The Kaiser's Last Kiss Literary Elements

Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction

1940 to 1941 in Huis Doorn, Netherlands; takes place during World War II

A third-person narrator who remains nameless and is overreaching throughout the novel. The narrator has access to the thoughts of every character and provides a neutral viewpoint.

Violent, reminiscent, bitter, fearful, loving, anxious

The protagonist could be Kaiser Wilhelm II, the allies, and Martin Krebbs, who turns into a protagonist later in the book. The antagonist list also includes Krebbs at first as well as the Third Reich.

Martin Krebbs has to decide between two groups and two ideologies. The Third Reich and the Nazi ideology which he has been raised and trained to adore and be loyal to, or Akki and the Kaiser, who he now has a close bond with as well as his realization of Nazi crimes.

Th treachery to the Third Reich is discovered and it seems like all is lost for Krebbs, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Akki, and the rest of his staff. However, in the ensuing scuffle, the group of protagonists is able to escape the grasp of the Nazis and flee to Britain.

Akki being found out to be a British spy is foreshadowed by her sudden appearance and her strange disappearances during certain parts of the day. The foreshadowing is extremely subtle.

As Krebbs ponders over the actions of the Nazis during the war he is forced to muse over the cruelties they have committed against the Jewish people. He considers it a "necessary" process that must ensue to help Germany, but this understates the dramatic violence that is unfolding and the fact that these slaughters provide no real benefit for the country.

The entire book is created as a fictional timeline of these events that took place during World War II. Many of the characters and relationships between these characters are fake, but the Nazis, Winston Churchill, the Kaiser and his exile are all real historical figures or facts that existed during this time period. Alan Judd alludes heavily to the World War and the setting of the 1940's by implementing the same technology, lifestyles, and social policies into his novel.

The imagery of shadows in the book is representative of the darkness that lies in the fight between man and society as well as the fight between man and himself. For the idea of man and society, the shadows represent cunning deception that was utilized throughout the war on both sides to gain an advantage. Spies roamed everywhere and citizens had to watch their backs. The fight between man and society is represented in the imagery in the fact that Kaiser Wilhelm II is battling darkness within him. He is a bitter man after the loss of his power 26 years ago. He is lonely and finds no solace in his wife or his staff on the deserted farms of Huis Doorn. And he is often delusional, dreaming up grand plans of taking over the reins of Nazi Germany, even if this idea is nowhere close to reality.

Kaiser Wilhelm II constantly talks about the evils the Nazis have committed within their own country as well as other countries that they occupy. He especially talks about this to try and convince Martin Krebbs to convince him to join his side. However, at the same time, the Kaiser often tries to get on the good side of the Nazis and wants to have a position of power within the Nazi leadership.

There is a parallel between Krebbs and Kaiser Wilhelm II. Both were originally young and extremely loyal to the German nation and its army. However as time went on, they both realized the evils of their society and eventually had to leave it, either being exiled or fleeing. Krebbs could be thought of as a representation of what the Kaiser was like in his youth.

A metonymy that was used frequently by Alan Judd was referring to the crown as the title of the monarchy or the monarch himself. He used this when talking about the Kaiser's former position and power he held over the German nation. An example of a synecdoche was when the author described soldiers of the German army as boots marching on the ground. He used a part of the whole, the boots of a soldier, to represent the entire thing and convey the mass movement of the Third Reich.

The mansion where Kaiser Wilhelm II was exiled to in Huis Doorn was often personified. This old, magnificent mansion was described as a dying old man, breathing its last breaths on the people within it. The vivid description used by the author Alan Judd also made it seem like it was a creepy breathing organism that was constantly watching over the people around.