Misfortune metaphor
At the beginning of the novel, Mathilda uses a metaphor to describe how misfortune has affected her: "the blight of misfortune has passed over me and withered me." Here, she compares misfortune to a blight, which threatens to wither a person's spirit.
Eumenides
In the following simile, Mathilda compares her predicament to Eumenides, a play written by Aeschylus: "It is as the wood of the Eumenides none but the dying may enter."
Fate metaphor
Mathilda discusses her fate, saying that it "required hands stronger than mine; stronger I do believe than any human force to break the thick, adamantine chain that has bound me," therefore metaphorically comparing fate to a chain.
Strike their roots
Describing her father and his youth, Mathilda tells us that "his passions found a deep soil wherein they might strike their roots and flourish either as flowers or weeds as was their nature," which metaphorically describes his freedom.
School-boy shackle
Mathilda describes her father's days at school, metaphorically comparing school to a "school-boy shackle," emphasizing the impact of education on a person's freedom.
