Metaphor – an amateur actress
The author names Erendira “an amateur actress” who waits “the moment when the curtain was about to go up”. This device helps the author show more vividly how Erendira looked at the others’ eyes.
Metaphor – bishop on the throne
Telling about the grandmother’s meeting of “clients” to Erendira, the author writes: “Leaning on her bishop's crosier, the grandmother went out of the shelter and sat down on the throne to wait for the mules to pass.” Using words “bishop” and “throne” the author shows (with some way of irony) that the grandmother didn’t loose her dignity and pride, though she lost all her property.
Simile – white whale
The author writes that “the grandmother, naked and huge in the marble tub, looked like a handsome white whale.” Thus he helps the reader see and imagine the image of the grandmother more deeply (her appearance, in particular).
Simile – pulling up grass; steamers
The author offer the following description: “Erendira then succumbed to terror, lost consciousness, and remained as if fascinated by the moonbeams from a fish that was floating through the storm air, while the widower undressed her, tearing off her clothes with a methodical clawing, as if he were pulling up grass, scattering them with great tugs of color that waved like streamers and went off with the wind.” These two similes help the reader imagine the atmosphere of cruel violence concerning Erendira.
