"Her life in this house...like confinement in a sinking vehicle after driving off a bridge." (Simile)
In this violent image, Dellarobia compares her life with Cub and her role as a housewife to being trapped in a car that's sinking. This imagery captures the extreme feelings of being stifled that she feels, confined to her domestic life and unable to seek any other opportunities as she's bound to her daily duties at home. For Dellarobia, her role as a housewife is something that feels totally inescapable, as if she were trapped in a car beneath the water.
"Lights under a bushel" (Metaphor)
While Ovid is thinking, Juliet describes him as a man who is reticent and hides his "lights under a bushel." She uses this metaphor to communicate how Ovid is not always ready to speak his mind outright. Instead, he prefers to think and restrain himself from saying too much—a pattern that he broke, to everyone's delight, when he had his outburst on camera in front of Tina and told her the truth about climate change and climate change denial.
Dumb as a cow (Simile)
When Dellarobia describes Cub's habit of flipping through channels without watching general passivity, she states that his gentleness makes him seem as "dumb as a cow." She is irritated by how slow he is, but at the same time, is conflicted because he still remains kind and gentle—just like a cow. He is unintentionally irritating to her and she feels incredibly guilty, since he hasn't done anything that is explicitly harmful or unfair to her.
Cub (Metaphor)
Cub's name is a metaphor. Although he first got the nickname because his father was named Bear, it also becomes a metaphor for Cub's passivity and lack of desire to grow up beyond what his parents want for him. Dellarobia frequently becomes frustrated because Cub won't make his own decisions, instead following exactly what Bear and Hester tell him to do.
Flint of thrill (Metaphor)
As Dellarobia heads up the mountain to begin her affair, she feels a "flint of thrill." Flint is a stone used to start fires. This metaphor refers to the nature of the "thrill" as an emotion that is fiery, a spark of desire in Dellarobia that breaks through the suffocating monotony she feels in her day-to-day life as a housewife.
