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Irony
Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Chapter 12
Explanation and Analysis—A Veil of Romance:
Ralph and Undine stop in Paris on the way from Italy back to New York. As described in Chapter 12, Ralph is still charmed with Undine's rather thoughtless nature, and he tries to delay the unfortunate conversation with her about the fact that he is out of money and that they have to set sail home immediately. Still, Ralph finds that Undine makes Paris, and his whole outlook, better, and the narrative uses a metaphor to capture this:
Her innocence, her high spirits, her astounding comments and credulities, renovated the old Parisian adventure and flung a veil of romance over its hackneyed scenes. Beheld through such a medium the future looked less near and implacable, and Ralph, when he had received a reassuring letter from his sister, let his conscience sleep and slipped forth on the high tide of pleasure.
Undine's "high spirits" make Paris seem more beautiful and "renovated." Metaphorically, she is compared to a "veil" that settles over the city. Note how this metaphorical comparison of Undine as a "veil" reflects the heavily-curtained homes that she lives in, both in the Stentorian and, later, with Peter in Paris.
The metaphor also draws attention to the differences in Ralph and Undine's societal position. Ralph, who has been to Europe often in his life, finds Paris "old" and "hackneyed." Undine has never been to Paris, and her youthful naivety lets Ralph see the city in a new way. But the metaphor shows that Undine's perspective in fact obscures Ralph from reality. With the "veil" of Undine's worldview obscuring his vision of the future, he allows himself to be taken by the "high tide of pleasure." Ralph's nature is to consider every decision, especially in romance, slowly and carefully. But Undine changes him, as the "veil" helps him ignore the future and enjoy, no matter the consequences, their "Parisian adventure."
Related Themes:
Chapter 16
Explanation and Analysis—Brimmed Over:
In Chapter 16, Ralph realizes that Undine has been having a sustained affair with Peter van Degen. Ralph also realizes that he ought to have figured this out much sooner. Ralph, pondering "the turnings of life," tries to think if there was a sign that Undine would leave him, and the novel uses a metaphor to depict his feelings:
Ralph Marvell [...] reflected that for him the sign had been set, more than three years earlier, in an Italian ilex-grove. That day his life had brimmed over––so he had put it at the time. He saw now that it had brimmed over indeed: brimmed to the extent of leaving the cup empty, or at least of uncovering the dregs beneath the nectar.
Ralph is remembering a moment early on during his honeymoon with Undine in Siena, when he found her so beautiful that he felt like "the cup of life seemed to brim over." This is an allusion to the famous line from Psalm 23—"my cup runneth over." But Ralph's reminiscence here extends the metaphor. He realizes that, at that moment in the "Italian ilex-grove," the cup brimmed over so much that it spilled out and left only dregs behind. What this means is that, despite all his joy on his honeymoon with his beautiful wife, even then Undine's uncontrollable and volatile desires and need for attention was apparent. In other words, her "dregs beneath the nectar"—her bad qualities beneath the surface-level attraction—were revealed in the moment of Ralph's great happiness in the ilex-grove.
Related Themes:
