The Swallow-Like Maid
“Alert, unerring, like a swallow she dipped and darted.” (Ch. II)
In the Warden's house, there is a small French maid, Melisande, who is constantly busy attending to her mistress's needs. In this scene, she is bustling about, bringing in the luggage and dealing with Zuleika's extensive fashion needs. This particular simile gives an endearing, fairy-like description of the maid, accentuating her light nimbleness and delicate presence.
Marcella the Shepherdess
In Ch. III, the author compares Zuleika to Marcella, the beautiful shepherdess from Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote. Marcella is likewise beautiful, causing almost all men to fall in love with her, even causing the death of one man who swore to love only her (John Chrysostom). There is, however, a key difference between Marcella and Zuleika; while Marcella knew she could never love any man and derived no joy from them, Zuleika still dreams of romantic bliss, drawing much satisfaction and elation from her many admirers.
Two Moons
“The two large white pearls there seemed to her symbols of his nature. They were like two moons: cold, remote, radiant.” (Ch. III)
In the scene of the Duke's dining with the Warden and Zuleika, the young woman and the Duke of Dorset fall in love. As she studies him, she notices the two white pearls on his shirt-front. These pearls gain a greater significance later, but at the time, she sees them as symbols of his indifference to her beauty, a quality she admires: "cold, remote, radiant." Unbeknownst to her, the Duke has actually fallen in love with her, making this symbolism ironic.
A Photograph in a Shop-Window
“She’s dark. She looks like a foreigner. She looks like—like one of those photographs in the shop-windows.” - Noaks (Ch. V)
This description, coming from the unlikable little undergraduate fellow Noaks, is one depicting the woman he has suddenly fallen in love with, who is revealed to be Zuleika. Noaks's description of her as looking like a photograph in the shop-window, however, reveals an important aspect of Zuleika's character: she looks pristine, inhumanly beautiful, and simply too good to be true. She's as beautiful as a photograph yet just as unreachable, and neither one of them will ever reciprocate your affection.
Sobbing Like a Child
“She buried her face in her hands, and sobbed like a child.” (Ch. V)
After Zuleika realizes that the Duke's apparent remoteness was actually a result of his social awkwardness and emotionally detached pride, she breaks down in tears like a child denied a piece of candy. This emotional breakdown is compared to that of a child, giving a piece of important information in the interpretation of Zuleika's character: she has never truly matured, still living in the selfish daydream of childhood. Her moods swings are sudden and severe, and she has little true regard for anyone but herself, making this child-comparing simile especially apt.
