Christine, while playing on the existing prejudices against the Germans, was also a small part of a larger British plan to induce the United States into entering the Great War.
Other sections of this British plan included the Bryce Commission (also known as the Committee on Alleged German Outrages), the propaganda surrounding Edith Cavell and Gilbert Parker, and the Zimmermann Telegram.
[2] The novel utilized the rhetorical framework laid out by Aristotle[3] that focused on pathos, ethos, and logos as a means to persuade the audience.
-- Alice Cholmondeley, ChristineEven the foreword to the novel creates an emotional impact on the reader and an attachment to the main character, whom they have not yet met.
Most of the novel consists of similar quotations that play on the maternal instincts of mothers and the hopes and expectations of young families during the war time era.
Both the portrayal of the heroine as young, innocent, studious, and independent as well as the descriptive and observant writing style give an example of the use of ethos by von Arnim.
A lot of British propaganda portrayed them as being barbarians and heathens, which was largely contributed to by the violence against Belgium during the Shlieffen Plan.
[5] The character of Christine was introduced to the British and American public as an eyewitness to the events that explain the German mindset leading into the war.
Christine describes how the German men, women, children, and babies all conform to the aims of the nation leading into World War I.
"The adopted pseudonym, her subsequent fierce repudiation of authorship, even among intimate friends, may well be due to her realization that any suspected connection with herself might result in the most unhappy consequences….
[7] Many book reviewers questioned if the author was a young English woman traveling to Germany for violin lessons, The Dial of Chicago stated, "the doubt as to the legitimacy of the letter comes when one reads the initial one….