What is the importance of prime numbers in the novel, The Housekeeper and the Professor?

Prime numbers are natural numbers divisible only by one and itself, such as 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, and so on. Prime numbers are the Professor’s favorite kinds of numbers in the novel because they are unique, rare, and are so foundationally important to mathematics. He sees prime numbers as children because they have so much potential. Prime numbers in the novel become symbolic of the prime of one’s life. For example, at age 11, Root is in the prime of his childhood while at the age of 29, the Professor was in the prime of his own life.