Nella's Room

Nella’s room in the Brandt house is overly-large and lavishly decorated. It is filled with an excess of embroidery, and after Nella spills her perfume, the entire room smells intensely of lilies. All of Nella’s senses are overwhelmed by this room, adding to her initial feelings of displacement in Amsterdam. At the end of the novel, though, Nella’s room becomes the sight of Thea’s birth and Marin’s death, changing the purpose of the room from one of ornament and display to one imbued with literal life and death.

Marin's Room

Marin’s room, though small, is bursting with decor that reveals her curious mind. Her shelves boast an extensive collection of trinkets, maps, and trophies gathered from Johannes’s voyages around the world. This represents Marin’s desire for the same autonomy afforded to her brother by his gender, which is ultimately...