Chater the Bannister – A simile
“Therefore I instantly arrived at the conclusion that the clean-shaven fellow who looked so much like a London barrister had some distinct and ulterior purpose in arousing within my mind suspicion of his host's sanity.”
In this passage, the narrator compares Hylton Chater to a London Barrister in terms of appearance. This simile emphasizes the flexibility of Chater’s identity and foreshadows the fact that his personas are simply assumed roles for the sake of fraud and deception.
The Elite as Wolves – A Simile
“They ordered the best champagne out of the cellars and drank it, the men cleared all the cigar-boxes, and the women rummaged in the wardrobes until they seemed like a pack of hungry wolves.”
This passage describes the behavior of the guests of the Leithcourts after having discovered that their hosts had left the premises, and compares them to a pack of hungry wolves. This simile is very symbolic, for it emphasizes the gigantic chasm which separates shadow from persona. In this scene, it seems that the totality of England’s most refined individuals have all of a sudden turned into a pack of hungry wolves which only cared about the instant satisfaction of their greed.
The Icy Kajana – A Simile
“In winter the place is like an ice-well."
This is the description given by the sister, who was in charge of Elma Heath, of the castle of Kajana. According to her, the premises and the neighboring estate were like an ice-well, not only in term of coldness but also in regard to isolation and the dreary aspect of their gloomy history.
Baron Oberg the Villain – A Metaphor
“Then he is with that villainous official, Baron Oberg, the Governor-General of Finland.”
This is Jack Durnford’s description of Xavier Oberg. He compares the man to a villainous official without any use of “as” or “like”. This metaphor emphasizes the wickedness of Oberg’s character and further establishes him as a villain
The Strangler of Finland – A Metaphor
“So the uncle of Elma Heath was ‘The Strangler of Finland,’"
Baron Xavier Oberg is repeatedly referred to in the novel as the strangler of Finland. This is one such example and a metaphor that accentuates the character of the man through his title.
