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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
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Personal Property:
Early on in the novel after Edna and Robert return from the beach, Mr. Pontellier remarks on Edna’s appearance. The book uses a smile to describe the way he looks at Edna:
'You are burnt beyond recognition,' he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage.
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Chapter 7
Explanation and Analysis—Muddled Wine:
On a warm day on Grand Isle, Edna expresses her inner emotions to her friend Adèle Ratignolle, and the novel uses a simile to describe how this interaction makes her feel:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[...] flushed and intoxicated with the sound of her own voice and the unaccustomed taste of candor. It muddled her like wine, or like a first breath of freedom.
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Chapter 10
Explanation and Analysis—Little Tottering Child:
When Edna finally learns to swim, the novel uses a simile to describe the sense of confidence and freedom that overtakes her:
Unlock with LitCharts A+But that night she was like the little tottering, stumbling, clutching child, who of a sudden realizes its powers, and walks for the first time alone, boldly and with overconfidence. She could have shouted for joy.
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Chapter 12
Explanation and Analysis—Loosening Chains:
In Chapter 12, Edna and Robert plan to go to the Chênière for mass. On the journey there, Edna senses that something about herself is changing, and the book uses a simile to describe this change:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Sailing across the bay to the Chênière Caminada, Edna felt as if she were being borne away from some anchorage which had held her fast, whose chains had been loosening—had snapped the night before when the mystic spirit was abroad, leaving her free to drift whithersoever she chose to set her sails.
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Chapter 16
Explanation and Analysis—A Faded Garment :
After Robert suddenly leaves for Mexico, the book uses a simile to emphasize Edna's growing unhappiness:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The conditions of her life were in no way changed, but her whole existence was dulled, like a faded garment which seems to be no longer worth wearing.
Chapter 24
Explanation and Analysis—New Acquaintances:
In Chapter 24, when Edna’s children are sent away and she is finally alone, she feels “a radiant peace.” Later, Edna walks around her home with a new perspective, and the novel uses a simile and an oxymoron to capture Edna’s changed point of view:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The flowers were like new acquaintances; she approached them in a familiar spirit, and made herself at home among them.
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Chapter 27
Explanation and Analysis—A Lifted Mist:
After Edna succumbs to her attraction to Alcée Arobin and kisses him, she gains a new understanding of herself and the world. The book uses a simile to explain Edna's changing mindset:
Unlock with LitCharts A+She felt as if a mist had been lifted from her eyes, enabling her to look upon and comprehend the significance of life, that monster made up of beauty and brutality.
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Chapter 39
Explanation and Analysis—New-Born Creature:
At the end of the novel, Edna disrobes and stands naked before the Gulf. The book uses a simile to describe the significance of this moment:
Unlock with LitCharts A+She felt like some new-born creature, opening its eyes in a familiar world that it had never known.
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