An Elephant in the Garden

Lizzie is the novel’s protagonist and primary narrator. An 82-year-old resident at a nursing home in Niagara-on-the-Lake (a town in Ontario, Canada), she recounts the story of her childhood in Dresden, Germany, before and during World War II: escaping the firebombing of the city, becoming a teenage refugee, and marrying and moving to Canada after the war. Lizzie’s memories of her past form the novel’s major plot. Her characterization as an elderly survivor of the war contrasts with that of the younger self who endured it, illustrating Lizzie’s transformation from an innocent child safe within her family home to a woman who has experienced danger, trauma, and loss, as well as lasting love and loyalty. By the end of Lizzie’s life, all her family has died, leaving her alone in the world. Her body is frail and her mind wanders, but “the important things, the things that matter” are etched indelibly in her memory (15). Lizzie does not want her memories to die with her. Telling her story to her nurse and to Karl, her nurse’s son, is exhausting and often painful for Lizzie, but it is her way of honoring those she loved.