During the scene in which Calixta and Alcée have sex, the narrator captures Calixta’s sensuality using a pair of similes, as seen in the following passage:
Her firm, elastic flesh that was knowing for the first time its birthright, was like a creamy lily that the sun invites to contribute its breath and perfume to the undying life of the world.
The generous abundance of her passion, without guile or trickery, was like a white flame which penetrated and found response in depths of his own sensuous nature that had never yet been reached.
The first simile here—in which the narrator states that Calixta’s flesh was “like a creamy lily […] contribut[ing] its breath and perfume to the undying life of the world”—helps readers both picture the white color of Calixta’s skin and also understand why Alcée is so drawn to her. In other words, Calixta’s sensuality and desirability gives him life the way a lily gives life to the natural world.
The second simile—“The generous abundance of [Calixta’s] passion […] was like a white flame” that burned through Alcée—helps readers viscerally experience the sexual chemistry between the two characters. It also again ties Calixta to the color white, a notable choice on Chopin’s part. Here, she challenges the association of white with virginal “purity” and instead suggests that deep sexual connection can itself be pure when it comes from a place of connection and love.
Before Alcée and Calixta have sex, the narrator communicates Alcée’s desire for her using imagery and a simile, as seen in the following passage:
Alcée clasped her shoulders and looked into her face. The contact of her warm, palpitating body when he had unthinkingly drawn her into his arms, had aroused all the old-time infatuation and desire for her flesh […] He pushed her hair back from her face that was warm and steaming. Her lips were as red and moist as pomegranate seed.
This passage opens with Alcée holding Calixta in order to comfort her after lightning struck down a nearby tree. The imagery here demonstrates how much Alcée desires Calixta in this moment of closeness, as the narrator zooms in on Alcée’s sensory experience of Calixta’s “warm, palpitating body” and “warm and steaming” face.
The simile in this passage—“Her lips were as red and moist as pomegranate seed”—also presents Calixta’s body as an object of Alcée’s desire and hints at how much he’d like to kiss her, preparing readers for him to do so. This is one of several moments in which the narrator compares Calixta’s body to an aspect of nature, subtly communicating that sex is a natural part of life. (It is also worth noting that the pomegranate has historically been seen a symbol for sexuality and lust.)
