Beginnings: Inkheart
In this week’s Beginnings, I look at Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart. As previously, I put the book’s introduction under the microscope to try and find the techniques Funke uses to make us fall in love with Meggie, her main character.
Spoilers ahead!
In this story, Funke presents a tried and true ‘hero’s journey’, returning the blog to a more standard tale after a couple of weeks’ of dealing with atypical protagonists. Meggie is a twelve-year-old girl whose father has kept her, unknowingly, on the run from an evil force. Inevitably, the bad guys find them and kidnap Meggie’s father, catapulting both Meggie and her mentor, Dustfinger, into their quest. The inciting incident happens on page 71, when Capricorn’s men arrive to take Meggie’s father, Mo, away, and Meggie must take up arms to rescue him.
Funke builds empathy for Meggie from two angles, passion and family, and in many ways the two go hand in hand throughout the story.
A staple in starting ‘hero’s journey’ stories is a place of comfort, usually a family home or strong friendship, which is then ripped out from underneath the protagonist. Funke does just this in Inkheart, but for Meggie the “comfort” of family is doubly strong: “…[her father] went away quite often, whenever an antique dealer, a book collector, or a library needed a bookbinder…. And the book doctor never called on his patients without taking his daughter, too.” (13) More than just a father, Mo is her best friend; thus Meggie’s comfort derives from a combination of comfort of family and friendship. They have been on the move all of Meggie’s life, just the two of them. Her life is her father - that’s all she knows. So when Capricorn takes him away, the weight of the loss is twice as powerful.
Meggie adopts Mo’s passion for books, and this shared passion endears readers. Funke beats us over the head with the passion. Meggie loves books. “Meggie had inherited her love of books from her father.” (3) “They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar voices, friends that never quarreled with her, clever, powerful friends – daring and knowledgeable, tried and tested adventurers who had traveled far and wide.” (15) In the introduction alone, Funke uses the word ‘book’ 208 times. Think about it. In 71 pages that’s a ridiculous number! But it gets the point across. There’s something inspiring about a person who can commit herself so wholeheartedly to something. Moreover, we all have been taught that reading is best path to knowledge (and implied power). How could it but draw us in?
Early in the story, Mo keeps Meggie in the dark about the real reason they move so often. And Meggie isn’t an idiot. She is acutely aware of it from the get go. “For a moment she thought he was going to tell her everything – whatever there was to tell. But then he shook his head.“ (14) Initially Meggie is content to let sleeping dogs lie, but as the story progresses we see Meggie question Mo more and more, and by the end of the introduction, the stakes have been raised enough that she needs to know the truth. She won’t take no for an answer, and we see her join forces with Dustfinger to uncover Mo’s secret.
Funke helps create audience empathy by emphasizing Meggie’s sense of injustice. Funke knows that children can relate to Meggie’s plight. Adults keep kids in the dark all the time, ‘for their own good’. So, when Mo fails to answer Meggie’s questions, readers share her sense of injustice, one of the strongest motivators in literature. At the same time, Funke showcases Meggie’s curiosity and stubbornness. All her life, Meggie has learned secrets and experienced the world through books. Her natural inquisitiveness makes Meggie special, and drives her forward. She always wants to know the where the story leads. In Elinor’s house, this leads her to spy on her father, bursting into his private meeting. “’Pigheaded, isn’t she?’ Remarked Elinor. ‘It almost makes me like her!’” (47) In this moment, Elinor represents the reader, echoing their feelings. Funke has lined up the tools for Meggie to succeed on her ‘hero’s journey.’ Meggie has all the right questions, and she won’t quit until she discovers the truth.