When We Had Wings

The eight of hearts symbolizes Penny’s slow willingness to recognize her love for Charley Russell and her hope that they might reunite at the end of the war. Thus, it thematically connects to The Nature of Loyalty, Grief, and Honor. Playing cards are part of a distraction for the prisoners at Santo Tomas, created by an American named Blanche Kimball. Blanche uses the deck of playing cards in place of tarot cards to “predict” the future, and “every time she dealt Penny’s cards, she came up with the eight of hearts—the sure sign of a love affair, if Blanche was to be believed” (142).

At first, the card’s repeated appearance angers Penny because she was married and lost her husband; but when she takes the eight of hearts from Blanche’s deck, she accepts the idea that she loves Charley. By the end of the war, Penny transfers the card to the new uniform she receives when the Allies free the prisoners: “It was a habit, a touchstone. […] It was bent, worn, and frayed at the edges from all the times she’d pulled it out and held it as though staring at a photo. It was irreplaceable. And it reminded her that she was allowed to hope” (353).