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Setting
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
Chapters 1–16
Explanation and Analysis—Greater Interests:
While trying to justify Strickland's apparent immorality, the narrator uses a simile to describe people's tendency to conform:
And man, subservient to interests he has persuaded himself are greater than his own, makes himself a slave to his taskmaster. He sits him in a seat of honour. At last, like a courtier fawning on the royal stick that is laid about his shoulders, he prides himself on the sensitiveness of his conscience.
The narrator implies that staying in the herd is unconscious impulse that is influenced by society and its expectations. Remaining subservient to the rules of conformity, a person becomes a slave to their own mind. In other words, even though conformity is taught by society, the influence is so strong that people are brainwashed to want to conform. A person might even pride themselves as a "courtier fawning on the royal stick that is laid about his shoulders." People in society are so brainwashed by the idea of conformity that they hope to be rewarded for their efforts. They imagine royalty thanking them for their moral conscience.
For these reasons, the narrator is fascinated by Strickland, particularly after he learns that Strickland has left own wife and family in pursuit of art, not another woman. Such an action does not align with the idea of societal conformity and conscience for the greater good. At odds with the welfare of his family, Strickland abandons them and leaves them struggling to make ends meet. Moreover, he appears to feel little to no regret for his actions. Strickland has abandoned conformity, thereby demonstrating his mental fortitude. Strickland is a slave to no one, not even the compelling interests of society who would dare honor him for docility.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—An Oiled Wrestler:
After meeting with Strickland in Paris and hearing about his disregard for his wife and family, the narrator is appalled. With a simile, the narrator compares Strickland's relationship with morality to a oiled wrestler:
But here was a man who sincerely did not mind what people thought of him, and so convention had no hold on him; he was like a wrestler whose body is oiled; you could not get a grip on him; it gave him a freedom which was an outrage.
The narrator is compelled by Strickland's ability to shake off conventions and follow his own path without caring what others think of him. In essence, he cannot be pinned down or fully understood, much like a wrestler covered in oil would be difficult to grab ahold of and subdue. As the narrator describes, Strickland's freedom is an outrage to others, and he pursues self-expression at the expense of other people's well-being.
It is interesting that the narrator uses such a physical simile to describe Strickland, since he is a man so consumed by his mind and his artistic expression. Wrestling is a form of entertainment, wherein the audience might become enamored by the strength and beauty of the wrester's body. By contrast, all of Strickland's beauty lies in his mind. He does, however, seize the opportunity to paint the human body when he has an affair with Blanche. Wrestling is seems very contrary to the contents of the book as a whole, but in this way it is perhaps not so different.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—A Lovely Woman:
Fifteen years after he last saw Strickland in Paris, the narrator travels to Tahiti to learn about the later years of Strickland's life. Upon the narrator's arrival, he compares Tahiti to a "lovely woman":
For Tahiti is smiling and friendly; it is like a lovely woman graciously prodigal of her charm and beauty; and nothing can be more conciliatory than the entrance into the harbour at Papeete.
By objectifying Tahiti as a "lovely woman" who is "smiling" and "conciliatory," the narrator reinforces the misogyny that is prevalent throughout the entire novel. The misogyny can be seen in the way the narrator talks about Mrs. Strickland and Blanche, and it is especially obvious in the way Strickland treats his new teenage wife, Ata.
Using the word "conciliatory" in relation to a woman with charm and beauty emphasizes the narrator's belief that women are not meant to have power and self-will. Instead, they are merely objects intended to entertain men. The narrator truly does not try to hide his dislike for women, and he particularly likes to comment on their obsession with gossip and inability to control their emotions:
It chilled me a little that Mrs. Strickland should be concerned with gossip, for I did not know then how great a part is played in women’s life by the opinions of others. It throws a shadow of insincerity over their most deeply felt emotions.
According to the narrator, Mrs. Strickland's life is dictated by gossip and what others think of her. Regarding all women, their whole lives are consumed by their love and subservience to men:
As lovers, the difference between men and women is that women can love all day long, but men only at times.
Paired with these other passage, the simile comparing Tahiti to a "lovely woman" who is also "conciliatory" takes on a sexist tone, reaffirming the narrator's attitude that women are societally and intellectually beneath men.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Like a Thunderbolt:
Some time after Strickland permanently runs off to Paris, Mrs. Strickland requests to see the narrator in her home. She describes Strickland's abandonment using simile as well as pathos:
Generally when a man falls in love with someone people see them about together, lunching or something, and her friends always come and tell the wife. I had no warning—nothing. His letter came like a thunderbolt. I thought he was perfectly happy.
Left destitute by her husband, Mrs. Strickland is distraught and wishes for her husband back. She even asks the narrator to go to Paris and bring him back, despite the narrator's limited relationship with Strickland. Mrs. Strickland uses pathos (appeal to emotion) to convince the narrator, claiming that "his letter came like a thunderbolt," which implies that it was shocking and unpredictable. Interestingly, this strong weather image contradicts the narrator's previous description of Strickland as "dull."
The fact that Strickland's departure from London was so sudden further demonstrates the indifference that Strickland felt toward his family and therefore society's impression of him. Strickland unabashedly indulges in immorality without caring about the consequences his behavior has on others. Strickland's thunderbolt-like abandonment illustrates the power of his artistic ambitions and his all-encompassing desire to be an artist.
Related Themes:
Chapters 17–42
Explanation and Analysis—A Clumsy Dog:
Strickland treats those he meets in Paris similarly to his wife: with indifference and cruelty. While Dirk Stroeve is a target of Strickland's rudeness, he continues to be enamored by the artist, as the narrator describes with a simile:
He was indifferent to the susceptibilities of others, and when he wounded them was amused. He was constantly offending Dirk Stroeve so bitterly that he flung away, vowing he would never speak to him again; but there was a solid force in Strickland that attracted the fat Dutchman against his will, so that he came back, fawning like a clumsy dog, though he knew that his only greeting would be the blow he dreaded.
Stroeve is one of the victims of Strickland's cruelty: Strickland not only insults his art with silence but also takes financial advantage of him. Yet somehow, Stroeve always manages to find his way back to Strickland and shower him with admiration. Stroeve's behavior appears ironic and pitiable when his wife ends up having an affair with Strickland—the man she claims will cause something terrible to happen. The narrator's description of him as "fawning like a clumsy dog" highlights Strove's weakness and obliviousness, suggesting that he is more like a pathetic animal than a respectable man. Stroeve's tendency to fawn over Strickland also illustrates Strickland's magnetic quality, with which he seems to attract many, only to throw them aside in the end.
Chapters 43–58
Explanation and Analysis—A Lovely Woman:
Fifteen years after he last saw Strickland in Paris, the narrator travels to Tahiti to learn about the later years of Strickland's life. Upon the narrator's arrival, he compares Tahiti to a "lovely woman":
For Tahiti is smiling and friendly; it is like a lovely woman graciously prodigal of her charm and beauty; and nothing can be more conciliatory than the entrance into the harbour at Papeete.
By objectifying Tahiti as a "lovely woman" who is "smiling" and "conciliatory," the narrator reinforces the misogyny that is prevalent throughout the entire novel. The misogyny can be seen in the way the narrator talks about Mrs. Strickland and Blanche, and it is especially obvious in the way Strickland treats his new teenage wife, Ata.
Using the word "conciliatory" in relation to a woman with charm and beauty emphasizes the narrator's belief that women are not meant to have power and self-will. Instead, they are merely objects intended to entertain men. The narrator truly does not try to hide his dislike for women, and he particularly likes to comment on their obsession with gossip and inability to control their emotions:
It chilled me a little that Mrs. Strickland should be concerned with gossip, for I did not know then how great a part is played in women’s life by the opinions of others. It throws a shadow of insincerity over their most deeply felt emotions.
According to the narrator, Mrs. Strickland's life is dictated by gossip and what others think of her. Regarding all women, their whole lives are consumed by their love and subservience to men:
As lovers, the difference between men and women is that women can love all day long, but men only at times.
Paired with these other passage, the simile comparing Tahiti to a "lovely woman" who is also "conciliatory" takes on a sexist tone, reaffirming the narrator's attitude that women are societally and intellectually beneath men.
Related Themes:
