Fire - Metaphor for Vengeance and Power
Throughout the story, Ashella is likened to fire. Her hair is a burning shade of red and whenever she dances, her movements are like flames. Fire is a metaphor for the power and hateful vengeance inside of her. Unnoticed by those around her, Ashella nurtures the flame inside of her, literally covering it up with ash all over her face and hair, until it is so bright and powerful that no one can defeat her.
The Old Tower - Metaphor for the Patriarchy
Ashella’s mother practices her dark arts in an old tower next to their house. Apparently, no one else enters this tower and for many years she stays unnoticed, all the while playing the dutiful and beautiful wife of the silk merchant. Once her witchcraft gets discovered however, the tower becomes a phallic shaped prison out of which she cannot escape.
Ashella, taking over her mother’s work after her murder, avoids the tower. Instead, she takes her satanic rites and prayers with her, also eschewing playing the nice, normal girl as her mother did. This way, Ashella successfully stays hidden for many years. Only when her plan is about to happen and she intends to rejoin society as a beautiful woman does Ashella come back into the tower.
"The girl and her mother were close as gloves in a box." - Simile
This simile likens Ashella to her mother. They have grown extraordinarily close to one another to the point of where Ashella’s mother tells her dangerous secrets. This simile extends also to their personalities. Ashella grows up in the same way as her mother – full of hatred and resentment and ready to sacrifice everything for vengeance. In that sense, Ashella and her mother are the same, two nearly identical gloves. Only in their success do they differ; where Ashella’s mother failed, she eventually succeeds.
"her power rising like a dark moon in her soul" - Simile
Ashella’s power begins to rise with her 17th birthday. The simile likens her power to a dark moon inside her soul. She had kept this power hidden insider her and had concealed it beneath ash and dirt, only using it in the cover of the night. The moon is commonly associated with the female and it is clear that her intentions are malicious.
The dark moon, only visible at night, also links back to the image of the clock that is prevalent in the story. Time is a very important factor, especially the hours of the night. Ashella will later appear at the duke’s ball during the night and will curse him at midnight, which is foreshadowed here.
"the eyes of the girl burned through her ashy hair, like a red fox through grasses" - Simile
Ashella is frequently associated with the color red, often in context of fire. Here, she is likened to a fox. Her beautiful hair, carefully hidden underneath ash and dirt, asks like the grass a fox would hide behind to stalk his prey. She is small, but extremely dangerous which no one around her notices until it is too late.
In the crowd she does not stick out, much like a fox easily blends in with his surroundings before striking out. Yet there is still the connection to fire, with her eyes burning while she watches.
