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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
Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Memories Uncorked:
In Chapter 5, the narrator begins prying into Maxim's mysterious past and asks him why he is interested in her, a naïve young woman. Maxim, frustrated, uses a simile to build on a metaphor the narrator introduced earlier in their conversation:
The first day we met, your Mrs. Van Hopper asked me why I came to Monte Carlo. It put a stopper on those memories you would like to resurrect. It does not always work, of course; sometimes the scent is too strong for the bottle, and too strong for me. And then the devil in one, like a furtive Peeping Tom, tries to draw the cork.
Related Themes:
Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—Wife or Dog:
In Chapter 9, the narrator sits outside on the lawn with Maxim and Beatrice while the siblings discuss their grandmother. The narrator uses a simile to capture the situational irony of Maxim's attitude toward her:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I listened to them both, leaning against Maxim’s arm, rubbing my chin on his sleeve. He stroked my hand absently, not thinking, talking to Beatrice.
“That’s what I do to Jasper,” I thought. “I’m being like Jasper now, leaning against him. He pats me now and again, when he remembers, and I’m pleased, I get closer to him for a moment. He likes me in the way I like Jasper.”
Related Themes:
Chapter 12
Explanation and Analysis—Curtain Call:
In Chapter 12, the narrator desperately asks Maxim to affirm that they have a happy marriage. When he doesn't respond, the narrator uses a simile to describe the terrible feeling that sets in:
Unlock with LitCharts A+My throat felt dry and tight, and my eyes were burning. Oh, God, I thought, this is like two people in a play, in a moment the curtain will come down, we shall bow to the audience, and go off to our dressing-rooms. This can’t be a real moment in the lives of Maxim and myself.
Related Themes:
Chapter 25
Explanation and Analysis—Guilty Lovers:
In Chapter 25, Maxim and the narrator finally get some time to themselves after the inquest. There is situational irony in their behavior toward one another, which the narrator drives home with a simile:
Unlock with LitCharts A+In a few minutes the telephone began ringing again. I did not do anything. I let it ring. I went and sat down at Maxim’s feet. It went on ringing. I did not move. Presently it stopped, as though cut suddenly in exasperation. The clock on the mantelpiece struck ten o’clock. Maxim put his arms round me and lifted me against him. We began to kiss one another, feverishly, desperately, like guilty lovers who have not kissed before.
Related Themes:
Chapter 27
Explanation and Analysis—Burst Abscess:
In Chapter 27, Maxim and the narrator drop Colonel Julyan off at his sister's house after they find out that Rebecca was dying of cancer. The narrator uses imagery and a simile to convey the relief of having the whole inquest over:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Now that we were alone again and the strain was over, the sensation was one of almost unbearable relief. It was like the bursting of an abscess.
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