Genre
A comedy novel
Setting and Context
The book is set during the Victorian epoch in Gray's views on disparity and relations.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Humorous, intriguing, buoyant
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Bella Baxter.
Major Conflict
The main conflict is when Bella Baxter’s husband, McCandless, describes her as a standard Victorian woman in his autobiography, which angers her. According to Baxter, her husband intentionally taints her image to ruin her feminine reputation.
Climax
The climax is when Baxter confronts her husband about the autobiography that makes her look like the one making their relationship stifle. Otherwise, Baxter already looks unreliable wife.
Foreshadowing
McCandless' biography foreshadowed his troubled relationship with his wife in the coming days. In the autobiography, McCandless gives a false account of his life to paint his woman as a spoilt feminist.
Understatement
Archibald McCandless' intentions are understated. He wants to demean his wife because she is smarter and knows her rights, and she is ready to defend what she believes is correct for her.
Allusions
The story alludes to feminists’ efforts to fight for women rights despite the obstacles placed before them by men.
Imagery
The imagery of hearing is depicted when the narrator writes, “When the scream came, the whole sky seemed screaming. I had clapped my hands to my ears before this happened so did not faint as Bella did, but the single high pitched note sounded everywhere and pierced the brain like a dental drill piercing a tooth without anesthetic.”
Paradox
The marriage between Baxter and Archibald's is paradoxical in the broader sense. The reader finds it satirical that a husband can intentionally give his wife a false account in an autobiography to taint her public reputation because of her strong stand on feminism.
Parallelism
Baxter’s life experiences parallel feminists’ journey to women’s freedom.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
N/A
