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105 pages 3 hours read

Cornelia Funke

Inkheart

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2003

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Chapters 1-10Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary: “A Stranger in the Night”

Twelve-year-old Meggie Folchart lives with her father, Mortimer “Mo” Folchart, in a book-cluttered home. Meggie reads a book in bed; the rain is keeping her awake. Meggie looks out at the dark, rainy garden outside and sees a man looking at the house. She tells her father.

Mo lets the man, whom he calls Dustfinger, into the house. Dustfinger has a scarred face and long, fair hair. Mo sends Meggie to bed, but she listens outside the door to Dustfinger warning Mo that “Capricorn” and his men will arrive soon. Dustfinger refers to something that Capricorn wants. Mo tells Dustfinger to come back the next afternoon, after Meggie has returned home from school.

Mo comes to check on Meggie, but he will not clarify who Capricorn is, why Dustfinger is called Dustfinger, or why Dustfinger calls Mo “Silvertongue.”

Chapter 2 Summary: “Secrets”

Meggie wakes up to an early alarm and sees Mo packing a bag for her. Mo explains that they are going to her great-aunt Elinor’s place; Mo is a book binder, and Elinor needs books repaired. Meggie senses that he is not being completely honest. She packs books into her book box to take with them. She goes to see Mo in his study. Mo quickly hides a green book, which he is wrapping in brown paper, behind his back.

They leave in their campervan, but despite the early hour, Dustfinger meets them by the gate.

Chapter 3 Summary: “Going South”

Dustfinger, in a bemused and accusatory manner, asks where “Silvertongue” is going. Mo explains that since Capricorn is in the north, he and Meggie are traveling south. Dustfinger asks to accompany them, reminding Mo that Mo owes him. Mo reluctantly agrees. Meggie jumps out of the campervan and refuses to get back in until Mo tells her who Capricorn is and what’s going on. Dustfinger is shocked that Meggie doesn’t know. He tells Meggie that Capricorn wants something that her father has, and that Capricorn is a terrifying and vicious person.

As Mo drives, Dustfinger introduces Meggie to Gwin, a marten-like creature with small horns. Meggie is confused by the horns; Mo says that Dustfinger stuck them on. Mo finally tells Meggie that Capricorn wants a book from him.

Chapter 4 Summary: “A House Full of Books”

Meggie wakes up in the campervan. They’ve stopped in front of a huge iron gate, which is the entrance to Elinor’s home. They proceed up the driveway. Mo tells Elinor, when she answers the door, that he is there to fix her books as a library canceled a job they had promised him. Meggie recognizes that he is lying and feels uneasy. Elinor dislikes children and treats Meggie condescendingly, warning her not to touch any of her valuable books. Meggie admires the incredible collection in Elinor’s library, particularly the illustrated works that lie open on reading tables.

Over dinner, Mo whispers to Elinor. Meggie assumes that it is about the green-bound book in the brown paper. Dustfinger surreptitiously feeds Gwin.

After dinner, Mo slips out and Meggie follows him. She hides in Elinor’s bedroom when she hears Elinor coming to the library, which Mo has gone into. Dustfinger, also hiding in the bedroom, urges Meggie to go into the library to find out what Mo is planning to do with the book. Dustfinger tells Meggie that Capricorn will kill Mo if he doesn’t get the book and pushes her into the library.

Chapter 5 Summary: “Only a Picture”

Elinor looks excitedly at the green-bound book; she assures Mo that she will keep it safe until he returns to collect it. She turns around and is shocked to see Meggie. Meggie demands to know why Mo won’t let her see the book. Elinor invites Meggie to look; she sees illustrations of lavishly dressed women, a fire eater, and a creature that looks like Gwin. Elinor closes the book before Meggie can see much, and Mo leads Meggie out of the library, urging her to forget about the book.

The next day, Meggie finds Dustfinger outside juggling. Dustfinger knows that Mo has left the book with Elinor; he disagrees with the decision. Meggie tells Dustfinger that she saw Gwin in the book, but he is evasive about it. He asks whether Mo ever reads aloud to her, and when Meggie says no, he advises her to ask why. He invites Meggie to a nighttime performance at eleven o’clock that night.

Meggie asks Mo why he never reads aloud to her. After a long pause, he says that he doesn’t like to read aloud. Meggie looks through a book of animals but sees no examples of martens with horns.

Chapter 6 Summary: “Fire and Stars”

Elinor tells Dustfinger, who is playing with a box of matches, that she does not like fire in her house because it’s dangerous for her books. Meggie is amazed when he lights a match and extinguishes it by putting it in his mouth. Elinor tells Meggie to be sure she’s back in the house by nighttime because she turns on her burglar alarm at 9:30pm. Dustfinger asks Elinor if she can turn her alarm off that night so that Meggie can attend his show; Elinor reluctantly agrees.

As arranged, Meggie goes to Elinor’s room before eleven o’clock to ask that the alarm be temporarily deactivated. Elinor tells Meggie that she is just as cheeky as her mother was. Meggie is amazed by Dustfinger’s show; he breathes fire and throws and juggles fiery torches.

Suddenly, Meggie looks up at the house: She thinks that she hears voices and feels afraid. She runs into the house. Elinor grabs Meggie and locks them in her bedroom, explaining that there are four or five armed men with Mo and that Meggie would only cause trouble if she tried to help. Meggie hears a man, whom the others call Basta, stating that they know that “it”—the book—is there. Mo agrees to give them the book, but he wants to go with them to Capricorn. By the time Elinor finally lets Meggie go, Mo and the other men are gone.

Chapter 7 Summary: “What the Night Hides”

Dustfinger watches Meggie weep in the night. He feels guilty for telling Capricorn everything but feels that he had no choice. He picks up his bag and leaves.

Chapter 8 Summary: “Alone”

Elinor tries to comfort Meggie by assuring her that her father went with them of his own free will, and that he will come back for her. Meggie runs to the place in the garden where Dustfinger gave his performance. He is gone, and Meggie wonders hopefully if he followed the group.

Elinor calls the police. When they arrive, they only seem bemused by the story of the bad man named Capricorn and the thieves who took only one book. Elinor puts Meggie to bed.

Chapter 9 Summary: “A Poor Exchange”

Meggie goes to Mo’s room rather than sleeping in her own room. The photograph of her mother is under Mo’s pillow as it always is. She remembers Mo’s explanation: that Meggie’s mother had to go a long way away when Meggie was three.

The next morning, Meggie decides to run away and find her father. She writes a note for Elinor, then packs a light bag. She creeps into Elinor’s bedroom to leave the note, but she recognizes the book beside the sleeping Elinor: It is the green-covered book Capricorn’s men came for. Meggie furiously wakes Elinor up.

Elinor admits that she swapped the book with a similar looking one; she was curious to read it and didn’t know that anyone would come looking for it that night. Meggie tells Elinor that Capricorn will kill her father, but Elinor thinks that’s ridiculous. Meggie asks Elinor about the book, which is called Inkheart; Elinor explains that the book is very rare, and that all other copies had vanished as if stolen. Elinor convinces Meggie to stay for a while in case Mo returns and promises that they can go look for him together if he doesn’t. Elinor encourages Meggie to read Inkheart to pass the time. Meggie feels sure that it is precious for more than its monetary value.

Chapter 10 Summary: “The Lion’s Den”

Meggie hesitates to start Inkheart, as she attributes all of the terrifying events of the last few days to the book. However, she thinks that she might find Mo’s trail in the book. Dustfinger suddenly appears in the garden, claiming to have followed Mo and Capricorn’s men. He tells Meggie that they are taking Mo to Capricorn’s headquarters, south of Elinor’s home.

Meggie begs Dustfinger to take her to Capricorn’s village so that she can give him the book to save Mo. Dustfinger insists that Elinor should not come. Elinor arrives in the garden and snaps at Dustfinger, who is holding Inkheart, to put the book down. When Meggie happily tells her that Dustfinger knows where Mo is, Elinor insists that she will come with them. 

Chapters 1-10 Analysis

The Power of Literature is established as a central theme in the opening chapters of Inkheart. Meggie and Mo’s home speaks of their love of books:

[T]he books in Mo and Meggie’s house were stacked under tables, on chairs, in the corners of the rooms. There were books in the kitchen and books in the lavatory. Books on the TV set and in the closet, small piles of books, tall piles of books, books thick and thin, books old and new (4).

Mo’s workshop is filled with the tools for his profession as a book binder; he carries out his work with loving care. Meggie and Mo treat books like important friends who hold memories and endlessly fascinating tales. Meggie, in an example of her youthful reverence for the magic of stories, feels that the term “book binder” doesn’t accurately describe what Mo does, so she “[makes] him a sign to hang on his workshop door saying Mortimer Folchart, Book Doctor” (13).

Reading is a central tenet of Mo and Meggie’s life. In the opening scene, Meggie is reading because she can’t sleep: “[I]ts pages rustled promisingly when she opened it. Meggie thought this first whisper sounded a little different from one book to another, depending on whether or not she already knew the story it was going to tell her” (2). Meggie’s reverence for books, and for the joy and wonder that reading brings, puts immediate weight behind stories and storytelling. Reading is characterized as a balm for fears and a friend in challenging times. When Meggie, spooked by Dustfinger’s sudden appearance and uneasy over Mo’s cagey behavior, must pack for their mysterious journey, she immediately turns to books for comfort: “Which stories would help to drive away the fear that had crept into the house last night?” (16). Meggie chooses books that will help her make sense of her current circumstances, such as when she considers bringing Pinocchio because she senses that Mo is telling her lies.

Books also drive the plot itself. Mo and Meggie flee their home with Mo’s copy of Inkheart in an attempt to escape Capricorn, who is, for reasons as yet unknown, determined to acquire the book. This hints that literature contains power that extends beyond the metaphorical—that there is something vitally important about books, especially Inkheart, within the context of the story.

The Complexities of Loyalty are established in this chapter through Mo and Meggie’s relationship. Mo is characterized as a gentle and loving father who has a close relationship with Meggie. Funke conveys the stress of the situation by Mo’s uncharacteristically snappy behavior about the copy of Inkheart and their mysterious departure from their home. Mo’s evasiveness continues in the subsequent chapters; Meggie begs to understand who Capricorn is and what he wants, but Mo refuses to tell her. Later chapters will reveal that these are Mo’s attempts to protect Meggie from a highly dangerous situation. He does not want Meggie to know about his ability to read objects and people out of books, and he wants to shield her from Capricorn, a cruel and violent man. Meggie acts on her own loyalties by following Mo, which kicks off her coming-of-age arc and establishes the theme of Maturing Through the Hero’s Journey.

Dustfinger also embodies The Complexities of Loyalty. Dustfinger is established as a mysterious character, and Funke makes it difficult to guess whether or not he is a true ally. He seems terrifying to Meggie when he first appears in their garden, and he heralds a time of danger for her and Mo, which Meggie correctly intuits: “[A] foreboding, clammy and fearful, came into her heart as if, along with the visitor whose name was so strange yet somehow familiar, some menace had slipped into her life” (6-7). Dustfinger, in a supposed show of loyalty, warns Mo that Capricorn is coming. Dustfinger tells Mo that Capricorn is “in the north” (22), which inspires Mo’s choice to hide the copy of Inkheart at Elinor’s house in the south. Meggie also warms up to Dustfinger, who gives her answers that Mo hides from her and entertains her with tricks and performances. Dustfinger shifts from a terrifying harbinger of doom to a likable rogue in Meggie’s eyes.

However, in Chapter 7, Funke reveals that Dustfinger betrayed Mo and Meggie to Capricorn to further his own goals. It is Dustfinger who tells Capricorn of Mo’s location at Elinor’s, which leads to Mo’s abduction and imprisonment. Despite this, Dustfinger clearly feels remorse: “[H]e heard [Meggie] weeping and his face turned hot with shame” (72). Dustfinger suppresses the urge to comfort Meggie and tell her the truth, which hints that his motives are complex and that he does not hold ill will toward Meggie and Mo.

This gray area of loyalty further comes through when Dustfinger agrees to take Meggie to Mo and Capricorn. Dustfinger purposely portrays himself as Meggie’s ally when he pretends like he tracked Capricorn’s men, but he genuinely relents when he agrees to let her come with him. He insists that Elinor should stay behind, which is both cunning and protective: Elinor, despite her initial dislike of Meggie, clearly has Meggie’s best interests at heart, and separating the two of them would minimize complications in Dustfinger’s plots. However, his warning is also for Elinor’s benefit, as Dustfinger knows firsthand how dangerous Capricorn can be and it would be safer for Elinor to stay away.

Elinor is initially characterized as condescending and “stuffy.” She warns Meggie to remain “at least three paces away from the shelves” of her extensive library (38), and she openly favors books over people. Her strictness irritates Meggie. Elinor’s loyalty is, at first, to books and books alone. She even reveals herself capable of deception and betrayal where books are concerned: She switches the copy of Inkheart with a similar looking volume so that she can read it, which, according to Dustfinger, puts Mo’s life at risk. However, when Elinor realizes the truth of the situation, she agrees to take Meggie and the copy of Inkheart to Capricorn to save Mo. This begins the shift of her loyalties—though books remain deeply important to her, she dedicates herself to helping Mo and Meggie however she can from this point on.

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