Øresund, the strait between Denmark and Sweden, gives the novel a geography of passage and control. Its shores frame the fortified Casino Øresund, while its winter ice becomes a route through which Smilla approaches the ship Kronos; elsewhere, the lights across the water help identify the vessel’s position. The strait is not merely a backdrop: its channels, harbors, and ice organize who can travel, what can be hidden, and how the sea connects Copenhagen to Greenland.

A Border Made of Water

The novel presents Øresund as both an international boundary and a working maritime corridor. From the casino, Sweden’s lights are visible across the water, and the frozen shore lies beneath its windows. Later, during a nighttime crossing, a brief opening in falling snow reveals Sweden and the lights of Tårbæk, along with two ships anchored between shore and the central navigation channel. The starboard vessel is identified as Kronos. These observations turn the strait into a space read through bearings, lights, and ship positions rather than a simple scenic expanse.

Ice as Passage and Concealment

In winter, the frozen water can be crossed on foot. Smilla reaches the harbor by car with Lander and the mechanic, then descends a ladder fixed to the wharf and makes her way over the ice toward the White Palace. Wearing Lander’s white shoes and cap with her coat, she uses the pale clothing to blend into the ice in case someone is watching. The crossing makes the strait a tactical route: its surface allows her to avoid ordinary access points, even as the cold and darkness make the journey precarious.

The ice also alters the movement of boats. In heavy snowfall, Lander starts his motor and takes Smilla away from land. His compass and the fleeting view across to Sweden orient the passage; the ship they seek lies at anchor beyond the shore. In another harbor operation, the crew of Kronos lowers a test container into the water and keeps it clear of the hull. Together, these scenes show the strait and its approaches as working space, where navigation depends on equipment, visibility, and careful handling of vessels and cargo.

Wealth, Security, and Maritime Routes

At Casino Øresund, the view across the strait contrasts with the tightly controlled interior. The restaurant and gaming room are arranged to resemble a safe, with thick doorframes and bolts; beyond the glass, Sweden’s lights and the ice floes remain visible. The setting brings an international waterfront into contact with an enclosed world of money and surveillance. Lander, who has a stake in the casino, leads Smilla and the mechanic through this guarded environment as she pursues information about Kronos.

The wider maritime system governing travel toward Greenland is also described in terms of contracts and regulation. Lander explains that a ship’s public charter may conceal its real destination and cargo in a confidential side contract, while ice-class certification and inspection requirements make the route traceable. When the name Kronos is checked against Lloyd’s Register, several ships share it, including two general-cargo vessels based in Piraeus and Panama. The strait’s position within this network underscores the novel’s larger contrast: sea routes can carry people and goods across borders, but paperwork, ship classification, and surveillance also make those movements legible to institutions.

Narrative Significance

Øresund joins the novel’s urban and Arctic worlds without making them interchangeable. Its frozen water offers Smilla a practical means of evasion, while its channels and shipping traffic connect Copenhagen to the voyage north. The strait’s surface can appear solid enough to walk across, yet ships still pass and anchor in its waters; that tension between apparent stillness and movement suits a story in which access, concealment, and control are continually at stake.