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Nina’s passkey, which allows her to access any room within the hotel, comes to represent the Count’s sense of freedom in the Metropol. Using the key, Nina is able to show him the underbelly of the Metropol, including its back rooms and secret passageways. This allows the Count’s world to expand, which is psychologically comforting to him when he starts to feel as though the walls are closing in on him. Nina ultimately gives the Count the key as a Christmas gift, and he uses it throughout the remainder of his time in the hotel. Ultimately, it also lets the Count sneak into certain rooms and acquire items that he needs to escape the Metropol, which makes the key instrumental in achieving both imaginative and literal freedom.
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Nina’s Passkey Symbol Timeline in A Gentleman in Moscow
The timeline below shows where the symbol Nina’s Passkey appears in A Gentleman in Moscow. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1, Around and About
...She says that she has not yet been in that room, and takes out her passkey for the hotel.
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Book 1, Advent
...the sixth box is no larger than a matchbox. Inside it, the Count finds Nina’s passkey.
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Book 5, Arrivederci
...hotel. He quickly runs upstairs to the fourth floor. At suite 428, he takes out Nina’s key and lets himself inside. He goes into the closet and steals a pair of tan...
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Book 5, Antagonists at Arms (And an Absolution)
...running down the main staircase while the Bishop took the belfry staircase. He used Nina’s passkey to open the door to the manager’s office and found the panel behind which lay...
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