Trailing like a scrap of paper
The author writes, "She plummeted, her dress trailing like a scrap of paper." The simile is significant because it shows the suppression of women from the freedom of expression and choice in the 18th century. Rina's mother tries to tell her to avoid being around men who can take advantage of her. During that era, men could rape women, and nothing would be done to them. While Rina is working in her father's factory, a man circles her, and he eventually rapes her. Rina remembers her mother's warning, but it is too late. Later, Rina's father forces her to be married to the man who raped and impregnated her. Therefore, Rina has no option but to get married to the man who sexually assaulted her.
As blank as a new page
Rina wants to work for a local newspaper company, but her father will not entertain that idea. Therefore, Rina starts by changing her name to Nira and later Reseda to hide her identity. When the father suspected she was up to something, he confronted her. The author writes, "When her father thundered in the drawing room about the opinion of these hussies whoever they were, appearing in print, Rina Faccio looked up from her needlepoint as blank as a new page." Rina's father represents patriarchy in which a woman is not supposed to work. Instead, women are supposed to remain at home to take care of children and do household chores.
Like an iron lever.
The legal system in ancient Italy gave fathers the authority to marry off their daughters as long as they were 16. The author describes the brutality of the law against women using a simile. The author writes, "Article 544 of the Penal Code was like an iron lever, maneuvering girls of 16 into position as brides to the very men who had trampled them down." The simile shows how men oppressed women. Women had no choice but to respect their fathers, who usually chose spouses for them. Marrying off young girls without consent was one of the greatest injustices against women. When Rina's father discovers she is pregnant, he forces her to marry the man who sexually assaulted her.
