Genre
Fiction
Setting and Context
The book is written in the context of British investment politics.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
The tone and mood are neutral.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Cleomelia is the protagonist of the story.
Major Conflict
The main conflict is that Cleomelia gets married to several men because of her stunning beauty. However, Cleomelia is only after the material wealth of the men who marry her.
Climax
The climax is the revelations that the wealthy men are duped by beautiful women who steal their money.
Foreshadowing
The love for Cleomelia foreshadows the rivalry between Gasper and Heartlove.
Understatement
The manipulation of Cleomelia is understated. Despite duping men into her trap, Cleomelia does not care what happens to the men who fight for her, as long as she gets what she wants.
Allusions
The story alludes to how wealthy men are duped by beautiful young women who steal from them.
Imagery
The imagery of beauty is evident in the text because it depicts sight imagery which helps readers see why every man was chasing after her. Sight imagery is also significant because it helps readers to see Cleomelia's manipulation traits.
Paradox
The main paradox is that Cleomelia's beauty and sweetness do not go hand with her character. Despite being a female gender in the patriarchal society, Cleomelia is manipulative and cunning because she dates many men simultaneously and steals from them.
Parallelism
Gasper’s attempted murder by Heartlove parallels Cleomelia’s aspiration of dating many men because she is only after inheriting their wealth.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Love is personified as evil because it drives innocent men crazy towards Cleomelia, whose primary intention is to get their wealth.
