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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
Metaphors
Explanation and Analysis—Introducing Else:
When the narrator introduces readers to young Else Kelvey, they use a pair of metaphors, as seen in the following passage:
But whatever our Else wore she would have looked strange. She was a tiny wishbone of a child, with cropped hair and enormous solemn eyes—a little white owl. Nobody had ever seen her smile; she scarcely ever spoke. She went through life holding on to Lil, with a piece of Lil’s skirt screwed up in her hand.
The first metaphor here—in which the narrator refers to Else as “a tiny wishbone of a child”—communicates both Else’s small size and also her delicate nature. Wishbones are small pieces of animal bone that are easy to break and, in comparing Else to one, the narrator suggests that she is small and sensitive.
The second metaphor—in which the narrator describes Else as “a little white owl”—helps readers picture how “enormous” and “solemn” Else’s eyes are. It is also notable that owls are often associated with wisdom and seeing things that others do not. Despite (or perhaps because of) her young age and childish innocence, Else proves to be highly perceptive, as seen in the way she takes note of Kezia's love of the the little lamp in the doll house.
This passage also describes how Else “scarcely ever spoke” and only communicates with her sister Lil by holding and tugging on her skirt. Throughout “The Doll’s House,” characters like Else and Kezia—who rarely speak—are often the most attentive and caring, while those who are more verbose tend to be crueler and more concerned with their image.
Related Themes:
