Diary of a Nobody

“I have often seen reminiscences of people I have never even heard of, and I fail to see—because I do not happen to be a ‘somebody’—why my diary should not be interesting.”

The novel is told in an epistolary form—one told in a series of diary entries, in this case. Charles Pooter’s introduction to the fictional diary introduces this key symbol in the novel and begins to establish Pooter’s character. Pooter is convinced of his own self-worth, a trait that supports the theme of Taking Oneself Too Seriously. His pomposity extends to his belief in the worth of the diary, which comically records every mundane aspect of his life. The diary also symbolizes a Victorian practice of keeping and reading diaries.

“Must get the scraper removed, or I shall get into a scrape. I don’t often make jokes.”

Pooter’s lack of awareness about his punning is an example of the thematic exploration of the Discrepancy Between Self-Perception and the Perception of Others. He thinks of himself as serious, yet he constantly makes puns which he laughs at uproariously and then repeats to anyone who will listen. The Grossmiths portray the puns as not funny by themselves. Rather, they are made funny by the degree of his self-amusement and how other characters do or do not react. For instance, the degree to which his wife, Carrie, tolerates Pooter’s behavior on any given day is evident by how she reacts to his puns.