Post Card's From No Man's year

Often inanimate objects are overlooked as characters, yet may influence the characters around them to an extent that they are portrayed as a protagonist. In many cases these objects undergo similar transformations as major characters, such as the house in The Glass Room by Simon Mawer, yet through neglecting this change, the belief of being able to recapture what once existed sustains the originality of the house. As Liesel loses the love and support of her husband, a feeling of nostalgia grows over her, as the Glass Room becomes an illusion of the “perfect” life that once existed. Liesel often uses the house as a support system in hopes of recreating the feeling of fidelity that she not only had in her life in the house, but also with her husband, Viktor. Through carefully chosen diction and literary devices, Mawer illustrates the dynamism and transparency between the house and Liesel, as the Glass Room metamorphoses from “the Glass Room into the Glass Dream” (304). As Liesel’s relationship with Viktor dwindles into chaos, the fidelity that once existed turns into a state of nostalgia, as the Glass Room becomes an illusion of the life that she desires, yet can never have.
From the beginning of construction of the Glass Room, the idea of beauty and perfection resonates within Liesel’s mind creating a sense of fidelity. To Liesel it’s a mere symbol of “[perfection]… the whole house,” (74) and by using “whole” Mawer encompasses not only the house’s perfection, but also the stability of the family and Liesel’s relationship with Viktor. Fidelity is truth and support, both of which are portrayed through the narrator as “the Glass Room remained indifferent…Plain, balanced, perfect,” (100) which verifies the fidelity of not only the house, but also of the Landauer family. Mawer carefully uses “balanced” as a means to relate the house to Liesel’s relationship with Viktor, as the house provides grounds for the balanced relationship without Kata, the woman that ultimately