Grief
The novel is an updating of the classic Greek tragic tale of Antigone. Antigone is, of course, driven—emotionally speaking—by the twin the stimulants of grief and outrage. Grief is especially present in the novel in the metaphorical form, especially in one long paragraph that is almost nothing but a litany of grief portrayed as metaphor:
“…grief tasted like hunger, felt like numbness, sounded like silence; grief tasted like bile, felt like blades, sounded like all the noise of the world. Grief was a shape-shifter, and invisible too”
Anger
The anger is addressed through metaphorical imagery less directly. It is a bit more subtly allusive in the way this particular emotional aspect of the protagonist is handled. This rage is well-appointed and far from secretive as it is described by another as the way concern is expressed. But the emotion can, at times, be tempered:
“There was a lightness inside her, entirely new, that made the whole world rearrange itself into a place of undreamt-of possibilities. In this lightness Aneeka’s anger was short-lived”
Nightly Prayers
In consideration of the nightly prayers spoken by a grandmother using words she didn’t know, a moment of epiphany comes arrives which points out the secret intent of prayer. They are not designed really to be fully understand or translated, but merely as the vessels of thoughts not spoken out loud;
“At first the words were just a language she didn’t know, but as she continued, closing her eyes to shut out the world, they burrowed inside her, flared into light, dispelled the darkness. And then the light softened, diffused, enveloping her in the peace that comes from knowing your own powerlessness.”
Insult
Metaphor often comes in handy for the purpose of delivering an insult. Especially among characters who inhabit a certain type of dignity regarding language. It takes some level of education and respect for language to use metaphor this way. Either that or just use a certain four-letter synonym for fecal matter as an all-purpose metaphor:
“Please don’t try to develop a spine. You weren’t built for it.”
Literary Allusion
Another nice thing about being educated besides being able to use metaphor as an insult without relying upon profanity is the ability to recognize when a literary allusion is being used as a metaphor. The following instance requires a certain understanding about an Oscar Wilde novel in which the title character’s demented disintegration into decadence is reflected physically only in the facial features of a portrait of him while he himself never seems to age:
“She was the portrait to his father’s Dorian Gray—all the anxiety you’d expect him to feel was manifest in her.”
