Genre
Historical
Setting and Context
The Ottoman Empire in 1591
Narrator and Point of View
There is a different narrator in every chapter, they narrate in the first-person.
Tone and Mood
The tone is startling; the mood is tense.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The miniaturists are the protagonists; death is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the novel occurs when one of the Ottoman miniaturists is tragically and brutally murdered.
Climax
The climax of the story is reached when the reader gains access to the murdered miniaturist's thoughts even though they are dead.
Foreshadowing
The death of the miniaturist is foreshadowed by the fact that the Ottoman Empire is brutal
Understatement
The role of death is understated throughout the novel.
Allusions
The story alludes to the realities of the Ottoman Empire in the late 16th century.
Imagery
The imagery of the brutal murder is present in the novel.
Paradox
The fact that the dead miniaturist is able to narrate part of the novel is an example of paradox in the story.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The snow is a metonym for the tragic death.
Personification
N/A