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Metaphor
Explanation and Analysis—Love as Shipwreck:
As Laura grows stronger, Walter finds that she's acting more and more like her old self, which brings his romantic love for her back to the surface. Walter uses a metaphor to describe the return of these emotions:
Changed as all the circumstances now were, our position towards each other in the golden days of our first companionship, seemed to be revived with the revival of our love. It was as if Time had drifted us back on the wreck of our early hopes, to the old familiar shore!
According to Walter, the passage of time has brought about the return of his and Laura's former feelings for each other. Their love initially ended in a shipwreck because of their varying class positions and because Laura was engaged to Sir Percival. Now, however, time has allowed them to drift back to those feelings and discover that something can be salvaged from the shipwreck after all.
The image of a shipwreck usually carries a negative connotation, but this metaphor is overwhelmingly positive. This is due to the comforting image of the "familiar shore." With time, they have been brought back to the hopes of being able to be together. Rather than the memory of the wreck bringing them sadness, the sweet familiarity of the shore provides safety and hope.
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