Predator and Prey
"The certainty that he means her to die is like a presence beside her, as if a dark-feathered bird of prey has alighted on the arm of her chair." The opening chapter of the novel situates that the protagonist, Lucrezia, suspects her husband is plotting to murder her. This simile comparing her to the prey of a raptor demonstrates the chasm existing already between recently married bride and groom. The feeling of being tracked by a powerful bird illuminates the distinct differences in their respective places within the societal hierarchy.
The Lady and the Map
The events leading to the conception of Lucrezia hurls the narrative back in time in order to introduce her mother. "Eleonora’s eyes rake over the silverpoint rendering of Tuscany: the peaks of hills, the eel-like slither of rivers, the ragged coastline climbing north." The liberal utilization of metaphorical language in this description demonstrates the elevated intellectual level of Eleanora. She is looking at a map that tells more than mere geography. The characterizations of rivers and coastline in this passage indicates that she is more highly educated than most women of the time. That her vision "rakes" across the map also illustrates how she is seeing things in a more sophisticated way than average.
Bubble
The precarious nature of Lucrezia's situation is repeatedly presented through metaphorical imagery. "Again, she feels her disbelief as a bubble of mirth, just below her ribcage...And in an instant, her mirth shrivels and burns, alchemizing into the purest, hottest form of fury." A short paragraph separates these two examples. Together, the simile of happiness confined to a bubble and the metaphors describing the fragility of that bubble convey the circumstances of a young bride well aware she could be murdered by her husband at any moment.
Thievery
The underlying message of the story is that Lucrezia's life is not her own. "Alfonso is keen for her to eat a good dinner but the thought of her impending death has stolen her appetite." Lucrezia is a symbol for all women in this era who had little to no agency. Even the most basic decision of satiating hunger has been stolen from her. Her husband is all-powerful even when he does not know he is exercising that power.
The Piazza
Through the use of metaphorical imagery, a piazza becomes a symbol of the primal sense of ugliness of the life with the Duke. "The piazza, when Lucrezia gazed down at it from the nursery windows, was slick with water, flagstones gleaming and reptilian, fallen leaves choking the gutters." Lucrezia is not even a bride yet, but the sister of the bride. The metaphorical references to reptilian life forms and choking foreshadow her own future which she does not even know yet is coming here way. Everything that should be beautiful will soon become ugly and ignored.
