Climate as a metaphor
The change in climate from the warmth of the Caribbean to England represents Anna's metaphorical journey from familiarity into the unknown. In England, Anna is miserable, alienated and lonely, which is represented by the dull, dreary and cold atmosphere. The darkness of England also suggests Anna's unfamiliarity with the country, and her inability to feel a true sense of belonging.
Prostitution as a metaphor
In this text, prostitution is a metaphor for women's financial dependency on men in 1930s England. Anna is unable to find work, and when she finally finds a job at a nail salon, it turns out to be an undercover brothel. From the beginning of the novel, when Anna is a "kept woman", to her encounters with prostitution, Anna is constantly dependent on men for financial support. Even married women were dependent on their husbands financially, as many women were unable to find work due to gender inequality. As such, prostitution is a metaphor for the wider position of women in society as a whole.
Sunday metaphor
Anna uses metaphor here to describe what a Sunday feels like, describing it as being "heavy": “The feeling of Sunday is the same everywhere, heavy, melancholy, standing still. Like when they say, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.” Anna uses the fact that Sunday feels the same everywhere to connect her home in the Caribbean and England. Anna struggles to find a connection between these two places, so this realization gives her comfort.
Curtain metaphor
Anna describes her journey from the Caribbean to England, saying: “It was as if a curtain had fallen, hiding everything I had ever known. It was almost like being born again. The colours were different, the smells different, the feeling things gave you right down inside yourself was different.” The image of a curtain suggests a complete separation between her two lives. She also describes this transition with a simile, saying that "it was almost like being born again." This image again suggests a complete sense of unfamiliarity with her new environment.
