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Irony
Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Chapter 3. A Controversy
Explanation and Analysis—Little Arthur the Sapling:
In his first conversation with Helen, Gilbert criticizes her for sheltering her son Arthur too much from the world, using a metaphor in the process:
“I have not yet said that a boy should be ought to rush into the snares of life—or even willfully to seek temptation for the sake of exercising his virtue by overcoming it […] If you were to rear an oak sapling in a hothouse, tending it carefully night and day, and shielding it from every breath of wind, you could not expect it to become a hardy tree, like that which has grown up on the mountainside, exposed to all the action of the elements, and not even sheltered from the shock of the tempest.”
“Granted; – but would you use the same argument with regard to a girl?”
“Certainly not.”
Comparing little Arthur to a tree (“oak sapling”) in a greenhouse, Arthur makes the case that such trees are weaker than the “hardy” trees that grow outside, “exposed to all the action of the elements.” Here he is comparing Arthur to boys who are allowed to roam free away from their parents.
It is notable that, when pressed by Helen, Gilbert admits that this same rule does not apply to girls. This highlights the double standards for men and women that show up throughout the novel. Brontë intentionally has characters perpetuate the common Victorian belief that boys and men make up the stronger gender and, as such, should be given more autonomy, while girls and women are weaker and in need of protection. Helen’s propensity for challenging these ideas is likely an extension of Brontë’s own frustration with them.
Related Themes:
Chapter 19. An Incident
Explanation and Analysis—Rose Vs. Peony:
Before Helen and Arthur are officially engaged, Helen notices Arthur paying special attention to Annabella and hides from the pair to cry. When Arthur finds her, he assures her that he loves her and not Annabella, using a simile and a metaphor to communicate the difference in his feelings for the two women:
“Annabella Wilmot, in comparison with you, is like a flaunting peony compared with a sweet, wild rosebud gemmed with dew – and I love you to distraction!”
In comparing Annabella to a “flaunting peony” (via a simile) and Helen to a “sweet, wild rosebud” (via a metaphor), Arthur indicates that he believes Annabella is ostentatious and showy while Helen is beautiful in a more natural and refined way. Beneath this comparison is the implication that Arthur respects and loves Helen much more deeply than he does Annabella. As becomes clear later in the novel, however, Arthur is using these words to manipulate Helen—he is actually very attracted to Annabella and goes on to have an affair with her over the course of several years.
This moment also subtly foreshadows the interaction between Helen and Gilbert at the end of the novel in which she gives him a rose as a symbol for her heart. While Arthur compares Helen to a rose in an attempt to manipulate and control her, Helen takes back her power by comparing her own heart to a rose and giving it to the man who is truly deserving of it.
Related Themes:
Chapter 26. The Guests
Explanation and Analysis—Helen's Sun and Moon:
About halfway through the novel, while Arthur and Helen are hosting Arthur’s friends, Hargrave shows special attention to Helen. In her diary, Helen notes that Arthur feels possessive in moments like this, using a metaphor to capture the extent of Arthur’s control over her:
Arthur dislikes me to talk to [Hargrave], and is visibly annoyed by his commonest acts of politeness; not that my husband has any unworthy suspicions of me – or of his friend either, as I believe – but he dislikes me to have any pleasure but in himself, any shadow of homage or kindness but such as he chooses to vouchsafe: he knows he is my sun, but when he chooses to withhold his light, he would have my sky to be all darkness; he cannot bear that I should have a moon to mitigate the deprivation.
Describing how Arthur knows he is “her sun” who sometimes “chooses to withhold his light” while also refusing to let her “have a moon to mitigate the deprivation,” Helen shows that she is aware of Arthur’s manipulative tactics. This double metaphor captures the extent of Arthur’s emotional abuse—he not only withholds affection from Helen, but does not allow her to receive attention from anyone else, either.
The fact that Arthur’s behavior is acceptable in the context of the novel shows how much power he has as a man in their marriage—he controls his wife, who must accept it or risk breaking the law (as Helen ultimately does by running away).
Related Themes:
Chapter 27. A Misdemeanor
Explanation and Analysis—Helen the Angel:
One of the metaphors that appears periodically throughout The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is that of Helen being an angel. For example, in Chapter 27, after Helen witnesses Arthur secretly kiss Annabella’s hand, Arthur says that Helen is an angel while Annabella is a mortal:
“She is a daughter of earth; you are an angel of heaven; only be not too austere in your divinity, and remember that I am a poor, fallible mortal.”
This language is notable in that it might actually be how Arthur views the two women, but it doesn’t mean that he loves or respects Helen more for it. In fact, he likely sees himself as a better match with Annabella (with whom he’s having an affair) because she is selfish and imperfect, like him. Thus, Arthur’s comparison of Helen to an angel can also be considered an example of situational irony—though he may see her as an angel, he certainly doesn’t treat her like one.
Later, in Chapter 39, when Hargrave tries to force Helen into having an affair with him, he also compares her to an angel:
“I do not insult you,” cried he: “I worship you. You are my angel – my divinity! I lay my powers at your feet – and you must and shall accept them!” he exclaimed impetuously, starting to his feet.
Here Hargrave’s words and actions don’t add up—like Arthur, he says he worships her while also actively harming her. Overall, Helen’s supposed angelic nature—which stems from her morality and commitment to acting in line with her Christian faith—both draws men to her and makes them resent her at the same time.
Related Themes:
Chapter 39. A Scheme of Escape
Explanation and Analysis—Helen the Angel:
One of the metaphors that appears periodically throughout The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is that of Helen being an angel. For example, in Chapter 27, after Helen witnesses Arthur secretly kiss Annabella’s hand, Arthur says that Helen is an angel while Annabella is a mortal:
“She is a daughter of earth; you are an angel of heaven; only be not too austere in your divinity, and remember that I am a poor, fallible mortal.”
This language is notable in that it might actually be how Arthur views the two women, but it doesn’t mean that he loves or respects Helen more for it. In fact, he likely sees himself as a better match with Annabella (with whom he’s having an affair) because she is selfish and imperfect, like him. Thus, Arthur’s comparison of Helen to an angel can also be considered an example of situational irony—though he may see her as an angel, he certainly doesn’t treat her like one.
Later, in Chapter 39, when Hargrave tries to force Helen into having an affair with him, he also compares her to an angel:
“I do not insult you,” cried he: “I worship you. You are my angel – my divinity! I lay my powers at your feet – and you must and shall accept them!” he exclaimed impetuously, starting to his feet.
Here Hargrave’s words and actions don’t add up—like Arthur, he says he worships her while also actively harming her. Overall, Helen’s supposed angelic nature—which stems from her morality and commitment to acting in line with her Christian faith—both draws men to her and makes them resent her at the same time.
Related Themes:
Chapter 53. Conclusion
Explanation and Analysis—The Rose:
At the end of the novel, Gilbert assumes that Helen is no longer interested in marrying him and, as such, thoughtlessly discards a rose that she hands him. Helen becomes upset by this, and explains to Gilbert that the rose was a metaphor for her heart, which she was giving to him:
“You did not understand my gift,” said she, – “or, what is worse, you despised it. I’m sorry I gave it you; but since I did make such a mistake, the only remedy I could think of, was to take it away.”
“You misunderstood me, cruelly,” I replied, and in a minute I had opened the window again, leaped out, picked up the flower, brought it in, and presented it to her, imploring her to give it me again, and I would keep it for ever for her sake, and prize it more highly than anything in the world I possessed.
[…]
“The rose I gave you was an emblem of my heart,” said she; “would you take it away and leave me here alone?”
Upon understanding the metaphorical meaning of the rose—that it is “an emblem of [Helen’s] heart"—Gilbert immediately remedies his mistake, assuring Helen that he “would keep it for ever” and “prize it more highly than anything in the world”. This moment shows how, despite Gilbert’s incorrect assumptions about Helen’s feelings, he can change his ways and become a good romantic partner for her (which proves to be true).
Related Themes:
