Previous
Setting
Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Similes
Explanation and Analysis—Blood Like Ice:
In a pivotal moment near the end of the short story, Désirée realizes, through observation, that her child is not white. Her shock in this moment is described using a simile that makes use of rich sensory details:
“The blood turned like ice in her veins, and a clammy moisture gathered upon her face.”
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Like a Cowl:
When Madame Valmondé arrives at L’Abri, the story uses a simile to help vividly depict the plantation that she sees sprawled out before her:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“The roof came down black and steep like a cowl, reaching out beyond the wide galleries that encircled the yellow stuccoed house.”
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Stone Image:
Just before Désirée decides to leave L’Abri, she goes into Armand’s office with a letter from her mother. Despite her racial ambiguity and unknown origins, she has been offered comfort and safety with her adopted family. Chopin uses an illuminating simile to describe Désirée in this pivotal moment:
Unlock with LitCharts A+She was like a stone image: silent, white, motionless after she placed it there.
Related Themes:
