Lines of Courage

A house of cards is a common metaphor to underline the fragility of an idea or institution, and Nielsen uses this to illustrate Elsa’s changing mindset about her own country over the course of the war. At the beginning of the book, the young girl explains the geopolitical tensions between European nations to Felix by constructing four houses out of playing cards, one for each of the main empires: British, Russian, German, and Austro-Hungarian. However, she makes Austria-Hungary differently than the others, commenting to Felix: “Your empire is made up of several small countries all controlled by one Kaiser. Each country has a different language and religion and culture. Worse still, all the countries hate one another” (19). When she blows on these disconnected cards, the house topples over, highlighting Austria-Hungary’s weakness.

This allegory is then repeated several times over the course of the novel, with different characters referencing houses of cards to symbolize the volatile and uncertain nature of the conflict. Dimitri, for instance, tells Elsa that Germany is “a house of cards” (260) about to fall, using her own metaphor against her. Elsa gradually becomes more doubtful of the German empire’s strength and ability to prevail in the war.