Virginity
Forcible sexual compromise occurs in this novel but modern terminology to describe the events is never mentioned. The self-imposed censorship of the times enforced a metaphorical understanding between writer and reader. “The former was seduced, and this man had employed his skill in chirographical imitation, in composing letters from Miss Dudley to his brother, which sufficiently attested her dishonor.” In this particular instance, “dishonor” is an appropriate and instantly understood metaphor for a woman losing her virginity to pre-marital sexual intercourse.
Yellow Fever
The novel is set against the backdrop of an outbreak of a contagious epidemic of Yellow Fever that is equally capable of striking down anyone of any economic or social status. The only means of avoidance is escape. The narrator observes “For the rich, the whole world is a safe asylum, but for us, indigent and wretched, what fate is reserved but to stay and perish?” The metaphor comparing the whole world to an asylum means that escape is possible only for the richest; those capable of uprooting themselves immediately to stay one step ahead of the spread of the disease.
The Bad Mother
The narrator does not introduce herself until the twenty-third chapter and when she does so it is immediately personal. In describing the mother who abandoned her, she writes “Her temper was more akin to that of tigress than woman: Yet that is unjust, for beasts cherish their offspring.” The metaphorical comparison of her human mother is such that she lacks even the fundamentally humane maternal instincts shared by predatory animals.
Female Empowerment
The story of Constantia, the protagonist of the story, is at heart one of female empowerment which views patriarchal traditions with constant trepidation. “Now she was at least mistress of the product of her labor…the profits, though slender, were sure…Marriage would annihilate this power.” In this usage, marriage becomes a metaphor for the patriarchal control of women and a way to take away any economic independence they may enjoy while unmarried. Marriage, the narrator asserts, is not the result of love, but rather a transactional arrangement that never affords greater control to the wife than it does to the husband.
Death
Constantia’s story is one of hardship from a young age. She experiences a series of humiliations and setbacks which eventually send her into a darkly contemplative state of mind. “As an entrance into scenes of lightsome and imperishable beings, it was the goal of all her wishes. As a passage to oblivion, it was still desirable, since forgetfulness was better than the life which she had hitherto led.” Both the “entrance” and the “passage” in his quote are metaphors for death. Constantia is at her most despondent point in time when the idea of death seems preferable to life.
