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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
Similes
Explanation and Analysis—Like a Warm Soil:
About halfway through the story, the narrator communicates the deepening intimacy of Duffy and Mrs. Sinico’s relationship using a simile, as seen in the following passage:
[Mrs. Sinico’s] companionship was like a warm soil about an exotic. Many times she allowed the dark to fall upon them, refraining from lighting the lamp. The dark discreet room, their isolation, the music that still vibrated in their ears united them. This union exalted him, wore away the rough edges of his character, emotionalised his mental life.
The simile here—in which the narrator compares Mrs. Sinico’s companionship to being “like a warm soil about an exotic” (or exotic plant)—captures how nourished and cared for Duffy feels in Mrs. Sinico's presence. It also hints at the level of intimacy between the two; while, as platonic friends, they are not able to physically touch each other, this simile makes it clear that they feel very close to one another.
The rest of the language in the passage underlines the closeness of their relationship, as well as the way that it challenges certain social norms. That they choose to stay “isolated” in a “dark discreet room” is possibly their way of remaining free from the judgments of others, given that Mrs. Sinico is married and not supposed to be alone with another man. It is significant that Duffy feels safe—“exalted,” even—in this room with Mrs. Sinico, as he was a lonely and isolated person for many years before meeting her.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Worm-Like Train:
Near the end of the story, as Duffy is finally feeling his grief over Mrs. Sinico’s death, he takes a walk and notices a train passing by. Here, the narrator uses a simile, comparing the train to a worm, as seen in the following passage:
Beyond the river he saw a goods train winding out of Kingsbridge Station, like a worm with a fiery head winding through the darkness, obstinately and laboriously. It passed slowly out of sight; but still he heard in his ears the laborious drone of the engine reiterating the syllables of her name.
By describing the train as being “like a worm with a fiery head winding through the darkness, obstinately and laboriously,” the narrator paints an unsettling, somewhat threatening portrait of the train. It’s likely that Duffy is experiencing it this way, given that Mrs. Sinico was killed by a train. Not only is the train like a “worm” (a comparison often used to accuse another of being sneaky and untrustworthy), but it also “reiterate[es] the syllables of [Mrs. Sinico’s] name.” This language makes it clear that, in Duffy’s mind, the train is taunting him for his loss. Only a few years ago Mrs. Sinico was his “soul’s companion,” but now she is gone and he's fully alone again.
Related Themes:
