Describe symbolism in Swordspoint: A Novel by Ellen Kushner

At the Duchess's garden party, the group plays croquet using mallets carved to look like flamingos, and balls that are carved into sea urchins. This is a reference to the Queen of Hearts's croquet game in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll, except that in that story, the equipment is made of live animals. This is another symbol of how the rich treat the people below them as playthings, and think nothing of metaphorically taking off someone's head.