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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
Key Examples in The Story of an Hour
Similes
Explanation and Analysis—Goddess of Victory:
Louise’s sister Josephine convinces Louise to come out of her bedroom because she’s worried that Louise is making herself sick with grief over her husband, Brently. Then, as the sisters descend the stairs, the story uses a simile to compare Louise to a goddess:
She arose at length and opened the door to her sister’s importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory. She clasped her sister’s waist, and together they descended the stairs.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Powerless Hands:
After Louise Mallard finds out that her husband, Brently, has died in an accident, she tries and fails to resist the happiness that gradually overtakes her when she realizes that her life will be freer without him. The story uses a simile to compare Louise’s weak willpower to her hands:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will—as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Crying Child:
After Louise Mallard learns that her husband, Brently, was killed in a railroad accident, she weeps until she collapses on the armchair in her bedroom. The story uses a simile here to compare Louise to a child:
Unlock with LitCharts A+She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.
Related Themes:
