Anne Frank's birth anniversary: Why you need to read these 6 literary diaries

Anne Frank. Pics Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons

On this day, 83 years ago, young Anne Frank received a diary for her birthday. Little did she realise it would become one of the most treasured diaries in literature. Over the years, diaries have played a crucial role in fiction, helping reveal the inner life of their possessors or moving the plot forward. We look at six engaging diaries that became central to their storylines.

James Joyce

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: James Joyce's classic, published in 1916, features the protagonist Stephen Dedalus's diary, from his years at the university. He is first seen scribbling notes about aesthetics and beauty in it. Later, readers get a peek into it. Stephen wrestles with his Irish Catholic identity throughout the book. His search for spiritual, intellectual and artistic clarity is reflected in the diary. We become privy to his evolution as a young man and as an artist through it.

Emily Bronte

Wuthering Heights: In Emily Brontë's novel, when Lockwood arrives at Thrushcross Grange, he gets hold of Catherine Earnshaw's diary. It reveals Catherine's relationship with her brother Hindley and her lover Heathcliff. Written in "unformed, childish hand", it informs Lockwood and readers about Hindley's treatment of Heathcliff and Catherine's inner life. It's interesting to note that another diary, i.e., Lockwood's, acts as the frame narrative for a large part of the book.

Rabindranath Tagore

The Notebook: In Rabindranath Tagore's short story, Uma learns to read and write, and begins scribbling sentences everywhere - on the walls and over her brother Gobindolal's essays. Irked, Gobindolal punishes her by confiscating her pencil, but soon forgives her and gifts her a notebook to write in. When Uma turns nine, she is married off into a conservative family. She carries her notebook to the village, but each time she tries to write in it, someone snatches it away. The notebook becomes a symbol for all that is seized from her: her innocence, freedom, and her childhood.

Nikolai Gogol

Diary of a Madman: Nikolai Gogol's work is one of the most iconic examples of how a writer takes the diary format and turns it around. A minor clerk writes about the day-to-day happenings in his diary. As the days pass by, the dates turn absurd like "Marchember", "February 349", etc., and the entries become illogical. In one, for instance, he declares himself to be the King of Spain. Gogol makes use of such absurdities to speak about social hierarchies. His protagonists display a strong desire to attain dignity and respect.

Alice Walker

The Color Purple: Alice Walker's novel begins with a voice that silences the protagonist. It insists that she reveal her thoughts to no one but God. Having been abused by her father and Mister, to whom she was offered in marriage, Celie, a 14-year-old African American girl from Georgia, writes letters addressed to God. They are akin to writing a diary and they carry the same belief, trust, and privacy that a diary holds. It becomes her outlet as she carves a path for herself and moves towards freedom, not letting the burden of her trauma take control over her destiny.

Jissa Jose

Mudritha: Sahitya Akademi Award-shortlisted novel by Jissa Jose, translated from the Malayalam by Jayashree Kalathil, is a story about a missing woman called Mudritha. A former tour guide, Aniruddhan files a missing person's complaint at the police station and shares no further details. However, he hands over a notebook he had maintained during his correspondence with Mudritha - a diary in six parts, which leads us into the details from this correspondence. For the policewoman Vanitha, this becomes the starting point for her investigation.

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