Character Analysis
Emilie's Outpost
Sold to soldiers and captured by the opposing army, Joey finds himself at the mercy of the Germans. But they're kind to him and allow him and Topthorn to work on a farm belonging to an old Frenchman and his granddaughter, Emilie.
Emilie proves that there is love and warmth in the world even during times of war. She's a touchstone for Joey and Topthorn. Joey puts it best:
[F]or us it was the hope that we would be back that evening in our stable and that little Emilie would be there to comfort and to love us. We had that to look forward to and to long for. (10.7)
Emilie, unfortunately, is a fragile girl destroyed by war. In any other time, she and Joey could have galloped freely across the fields. But then, in any other time, she and Joey never would have met. The war may have indirectly killed her, but it also gave meaning to her brief life.