The effect of Wriothesley’s question
The question that Wriothesley poses and the effect that it has on the person to who it is addresses is explicitly brought out. The question is personified and as such given the ability to seep into the respondent. The chilly trickle left by the question is brought out using a simile in which it is likened to water creeping into a cellar.
The permanence of the effect of the conversation
The permanence of the conversation between Christophe and Gregory on Gregory is brought out through the employment of a simile. When the conversation is directly likened to an unwashable stain on his own garment, the permanence is implied: “Last night’s conversation is like a stain on his own garment, something he can’t brush out.”
The scent of the lavender
The refined nature of the women around Jane is further enhanced through their scents brought out as the scent of lavender. The rippling of this scent through the air is presented through a simile: “the scent of lavender ripples into air like bubbles of laughter.”
The gleam in the eyes like light on the blade of a sword
The writer uses a simile to present the imagery of the gleam in the eyes of Richmond. In particular, the comparison of the gleam in these eyes to the blade of a sword enables the reader to develop a more prominent understanding of Richmond’s eyes: “the gleam in the eye like light on the blade of a sword.”
The flickering ambassador “like a firefly”
The shining and lambent appearance of the ambassador is brought out in this work through the use of a simile. The writer compares this to the flickering of a firefly and in this way facilitates imagery: “They watch the ambassador pick his way across the lawn, flickering like a firefly in his black and gold.”
