When introducing readers to Clarisse (through Alcée’s eyes), the narrator uses a series of similes to capture her character, as seen in the following passage:
There were often guests: young men and women who came up from the city, which was but a few hours away, to visit his beautiful kinswoman. She was worth going a good deal farther than that to see. Dainty as a lily; hardy as a sunflower; slim, tall, graceful, like one of the reeds that grew in the marsh.
The similes here help readers to understand why Alcée loves Clarisse (“his beautiful kinswoman”) so much. As the narrator describes, Clarisse is both “dainty as a lily” and “hardy as a sunflower.” It is notable that Alcée sees both of these sides of her as, at the time, women were primarily desired simply for being “dainty” and meek. Alcée enjoys this aspect of her character but also appreciates that she is “hardy,” or tough. The last simile here compares Clarisse to marsh reeds that are “slim, tall, and graceful.” This description helps readers to have a clear picture of Clarisse’s physical beauty and presence.
Overall, these descriptions capture the ways that Clarisse both fits into the expectations that young women be “dainty” and “graceful” while also challenging these norms given her “hardy” nature. Clarisse’s hardiness comes across best in her decision to go after Alcée at the ball—rather than waiting for him, she rushes to the ball to stop him from being with Calixta and directly asks him to come home with her instead. This decision on her part is proactive rather than passive and demonstrates both Clarisse’s strong character and Chopin’s feminist intentions with this story.
When Alcée arrives at the ball, he makes quite a stir, due to a combination of his reputation as a wealthy farmer and his good looks. In describing the women attendees’ reactions to Alcée’s presence, the narrator uses a simile, as seen in the following passage:
Bobinôt himself was dull-looking and clumsy. Most of the men were. But the young women were very beautiful. The eyes that glanced into Alcée’s as they passed him were big, dark, soft as those of the young heifers standing out in the cool prairie grass.
Here, the narrator compares the eyes of the young women to the “big, dark, soft” eyes of “young heifers standing out in the cool prairie grass.” In comparing the women to heifers, the narrator makes it clear that these are sexually inexperienced and naïve young women (as heifers are cows who have not yet borne a calf).
This moment is significant as it communicates how Alcée’s good looks and charm easily draw all of the young women's attention to him. In this way, the narrator makes it clear that being attracted to Alcée is outside of their control. Calixta, too, is inevitably drawn to the farmer. This is one of the times in the story when characters’ choices seem predetermined rather than due to decisions they intentionally make.
When the narrator is describing Calixta through Bobinôt’s eyes, they use hyperbole as well as a simile, as seen in the following passage:
Her eyes,—Bobinôt thought of her eyes, and weakened,—the bluest, the drowsiest, most tantalizing that ever looked into a man’s; he thought of […] that broad, smiling mouth and tiptilted nose, that full figure; that voice like a rich contralto song, with cadences in it that must have been taught by Satan, for there was no one else to teach her tricks on that ’Cadian prairie.
The hyperbolic language here—in which Bobinôt reflects on how Calixta’s eyes are “the bluest, the drowsiest, most tantalizing that ever looked into a man’s”—is clearly exaggerated in order to communicate how deeply Bobinôt loves her. It is of course not possible to prove these sorts of superlative statements (“bluest,” drowsiest,” etc.), but, due to Bobinôt's fascination with Calixta, he likely believes this to be the truth.
The simile here—in which Bobinôt compares Calixta’s voice to “a rich contralto song”—again helps readers to understand how infatuated he is with her. To most people, Calixta’s voice probably sounds like a normal voice, but to Bobinôt it sounds like music. It is notable that Bobinôt thinks to himself that the “cadences” of her voice’s song “must have been taught by Satan.” In this way, Bobinôt suggests that he is being tricked into loving Calixta as deeply as he does and that it is not a choice he would intentionally make. For most of the characters in the story, the objects of their affection are people they feel drawn to by outside forces rather than through their own agency or choice.
