Simple Similes, Marvelous Metaphors

The House of Mirth
by Edith Wharton

Book 1, chap IX-X

In these two chapters, one thing stood out to me: the recurrent use of similes and metaphors.  At the beginning of the ninth chapter, there is a long string of metaphors used to describe Mrs. Peniston's cleaning of her house:  "The first two weeks after her return represented to Mrs. Peniston the domestic equivalent of a religious retreat...the topmost shelf of every closet was made to yield up its secret, cellar and coal-bin were probed to their darkest depths and, as a final stage in the lustral rites, the entire house was swathed in penitential white and deluged with expiatory soapsuds" (Wharton, 79).

The frequent use of similes and metaphors throughout the book shows the author's style and more clearly paints an accurate picture for the reader.  Similes and metaphors point out  a dominant characteristic of a certain person or place by comparing it to something with a similar characteristic.  In this quote, Mrs. Peniston's cleaning is being compared to a religious purification in order to show that Mrs. Peniston is very meticulous and intense in her cleaning.  The reader can picture in his or her head how Mrs. Peniston goes over every little detail to make sure that it is completely spotless.  Many other times throughout the novel, similes and metaphors are used to describe Miss Bart's beauty or talents with men.  In speaking of her talents with men and making things useful, Selden says to Lily, "You are an artist, and I happen to be the bit of colour you are using today" (Wharton, 53).

When referencing Mr. Trenor's attraction to Lily, it is said that, "...the contact with her freshness and slenderness was as agreeable to him as the sight of a cooling beverage" (Wharton, 64).  The author makes good uses of figurative language to clearly convey her message to the reader.