Near the end of the story, when Calixta accepts Bobinôt's marriage proposal, the narrator uses a metaphor to capture Calixta’s experience, as seen in the following passage:
“Bon Dieu! You know that makes me crazy, w’at you sayin’. You mean that, Calixta? You ent goin’ turn roun’ agin?”
“I neva tole you that much yet, Bobinôt. I mean that. Tiens,” and she held out her hand in the business-like manner of a man who clinches a bargain with a hand-clasp.
Here, Bobinôt demonstrates his surprise over the fact that Calixta has said yes to his proposal after brushing him off several times in the past, asking her if she really means it and isn’t “goin’ to turn roun’ agin” (or change her mind). Calixta assures him that this time is different and the narrator makes her steadfastness clear by metaphorically comparing her to a “business-like” man “who clinches a bargain with a hand-clasp.”
This metaphor is significant because it demonstrates that Calixta does not love Bobinôt in the same way that he loves her. As readers are aware, she is likely saying yes to Bobinôt because she feels she has run out of options—after all, she agrees to marry him only after Alcée abandons her at the party to go home with Clarisse. Calixta is therefore seeing this engagement the way a businessman views a deal—as a transaction she is engaging in (presumably, in part, for financial security).
When Bobinôt hears that Alcée is going to attend the same ball as Calixta, he anxiously ruminates on what might happen between this attractive, wealthy man and the woman he loves, using a metaphor in the process:
If Alcée happened to be in a serious mood, he might only go to the card-room and play a round or two; or he might stand out on the galleries talking crops and politics with the old people. But there was no telling. A drink or two could put the devil in his head,—that was what Bobinôt said to himself, as he wiped the sweat from his brow with his red bandanna; a gleam from Calixta’s eyes, a flash of her ankle, a twirl of her skirts could do the same. Yes, Bobinôt would go to the ball.
The metaphor here—in which Bobinôt tells himself that “a drink or two could put the devil in [Alcée’s] head”—is his way of communicating his worry that the combination of alcohol and Calixta’s flirtatiousness could lead Alcée to want to seduce her. Here, “the devil” is a stand-in for sexual desire. This moment demonstrates Bobinôt’s desire to protect Calixta from men like Alcée who may desire to flirt with her or seduce her without caring about her as a person. Bobinôt’s sense of responsibility and care in regards to Calixta demonstrates how his love for her is deeper than momentary attraction.
