European culture and costume
In order to make sense of the emotional landscape of Einar's world, the novelist includes depictions of the Danish culture of the time. The European fashion of Denmark are markedly gendered, for instance, with men keeping to dapper and gentlemanly suits which are often masculine and conservative, and with women in opulent regalia. Greta Wegener is a true fashionista, connected to the culture very closely by her friends and by her profession as a painter. Einar is a feminine man who displays a more neutral personality than he enjoys at home. He "dresses up" to be masculine, one might say.
Painting and art
For Einar and Greta, married life is intermingled with the world of artists and painters. Greta is a forward-thinking socialite who makes appearances at certain kinds of events. At home, she paints masterful portraits of various women and men in her community. She loves painting rich detail, so she often paints her subjects in high fashion. Greta needs a sit-in model one day to continue a portrait with a model who can't make her sitting, so Einar agrees to dress in a dress and sit for a painting. Greta continues to paint her husband, often as a woman.
Public life and private life
As Einar explores the personality they agree to call, "Lili," Einar transitions toward a new understanding of self. For Lili, the transition feels like a Renaissance of self, because she is being reborn into a new acceptance and openness that makes her wonder about permanently shifting her public personality. She begins experimenting with going out as Lili with her wife. This conundrum is quite a stir in their friend group, but without a public personality for Lili, Einar struggles with feelings of shame and depression. When Lili accepts herself for who she is, the suffering ends; this brings the imagery of the public, or of the community, into full focus, because now Lili must navigate a culture that will not accept her way of life.
Medical treatment and martyrdom
When Einar becomes Lili, or rather reveals Lili within herself (the psychology is historically regarded as painfully complex), there are no doctors performing gender reassignment surgery. Lili becomes a medical patient in an underground operation that is experimental and highly dangerous, given the state of medicine. Lili becomes a martyr through that medical decision, but this is in some ways the novel's clearest indication of Lili's authenticity and sincerity. She accepts her beliefs about gender and self, even to the point of death.
