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Motifs
Definition of Personification
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down on the wedding guests, indifferent... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the... read full definition
Personification
Explanation and Analysis—Creeping and Reaching:
After Louise learns that her husband, Brently, was killed in a railroad accident, she gazes out her bedroom window and tries to suppress the joy that begins to overcome her. This emotion is imbued with human-like characteristics:
There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air.
By personifying joy as something that’s “creeping out of the sky” and “reaching toward” Louise, the story suggests that Louise is utterly powerless to resist her true thoughts and feelings. Up until this point, she’s tried to suppress her intelligence and desires because married women of her time (the late 19th century) were generally expected to be mild-mannered, passive, and simpleminded. Here, though, her joy is described as a kind of person with a life of its own—it’s something that Louise can’t control or even fully comprehend, as it’s “too subtle and elusive to name.”
Thus, the personification in this passage creates the sense that Brently’s death has brought about a major, unavoidable shift for Louise. As she realizes that she can now think and act freely, her elation is so strong that she’s no longer able to hold it back—the feeling is actively “reaching toward her” to overwhelm her, whether she likes it or not.
Related Themes:
