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Metaphor
Explanation and Analysis—House-Forest:
After the Second Epoch closes with the unexpected reunion between Walter, Laura, and Marian, the Third Epoch opens with the three of them anonymously living together in a rented flat in a busy working-class part of London. Walter brings the reader up to speed on their new living situation, using a metaphor to describe their neighborhood:
Our poor place of abode, our humble calling, our assumed relationship, and our assumed name, are all used alike as a means of hiding us in the house-forest of London.
By way of the metaphor of the "house-forest," Walter emphasizes the necessity that they stay hidden. A forest is typically uninhabited and full of hiding places. Instead of escaping London for a real forest of physical hiding places, they have opted to remain in the city and hide in plain sight, using the hustle and bustle of London for concealment. The image of the forest also serves as an eerie reminder that everyone has things to hide behind their closed doors—Walter, Marian, and Laura are certainly not the only ones taking advantage of the "house-forest" of London for seclusion.
The metaphor of the city as a forest of houses feels especially pertinent given that Walter has just returned from the "wilds and forests of Central America." Familiar with hiding in the wilderness, he decides that the safest option (and best way to seek justice) is for Laura, Marian, and himself to hide in the house-forest of London.
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