of time
can affect people's emotions. People feel constricted by the
structure and order time brings, and this seems to limit their
sense of free will. The narrator observes that "people with
untidy houses lie in their beds and wait for the forces of nature
to jostle the dust from their windowsills." They seem to feel no
sense of agency in their own lives, which leads to a feeling of
inertia and helplessness. They eventually rebel against the idea
that "the future is pattern, organization, union, intensification."
Yet order will always win out since this is the rule of time. This
world demonstrates free will is, in a sense, an illusion, since
people will always be governed by the rules of time they live in.
Rebellion is futile, though acceptance doesn't seem to lead to
happiness.
14 May 1905
Summary
In this world time stands still. Raindrops stay suspended in the
air, and people pause midmotion. If a traveler approaches this
world they will begin to move more and more slowly until they
stop at the center. Two kinds of travelers are drawn to this
frozen world: lovers and parents. Here lovers' feelings will
never fade, and children will never grow older. People can
move if they are not at the world's center, but they move "at
the pace of glaciers." Some say it is best to avoid the center of
time since without the passage of time people can't truly live
their lives. But some would rather have "an eternity of
contentment," even if it is frozen.
Analysis
Time's structure in this dream world is linked to people's
emotions and relationships. People in this dream world are
similar to those in 26 April 1905 who live at higher altitudes in
order to gain a few precious seconds of time. Here people
attempt to "cheat" time by moving closer to its "center," where
it slows down. By doing so they hope to freeze moments of
happiness in relationships. But although time slows down, their
sense of time does not. In fact, when people leave the center
of time, they find they've lost relationships and the sense of
having lived their lives. Here Lightman brings the motif of
consequence into play yet again, showing the Dream Figures
contending with this "frozen time" paradox.
15 May 1905
Summary
In this world, there is no time; there are only frozen images that
exist outside of time like still photographs. Since time doesn't
pass, the narrator doesn't present any stories of series of
events, but merely recites a litany of images involving people
and the world. None of these moments can be connected
through time, so they are presented as individual snapshots
independent of each other.
Analysis
Within the larger context of the dreams presented in the novel,
this dream world stands apart, since it doesn't deal with the
consequences of time, or its effect on humanity. The narrator
invites the reader to imagine inhabiting a world in which time
doesn't exist, and to consider how one might translate or
understand images without the context of time. Without this
context, it's impossible to know whether the images that are
being presented are meaningless or significant, since the
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human mind attaches memory and time to images—an image
from the past, perhaps, or one that imagines the future.
Humans use time in order to make sense of the world,
including their memories and the images they see around
them. To the reader, the images that are presented in this
vignette merely seem like a list of disconnected things.
20 May 1905
Summary
In this world people have no memories. Shoppers walk among
crowded booths at a market, seemingly unable to remember
where to find items they bought yesterday. They consult maps
to navigate the city they already live in, for they have no
memories. At the end of their days they must look up their
addresses so they can return home. Their families are
strangers to them. To gain access to the past, people must
consult books or documents; to know themselves people carry
a Book of Life containing their personal history. Without it they
are ghosts. Over time each person's Book of Life grows too
large to read from start to finish. Some choose to read only the
beginning, which makes them feel young; some read the end to
understand who they have become. Some give up reading their
Books altogether and abandon the past.
Analysis
In this dream world Lightman once again links the perception
of time to people's emotions. People in this world don't have an
understanding of the past, and this largely makes them happy
because to live in the present is to constantly notice its
newness. People stay in love and marvel at the lives they have
created. Those who stop reading the Book of Life and leave
the past alone seem to be happier than those who obsessively
read about their past. It's healthier and more freeing to be
unchained from the past.
22 May 1905
Summary
It is dawn in a city full of strange sights: a half-finished old
bridge, a house with no foundation. This is a world of changed
plans, where time flows in fits and starts and people can
glimpse the future briefly. This makes it difficult for people to
live as usual in the present; being able to glimpse and
anticipate the future alters their choices. Those who haven't
glimpsed their future "sleep most of the day and wait for their
vision to come." This also means people don't take many risks,
yet some do whatever they can to defy their future: fall in love
with a different person, take a different job. But inevitably they
catch up to their futures.
Analysis
This dream world deals with the consequences of the future
rather than the past. Because people can glimpse their futures,
in their present they are constantly reminded of the
consequences of their actions. Lightman presents a paradox:
either knowing or not knowing the future has repercussions.
Those who don't know the future feel uncertain about the
choices they make in the present, leading them to inertia. Yet
knowing the future also robs people of their sense of free will,
since they are unable to make any decisions in the present
without feeling the ghost of its future consequence. This leads
to a state of paralysis; people take few risks in their lives,
causing the narrator to wonder "what sense is there in
continuing the present when one has seen the future?" People
have lost all sense of discovery and risk, which the narrator
presents in a litany of Dream Figures who make decisions
based on seeing their own future.
29 May 1905
Summary
In this world everything is in motion. Houses and buildings are
mounted on wheels and race through the streets. People
chase after their office buildings in the morning, and move
about all day. No one is ever still for long. Things move around
quickly because in this world time passes more slowly for
people in constant motion. By moving around often one is able
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to gain time.
People only discovered this strange connection between
speed and time after the invention of rapid transportation.
Businesses move about constantly in order to gain an
advantage over their competitors, and houses are also sold
based on how fast they move. But people avoid looking at how
fast their neighbors are also moving, since the effect of all their
collective motion is relative.
Analysis
This dream world echoes the dream world of 26 April 1905 and
14 May 1905 where people attempt to manipulate time to take
advantage of it. Yet just as in those worlds, the manipulation
seems futile, with little being gained by individuals. Because
people in this dream world perceive that being in motion "buys"
them time, they must constantly be in motion. But this constant
motion has the strange effect of isolating people from one
another and causes them to grow resentful. Lightman again
shows attempts to manipulate time only lead to unhappiness.
Interlude 2
Summary
Einstein and Besso sit together at a café, getting some air.
Besso worries Einstein doesn't look so good—he suspects he
is not eating enough, but Einstein tells him he is making
progress. Besso recalls a time when he himself looked just as
bad—it was after his own father passed away. At the time
Einstein had taken care of Besso for a month as he grieved his
father's death. But Besso suspects this time Einstein doesn't
need his help because Einstein is "oblivious of his body and the
world." Besso invites Einstein to dinner with his wife next week,
and Einstein agrees distractedly. Besso wonders why Einstein
got married in the first place, something Einstein can't explain
either.
Analysis
This Interlude offers another glimpse into Einstein and Besso's
friendship, and further reveals the dynamic: Besso always
worries over Einstein's health and well-being. It also provides
some back story on their friendship: Einstein cared for a grief-
stricken Besso after his father passed away. Since Besso is
the clearest lens through which the reader views Einstein in his
waking life, it's notable the narrator chooses to reveal the toll
Einstein's work has taken on him mentally and physically. The
contrast between Besso and Einstein is significant, showing
one man who is very much tethered to his family and life while
the other is "oblivious of his body and the world." Besso's
revelation that Einstein may not be suited for marriage reveals
Einstein as preoccupied only with himself and his research,
causing his personal relationships to suffer.
2 June 1905
Summary
In this world time flows backward. Fruit turns from rotten to
ripe, and people age in reverse, living their lives backward until
infancy. Einstein himself ages in reverse, from receiving the
Nobel Prize for Physics to his first discoveries. Another man
stands over the grave of his friend but doesn't grieve, for he
knows his friend soon will be alive and laughing
Analysis
This dream world echoes the world of 3 May 1905, in which
cause and effect don't have a clearly defined relationship.
Because time flows backward in this dream world, it becomes
difficult to know what is the cause and what is the effect—they
flow in reverse. This also connects to the dream world of 11
May 1905, in which the future grows increasingly orderly. As
time flows backward in this dream world, things and people
become newer and younger, the opposite of death and decay.
Things feel less chaotic.
3 June 1905
Summary
In this world people live only for one day. The rhythms of their
bodies speed up, compressing their life. Or, possibly Earth's
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rotation slows down so much that one day spans an entire
human lifetime. Either way people only live to see one sunrise
and one sunset. This also means people born in one season
never witness a different season. People also spend half of
their lives in the darkness of night and half in the light of day.
Time is precious in this world, and so people hurry in order to
not waste it.
Analysis
This dream world shows the effect of time's structure on
individual lives. It hardly matters whether people only live for
one day because their bodies age quickly or if one day is so
slow it spans what would feel like decades in a world with
"normal" time. People's lives are fundamentally shaped by
knowing only one season, one sunrise, and one sunset, their
lives a stark contrast of lightness and darkness. Expanding on
the motif of consequences, Lightman attempts to show how
this time structure encourages people to see time as a
precious commodity that shouldn't be wasted. They make
decisions quickly so they can live to see the effects.
5 June 1905
Summary
From a distance this world seems common: rivers flow,
shopkeepers hawk their wares, couples smile and argue. But
seen through the eyes of any one person this world looks quite
different. One woman sees a passing boat speeding by, while
another woman sees the same boat as moving impossibly
slow. Yet a different man sees the boat as passing one way
and then backward. In this world time is a sense, like sight or
taste. This means any series of moments can seem quick or
slow, salty or sweet, light or dark. Philosophers question
whether time even exists outside human perception.
Analysis
This dream world demonstrates the importance of time as
individuals perceive it. Time is a quality rather than a quantity,
and "some few people are born without any sense of time."
Since in this world time is a unique, individual perception, it
cannot be shared with anyone else. Because there are so
many discrepancies no one experiences time in the same
sensory way. As a consequence it is difficult to share
experiences, so people feel more isolated. In various dream
worlds people use time as a communal experience to share
with each other, a quality fundamental to the happiness of
humanity.
9 June 1905
Summary
In this world people can live forever. This means the population
of each place is divided into "the Laters and the Nows." Laters
don't see any sense of urgency or hurry to do much—go to
college, get promotions, fall in love. Time is infinite, so why
rush? Everything can be accomplished eventually. To act too
hastily would be to risk making a mistake. The Nows, on the
other hand, believe they must do all they can with their sense
of an infinite life. They constantly change careers and lovers,
and never slow down. But the two kinds have one thing in
common: an infinite list of relatives. Nobody ever dies. And in
this way no one is ever free. Some yearn for death so they
might feel what it is to live.
Analysis
This dream world is the counterpoint to the dream world from
3 June 1905, in which people only live for a day. In this world
people live forever, and so there is no deadline by which they
need to "complete" their lives. Oddly this doesn't much change
people's behavior in their own lives, though it does create
another paradox symbolized by "the Laters and the Nows": to
slow down and savor infinity or to accomplish as much as you
can with your limitless days? The narrator notes few things are
actually ever finished due to the infinite nature of people
asking their ancestors for advice, and "such is the cost of
immortality." In each of these dream worlds Lightman aims to
show the consequences of living in its time structure, and here
also shows the two opposing ways it can be dealt with. It
seems ironic some would yearn for death, but implicit in this is
the human need for boundaries and endings—to live forever
does not mean one is free.
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10 June 1905
Summary
In this world time is measured in quality rather than quantity. A
woman waits for a man to meet her to take her to the
gardens—she's not sure when he will come, but she knows it
will be soon. She passes the time waiting reading a book. The
next day he arrives. It's unclear to them after a bit whether they
have been together for a lifetime or only a few moments. The
man's mother watches them dine in a restaurant, upset
because she is convinced he is still a child who belongs at
home with her. In this world where time can't be measured,
there are no clocks or calendars or keeping of appointments.
Time is kept rather by the color of the sky, or the feelings
people feel. Anyone who attempts to quantify time is turned to
stone.
Analysis
This dream world echoes the dream world of 5 June 1905 in
which time is a quality rather than a quantity. The narrator
notes, "time exists, but it cannot be measured," since quality is
subjective rather than objective. No one can say two moods
are exactly the same or two sets of eyes perceive the same
colors of the sunset. Yet as in the other dream world, this
experience sets people apart. Their shared experience of time
is isolating, and those who attempt to quantify it are punished.
In that light this dream differs by offering punishment to those
rebelling against the subjective nature of time. It's the human
condition to want to share experiences, but when people
cannot agree on the nature of their experiences they only feel
more separate.
11 June 1905
Summary
In this world there is no future. Even though on the surface it
appears to be like daily life, upon closer examination people
are reluctant to part ways, and loneliness is permanent. Time
ends in the present moment, and imagining the future is
impossible. Therefore, each parting of ways feels like a death,
and each person's loneliness feels infinite. As a consequence
people cling to the present and don't understand the results of
their actions. Some of them don't act at all; they simply lie in
bed all day. Others don't care if their lives lead to no future;
they choose to live their present to the fullest. Others become
obsessed with the past.
Analysis
This dream world emphasizes the way in which time's structure
influences how people live their lives. Since there is no future,
people are forced to live in the present. Yet rather than liberate
people from the potential consequences of their actions, it
causes them to "cling to the present as if hanging from a cliff."
Each ending or parting of ways feels permanent, as do moods
and emotions. Here Lightman points out a paradox: even
though people are free from dealing with future consequences,
they are trapped by the present and can find little meaning in
symbols and causes they are presented with. Without a sense
of a future ahead of them, nothing in their present seems to
have any value.
15 June 1905
Summary
In this world time is a visible dimension. In addition to seeing
houses, trees, and mountains in the distance, people can also
see birth, marriages, deaths, and other markers of time. People
can choose their own motions along this axis of time. Some
choose to stay in their current moment in time; others leap into
the future.
Analysis
This dream world again examines the notion of becoming
stuck in time. Here Lightman shows how emotional and
psychological states attach themselves naturally to certain
structures of time. Free will is another theme in this dream
world; people have the agency to either stay stuck or to move
ahead into the future. Some of the Dream Figures feel the
effects of these choices; they become wary of moving into the
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future or of rushing out of the past. Lightman illustrates how
fear motivates people's relationship with time and affects their
decisions, as evidenced by the young man who shudders at the
thought of stepping into the future because he is enjoying the
present moment with his mentor.
17 June 1905
Summary
In this world time stops and starts. When it stops the world and
everything in it freezes. But only a microsecond after the world
stops, it starts again. The world and its people continue on as
though nothing has happened. These disconnections are so
small no one can detect them, as evidenced by the boy and girl
who break up after sensing something "off." Nonetheless they
prevent time from being continuous.
Analysis
In this dream world fear again plays a role in people's
relationship with time. A young man falls in love with a woman,
but he fears rejection because of previous heartbreak. He is
too afraid to ask the woman about her feelings toward him;
unaware of his fear she tries to share her feelings through her
actions. Yet because time stops and starts imperceptibly in
this world, she hesitates momentarily. The young man picks up
on this hesitation and takes it for a lack of interest; he then
rejects her. Here again Lightman shows time's enormous
effect on human experience and illuminates the ways it links to
individual perception.
Interlude 3
Summary
Einstein and Besso sit together in a small fishing boat in the
river. Besso has never gone fishing with Einstein before, and he
feels slightly guilty about asking to join him since Einstein was
planning to go alone. Eventually Einstein gives up on the
fishing, and the two friends lie side by side looking at the sky.
Einstein asks Besso what he sees in the clouds; he has an
impulse to tell Besso about his dreams but he can't bring
himself to share them. Besso reassures Einstein he will
succeed with his theory of time.
Analysis
Einstein and Besso's friendship offers another glimpse into the
importance of relationships, as well as the fear and hesitation
that can grip people even in the midst of togetherness. Einstein
hesitates to tell Besso about his dreams; he seems to feel
Besso won't understand. Thus a chasm appears between the
two friends; each is confined to his own perception about the
friendship. Although both Einstein and Besso seem sensitive
and intuitive about one another's emotional states, neither
seems able to cross the divide. Although the Interludes take
place in "waking" life, there is a thread of loneliness that winds
through both Einstein's dreams and his conscious hours. The
Dream Figures in his dream worlds struggle with feeling
alienated and lonely much as he seem to feel even in the
presence of his closest friend.
18 June 1905
Summary
A line of 10,000 people stretches from a cathedral in Rome;
they are waiting to enter the Temple of Time. Many have
traveled a long distance to visit, and they seem oblivious to the
time passing as they wait. Watches and clocks are
forbidden—only the Great Clock in the Temple of Time keeps
track of time. Inside the Temple 12 pilgrims stand in a circle
surrounding the Great Clock; a huge pendulum swings
between them while the pilgrims chant each measured
increment of time. After an hour a new set of pilgrims takes
their place; this process repeats for centuries.
Before the Great Clock people kept time by the sun, stars, and
seasons, as well as heartbeats, sleep, hunger, and moods.
Then someone invented the first mechanical clock. People
were both impressed and horrified by it. The inventor of first
clock then built the Great Clock; after inventing it he was killed
and all other clocks were destroyed. Everyone knows they
must journey at some point to pay homage to the Great Clock,
which secretly angers them. They have been trapped by
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humans' own invention.
Analysis
This is another dream world in which people attempt to take
advantage of time. People are astonished that someone
invented an object to quantify and measure time. Of course
time already existed before clocks were invented, but now
people perceive time in a new way. As in the other dream
worlds in which people try to manipulate time, the people in
this dream world ultimately feel trapped by their own invention,
yet they don't know how to live without it. This object they find
so magical is also unbearable because it counts down their
lives. The narrator notes, "every action, no matter how little, is
no longer free." Everything is now connected to time.
20 June 1905
Summary
In this world time changes according to location. If two clocks
are near each other, they pass the time at the same pace. But
clocks that are farther apart keep time differently—the farther
apart the greater the difference. Cities do not do business with
each other since they understand time differently. Each city
stands alone and must provide everything for itself. If people
leave their city of origin they never return; they must adjust to a
new city's time after being "cut off in time" from their former
city. Some are content to stay in their original city, but others
yearn for contact with people from the outside and eventually
leave.
Analysis
This dream world connects to other dream worlds in which
time keeps people separate from one another. Lightman
presents a paradox in which cities are kept apart because of
time differences; as a result they become diverse but isolated.
Each city is remarkably unique because cities can't influence
one another, but since most people don't leave their city they
never have the perspective to appreciate their own city's or
other cities' uniqueness. The narrator notes, "The abundances
caused by isolation are stifled by the same isolation." Here
Lightman shows people are rarely content to stay isolated;
they fundamentally yearn for connection and outside influence.
Yet in this world when they leave home they can never return,
which might eventually make them feel even more alone and
isolated.
22 June 1905
Summary
On graduation day 129 boys wait in the sun while their
headmaster calls each on stage one by one. Everyone seems
listless and uninspired. After graduation some attend university
while some travel or work. But all the boys take their paths
indifferently and mechanically because time in this world is
rigid rather than fluid, "fossilizing the future as well as the past."
Everything has been predetermined, and people's movements
are not their own. They cannot change their path; they can only
observe it. In this world there is no right or wrong, only a fixed
future, which implies there is no freedom of choice.
Analysis
This dream world shows perhaps shows most powerfully the
effect of free will, or lack thereof. In a predetermined world
such as this, people lose their sense of right and wrong; "right
and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action is
already chosen, there can be no freedom of choice." With this
dream world, Lightman also shows people prefer the illusion of
free will to keep their lives interesting. The Dream Figures in
this world are bored and merely going through the motions of
their predetermined lives, forced to become mere observers of
their actions rather than the agents.
25 June 1905
Summary
A man plays his violin in his room and gazes at the street
below; he notices a couple and thinks about his own wife and
son downstairs. Another man, identical to the first, does
exactly the same, as do a third, fourth, fifth, and infinite other
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identical men. A passing hour is in fact many hours because
time bounces back and forth among the men. This creates an
infinite number of melodies and thoughts between them. The
first man can feel the others; he can feel them repeating his
melodies, thoughts, and motions. He begins to forget what he
was thinking about; his thoughts become diluted and weak.
Analysis
This dream world questions the nature of reality as it connects
to people's perception of time. The narrator says time is "like
the light between two mirrors," forever refracting and copying
itself. This brings up the philosophical question of which copy
is the original—even the first man begins to question which self
is his true self. When time doesn't flow in a linear way it
becomes diluted by itself, weakening its point of origin.
27 June 1905
Summary
Once a week a quarry worker brings stones from the quarry to
the masonry. While he is in the city he makes purchases, visits
the church, and sends letters. Even though people try to say
hello to him, he doesn't make eye contact or slow down to talk.
Some 40 years earlier he was embarrassed at school and
made fun of by his classmates; the memory continues to haunt
him after all this time. He is stuck in the past. The past is
constantly shifting, though; suddenly one day the man wakes
up and is no longer stuck. He is someone else now. All over the
city people are stuck in their own memories, which ultimately
blow away as though they never happened at all.
Analysis
This dream world echoes the dream world of 22 June 1905 in
that people's relationship to time is a matter of perception. This
dream world follows a man who is stuck in a moment from his
past, one he cannot control. The worker can become unstuck
simply by shifting his perceptions because perceptions are
deeply linked with a sense of time. The man's past doesn't
necessarily influence his present or future; it's merely his
perception of the past that colors his life—his belief that
everyone defines him by one embarrassing moment. This
illustrates how people's perception of time and the past can
dictate beliefs about their present.
28 June 1905
Summary
A grandmother scolds her son for eating too much at a picnic;
soon thereafter the son leaps up to run after a flock of birds
flying overhead. He is joined by others who have spotted the
birds. One woman attempts to catch one bird perched in a
tree, but it and the other birds are much too fast to catch. Each
man and woman wants a bird because the birds are time—time
that flutters and hops just ahead of them. By trapping a bird
they hope to trap time. Only children are fast enough to trap
the birds, but the children have no desire to stop time—they
think time moves too slowly. Elderly people wish they could
stop time for even a moment, but they are too old and slow to
trap a bird. The rare adult who can trap a bird savors the
moment of time but knows the bird will soon expire and time
will proceed.
Analysis
This final dream emphasizes yet again the futility of trying to
manipulate time; people invariably end up unhappy with the
results. People chase the birds to trap a fleeting moment, but
the moment will expire and die with the bird. Here Lightman
continues his cautionary tale: attempting to hold on to time or
slow it down only makes people forget to enjoy the present
moment. The birds are powerful symbols; they signify that time
is free and fast, not meant to be trapped but to fly unimpeded.
Lightman also presents one final paradox about how people
react to trapping moments: those with the most time left to live
can catch the birds most easily and thus trap moments at will
yet they have little interest in doing so; those at the end of their
lives would love to trap the birds and gain every moment
possible but they are too slow.
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Epilogue
Summary
A clock tower in the distance strikes eight o'clock, and the
young clerk Einstein wakes up and walks to the window of his
office. The town outside is beginning to wake up too, and soon
a patent officer comes into the office and begins working. A
few minutes later the typist enters, and Einstein hands her his
theory of time to type up. He returns to the window, feeling
empty and uninterested in reviewing patents or talking to his
friend Besso or thinking about physics.
Analysis
The Epilogue brings the reader full circle, back to the office
setting of the Prologue and back to Einstein as he wakes up
from his final dream, having finally completed his theory of
time. Whereas the world was quiet and still in the Prologue,
now it begins to wake up, and things begin to move and take
shape. Notably Einstein feels empty after all his hard work, and
nothing that previously bought him solace feels helpful
anymore. Lightman gives the reader this final paradox to
consider. A man who will go on to win the Nobel Prize for
Physics feels at a loss after completing the most difficult work
of his life. This shows Einstein was someone who created his
own meaning through his work with time.
g Quotes
"She is terrified ... she will kick up
dust, ... as a Peter Klausen [makes]
his way to the apothecary."
— Narrator, 16 April 1905
This image of a woman creeping in and huddling in the dark
illustrates the terror with which people in this dream world feel
over the possibility of altering the past in a way that will affect
the future. Peter Klausen will go on to have a descendent who
helps form the European Union, which the woman knows is
essential to the future.
"Time struggles forward with a
weight on its back when ... rushing
an injured child to the hospital."
— Narrator, 24 April 1905
People experience time as "body time" in contrast to
"mechanical time." Whereas mechanical time is rigid and fixed,
body time is more connected to individual sensations, moods,
and rhythms. This image depicts the way in which time can
seem to drag unbearably when in a moment of crisis.
"While people can be doubted,
time cannot be doubted."
— Narrator, 28 April 1905
This dream world is concerned with time and people being
predictable or unpredictable. Here time is an absolute, and for
many people that is a consolation that inspires near-religious
reverence. This is because people can be unpredictable,
moody, and hard to believe. Yet in this world time is indifferent
and solid, it can be quantified and therefore cannot be doubted
in the same way as people.
"Einstein ... explain[s] to ... Besso
why he wants to know time. But he
says nothing of his dreams."
— Narrator, Interlude
This Interlude depicts "real life" outside of Einstein's dream
worlds, and offers a rare glimpse into Einstein's relationships
with his friends and family. The reader is aware of how rich and
vast Einstein's dreams are, and so it is of significance that
Einstein chooses to hide this aspect of himself from his best
Einstein's Dreams Study Guide Quotes 22
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friend. It is something he keeps hidden because he doubts
himself or does not know how to articulate it.
"So, too, individual people become
stuck in some point of their lives
and do not get free."
— Narrator, 10 May 1905
In this dream world time is sticky, and portions of it become
stuck in a particular moment of history. This also means that
people become stuck in their own history as well. Here
Lightman offers a comment on the way people's perception of
time can alter their relationship with the way the past
influences their present.
"Order is the law of nature, the
universal trend, the cosmic
direction."
— Narrator, 11 May 1905
In this dream world the future becomes more orderly as time
marches on. Time is organized to increase in its orderliness,
and here Lightman shows how humans are powerless to
control "the law of nature" in this way. Ultimately people try to
rebel against it but are powerless to its force.
"Who would fare better in this
world of fitful time?"
— Narrator, 22 May 1905
The narrator asks the question of a world in which people can
glimpse their own futures. He wonders if people who have
seen the future would fare better since they know the life they
will lead. Or perhaps those who have not seen their future will
fare better since they must wait to see what happens and be
surprised.
"Philosophers sit in cafes on
Amthausgasse and argue whether
time really exists outside human
perception."
— Narrator, 5 June 1905
Time only exists as a sense in this world, and so each
individual's observation of time is different. It's significant that
philosophers would debate whether time really exists since
there is no way to prove or perceive another individual's unique
perception. If time cannot be measured it's difficult to quantify
how it can be perceived.
"Such is the cost of immortality.
No person is whole. No person is
free."
— Narrator, 9 June 1905
Here the narrator presents a paradox about immortality.
Though one might assume that to be immortal would be the
ultimate freedom, the cost the narrator is depicting here is one
in which everyone is bound to their ancestors, and since
everyone is still alive their accomplishments are diminished.
Things are also rarely completed since there is no sense of
urgency.
"In this world, time is a line that
terminates at the present, both in
reality and in the mind."
— Narrator, 11 June 1905
The implications of this world are hard for the reader to grasp
since in our ordinary world we have sense of the past, present,
and future. Yet the consequence that the narrator offers here
is one in which living in the present is filled with dread, since
Einstein's Dreams Study Guide Symbols 23
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every parting seems like the final parting, and every loneliness
feels permanent. The past and the future are necessary to give
the present meaning.
l Symbols
Birds
Birds symbolize time in Einstein's final dream. Dream Figures
chase after the birds to trap them and thus gain some time,
even though they know the birds will die soon after being
trapped. While the majority of Einstein's other dreams feature
abstract concepts about time as played out by the Dream
Figures, the birds are a concrete symbol of the fleeting nature
of time; they also represent the danger of believing one can
control and manipulate time.
Dream Figures
Although the Dream Figures live in recognizable cities and
towns in Europe, the author deliberately leaves them nameless.
The Dream Figures symbolize humanity as a whole, particularly
the ways in which humans perceive and deal with the structure
of time in their lives. Their hopes, fears, and anxieties are
depicted as individual struggles, but their stories all have
universal elements. Even though time is a scientific concept,
humans relate to it through their own personal experiences
and histories.
m Themes
Time
Because Einstein is so wholly preoccupied by theories of time,
these theories begin to infiltrate his sleeping subconscious.
Each dream world shows a different way time could work, from
looping in on itself to becoming its own dimension. Although
Einstein is a scientist, the Dream Figures care little for science.
Rather they try to exist, love, and survive in worlds in which
time's structure shapes the very nature of their lives. Lightman
depicts people who grow unhappier the more they try to
manipulate time, demonstrating that even if people can
understand time they cannot take advantage of it. And even if
time works the same way for everyone, no two individuals
experience time in the same way. In the world of Einstein's
Dreams time is both an organizing principle as well as a
thematic backdrop that the Dream Figures must live in and
face the consequences of. Lightman sets out to show not only
how Einstein's theories shape our conception of time but also
how time shapes the lives and decisions of individuals.
Free Will
Many of Einstein's dreams ask how much control humans can
have over their lives when the passage of time is out of their
control. In many of the dream worlds time dictates how much
free will an individual has. For example, one dream depicts a
world in which people can glimpse their futures, which takes
away any sense of risk, surprise, or passion. In another dream
everyone knows exactly when the world will end, which leads
people to make decisions already knowing the final outcome of
their fate. Yet Lightman points out free will is also a function of
perception; if people perceive time has already plotted out
their destinies they are less likely to attempt autonomous
decisions. The way in which the author introduces the concept
of free will and fate into the lives of the Dream Figures brings
in a philosophical element that intersects with Einstein's
scientific concepts, asking the reader to question how those
elements intersect in their own lives. Science and philosophy
are not disciplines that ordinarily speak the same language,
and here Lightman's background as a scientist and creative
writer find a thematic expression in considering the
consequences of free will.
Einstein's Dreams Study Guide Motifs 24
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Humanity
Although Einstein's Dreams deals largely with how dreams may
have helped Einstein develop his theory of time, each dream
also delves into the unique human perception and experience
of time. Einstein's Dreams is concerned with how humans
perceive time and how it shapes their thoughts, emotions, and
sense of free will. The unnamed Dream Figures in the novel
stand in for the whole of humanity, grappling with the structure
and limits of time as Einstein conceived of it. These Dream
Figures serve to humanize the more abstract theories and
concepts of time Einstein presents and show humans'
incredibly emotional connection to time.
The novel balances human thought and emotion with science
and shows the impact of time on human perception. Many of
the Dream Figures feel stuck in the past or trapped by their
memories, or they sense time slipping away before they can
tell someone their feelings. Their collective role serves to have
humanity stand in as a larger theme in the novel since
Lightman chooses not to trace individuals over the course of
the vignettes but to have the Dream Figures appear randomly
and often en mass. The effect of this theme is to connect the
reader's own humanity to the concerns and feelings of fellow
humanity. The dream worlds demonstrate that no matter how
differently time functions, humanity will always be concerned
with fate, free will, relationships, loss, and consequences.
There is something reassuring in this universality, and it ties
together and humanizes the other themes of time and free will.
b Motifs
Dreams
Each dream in the novel contains a different theory about time,
and the novel is comprised of back-to-back vignettes
containing these dreams. In this light, dreams are the
substance of the novel—without them Einstein's theories about
time would never have come to light. The people who inhabit
his dreams aren't meant to be characters that the reader
follows from beginning to end, but rather a collective humanity
that demonstrates the consequences of time inside of these
dream worlds. Lightman seems to suggest that without these
dreams, Einstein would never have arrived at his scientific
theories about time that won him the Nobel Prize. Through this
lens the exacting nature of science and the mysterious world
of dreams combine to create something innovative and
transcendent.
Consequences
Throughout the novel Einstein explores the consequences of
cause and effect in the worlds he dreams. This recurring motif
signifies the underlying belief that any human conception of
time—whether infinite or unstable—has a consequence that
may be unforeseen. Those who experience endless time in
their dream world yearn for a way out, and those whose lives
exist on a loop of time face the fact that they can't change the
future or the past. In some dream worlds the inhabitants are
acutely aware of the consequences of their actions, leading
some to live lives of inaction. The author constantly
investigates the idea that all time is consequential in one way
or another—it only matters whether it is noticed.
e Suggested Reading"About Alan Lightman." MIT Comparative Media
Studies/Writing. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2017.
Isaacson, Walter. Einstein: His Life and Universe. New York:
Simon, 2007. Print.
March, Richard H. Physics for Poets. New York: McGraw-Hill,
2002. Print.
Neffe, Jurgen. Einstein: A Biography. New York: Farrar. 2007.
Print.
Overbye, Dennis. "A Kiss Is Just a Kiss of Immediacy." New
York Times. 2 Jan. 1993. Web. 16 Jan. 2017.
Strawson, Galen. "BOOK REVIEW / Time out of Mind:
Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman—Bloomsbury Pounds
11.99." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media,
6 Feb. 1993. Web. 16 Jan. 2017.
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