Diary of a Nobody

Pooter’s diary is both a symbol of Victorian culture and a frequent source of humor supporting the theme of Taking Oneself Too Seriously. The diary is a running gag and a mark of the serialized novel.

Diaries were very popular in the Victorian age. People read published diaries, and they often wrote them. Diarists believed they were keeping a record of the times to pass along to future generations. Articles even wrote about rules for diary-keeping, including what to mention, such as visits paid and received, letters sent and received, and payments made.

Pooter shares a similar mindset with his own diary as he earnestly tells his family that he hopes they will find it an endless source of pleasure. He faithfully chronicles the comings and goings of his aptly named friends Cummings and Gowing, even when he asks himself why he bothers to record Gowing’s insults.

He also details every letter he sends or receives in the diary. He copies one sentence into the diary verbatim because it is “one of the most perfect and thoughtful sentences” he has ever written (20). He later pronounces, “It’s the diary that makes the man” (112), comparing himself to famous diarists Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn.