Sophie’s World: Chapter 16 Summary & Analysis

Sophie returns to Joanna’s house. Joanna tells Sophie that Sophie’s Mom has called several times, asking for Sophie’s whereabouts. Sophie convinces Joanna not to tell anyone about her meeting with Alberto in the church. Then, she leaves Joanna’s house and returns to her own.

Back in her room, Sophie stares at the brass mirror and sees another girl’s face. The girl winks with both eyes, just as she did before. Although she has no way of proving it, Sophie senses that this girl is Hilde. Sophie tries to introduce herself to this strange other girl, but before she can get far, a voice calls Hilde’s name, and Hilde runs away from the other side of the mirror.

Sophiegoes to sleep and has a strange dream in which a young girl runs toward a middle-aged man wearing a beret. In the dream, the girl drops a small gold crucifix. Sophie wakes up suddenly, realizing that she’s been dreaming. Underneath her pillow, she finds the gold crucifix.Sophie is bewildered by her dream. She also notes that Hilde’s father (in the dream) looked a lot like Alberto Knox. She goes downstairs and greets Mom. Mom tells Sophie that a strange dog is outside, near the hedge. Sophie, knowing that the dog is Hermes, goes out to find him. Hermes walks away from the hedge slowly, allowing Sophie to follow.

Hermes leads Sophie to the town square, which is lined with houses. Outside house No. 14, Hermes barks at the mailbox. Hesitantly, Sophie opens the box and finds a letter for Hilde Møller Knag. It’s dated June 15. Sophie reads Hilde’s letter. Hilde’s father tells Hilde that Sophie is coming to the “philosopher’s house” soon. He notes that European history is like a human life—the Middle Ages are like adolescence, long and dull. But the Renaissance is like Europe’s 15th birthday—a great awakening of energy and vitality. Hilde’s father tells Hilde to be more careful, noting that she’s lost her gold crucifix. He also tells Hilde that he’s “just around the corner.”

Hermes leads Sophie into the house. Sophie climbs up many flights of stairs, until she’s in the attic. There, she’s surprised to find Alberto Knox, wearing a yellow jacket with padded shoulders. Sophie demands that Alberto explain how Hilde’scrucifix came to be under her pillow. Alberto replies, “It’s just a cheap trick.” Without waiting for Sophie to respond, Alberto dives into Sophie’s lesson for the day.

Alberto directs Sophie’s attention to the attic, which is full of beautiful old books. He explains that he’s been living in the attic for some time, ever since leaving the major’s cabin. Sophie asks Alberto how Hilde’s father knows Alberto’s changing locations, but Alberto doesn’t say.

Alberto next begins to tell Sophie about the Renaissance, the period of European history following the Middle Ages. Renaissance means “rebirth,” suggesting that Europe was recovering its connections to the culture of antiquity. The Renaissance is often celebrated as a time of great humanism—a renewed emphasis on human values and life in the material world. Some of the most important milestones of the Renaissance were the invention of the printing press, the rediscovery of the compass, and the perfection of the gun. These three inventions allowed Europeans to communicate morequickly and efficiently, conquer new countries, and explore unknown lands.

The Renaissance humanists celebrated the Christian church, but they also celebrated Greco-Roman culture to an unprecedented extent. For this reason, Rome once again became a seat of art and scholarship. In spite of the new emphasis on humanism, the Christian church continued to persecute those whose ideas were seen as being too radical. So there were clear limits placed on humanism at this time—even humanists had to wrap their ideas in the language of Christianity to avoid persecution. Other important ideas of the time included the theory that the Earth moves around the Sun, proposed by Nicolas Copernicus and later Galileo Galilei.

Alberto tells Sophie more about Galileo, one of the key figures of the Renaissance. Galileo was an empiricist, meaning that he used careful observation to study the laws of the universe. For example, he used experimentation to show that all objects accelerate toward the Earth at a uniform rate, contrary to what Aristotle had maintained centuries before. Galileo also used astronomical observations to prove that the Earth revolves around the Sun, not the other way around, as had been previously believed.

Galileo’s studies of the laws of motion were influential in the ideas of Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727). Newton took Galileo’s ideas further by showing that some laws of motion are universal—i.e., forces like gravity bind together all matter in the universe, no matter how big or small. Newton used this concept to show how the Moon orbited the Earth. The ideas of Newton and Galileo were revolutionary, and in some ways they undermined people’s faith in God. Man was no longer at the center of the universe; instead, he had to obey the same laws of physics as everything else in the world.

Alberto goes on to tell Sophie about the history of religion during the Renaissance. During this time, figures like Martin Luther challenged the teaching of the Christian church. Luther maintained that Christians’ personal relationship with God was more important than their participation in ritual and ceremony. Luther initiated the Protestant Reformation—the great split in Christianity that resulted in the establishment of new sects, particularly Catholicism (the Christians who didn’t follow Luther) and Protestantism (the Christians who did).

Sophie realizes that it’s already4 o’clock—her mother must be missing her. Alberto nods and says goodbye to Sophie, calling her “Hilde.” Sophie challenges Alberto on this, and Alberto claims that he just misspoke. Sophie asks Alberto if he’s Hilde’s father, but he denies this.

Sophie leaves Alberto and begins heading home. Because she has no money, she’ll have to walk home instead of taking the bus. Then, she notices ten crowns lying on the ground—the exact price of a bus ticket. Sophie wonders if this is a coincidence, or if Hilde’s father has placed the money there for her. Sophie feels a chill running down her spine.