Opening Line
The novel commences with an opening line that leads to metaphor. This is the kind of florid prose common to romances of published prior to the 20th century. Writers in this era of the novel’s development were particularly fond of such metaphor, often as a result of necessity in order to refer to things which decorum did not allow to be addressed directly. That is not the case in this example, but worth keeping in mind from this point forward:
“Of all the Foibles Youth and Inexperience is liable to fall into, there is none, I think, of more dangerous Consequence, than too easily giving Credit to what we hear: It is always the Source of a thousand Inadvertencies, and often leads the way to a numerous Train of destructive Passions.”
Love Letters
The purplish prose of the long-lost art of writing passionate love letters is on full display in this work. And the literary abilities of those caught in the pangs of passion are deeply steeped in finer art of the construction of metaphor. You won’t find stuff like this in a Tweet:
“How easily might be spar'd the Stings, – the Scorpions, – the never-dying Fires, and all the fancy'd Tortures which Priests invent to ride the frighted World, if any of those Soul-enslavers knew what it was to love like me!”
Heartache
It is not just the pounding thumping of excited blood coursing through the veins which is subject to metaphorical flights of fancy. That other darker side of love is also fertile territory for imagery filled with allusion, hyperbole and outrageous sophistication:
“The powerful Spells disclose an opening Heaven to my ravish'd View! and wrapp'd with Joys immortal, make me forget the Hell of Misery I am doom'd too!”
A Little Learning is a Useful Thing
Out of context, it may be difficult to ascertain whether the speaker here is engaging in ironic foreshadowing or observing a sincere truism. To discover the answer will require a full reading of the text. What is important is that this particular metaphor could go either way: it could be interpreted as a genuine expression of admiration or a satirical undermining of the same. Such ambiguity is one of the powers of metaphor that make it a favorite tool for writers:
“he made it appear that Learning is the best Polisher of the Principles”
Submission
The more extreme examples of florid prose to describe the depths of passion do seem at times to be engaged for the purpose of masking what might in modern vernacular be described far less majestically. For instance, if one were to feed the following into a program that translated into it language suitable for posting on a dating site, the result would probably be most appropriate for one of those sites dedicated to the darker edges of submission and masochism:
“let me beneath your Feet declare the mighty Sense I have of so unvalued an Obligation! – let, on that happy Earth you tread on, my humble Body avow the lower Prostration of my devoted Soul, and never rise, till by some Arguments forcible as my Passion, I have convinc'd you with how much Truth, Purity, and everlasting Zeal, I am your Slave!”
Of course, the part at the end there would probably remain the same after translation.
