Genre
Lesbian Fiction
Setting and Context
Just before World War One, in the home counties of England, London and Paris
Narrator and Point of View
The point of view is that of Stephen
Tone and Mood
The tone is lonely and uncomfortable; the mood is both loving, in terms of the relationship between Stephen and her father, and antagonistic, in terms of the relationship between Stephen and her mother.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Stephen is the protagonist, her mother the antagonist.
Major Conflict
There is conflict between Stephen and her mother regarding her sexuality; her mother thinks she is aberrant and does not want to accept her homosexuality.
Climax
Convinced that she is unable to make Mary happy, Stephen pretends to have an affair and drives Mary into the arms of her close friend Martin.
Foreshadowing
Angela shows her husband a love letter she received from Stephen which foreshadows her mother discovering her sexuality as an adult.
Understatement
Mary is lonely which is an understatement because she is also extremely along, having no friends and being rejected by the upper echelons of society from which she hails.
Allusions
There are many allusions to wartime Paris, including the most dangerous areas, action at the Front, and the acts of heroism by ambulance drivers and stretcher bearers.
Imagery
No specific examples.
Paradox
Stephen does not want Mary to be lonely, but by driving her away she is putting herself in a situation where she is incredibly lonely herself.
Parallelism
There is a parallel between the way in which Mary is estranged from polite society in France and the way in which Stephen was estranged from her family and social circle in England.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Inverts is the term used even by Stephen to encompass the group of homosexual friends that she spends time with.
Personification
No specific examples.
