Literary Devices in The Doll's House

From Aunt Beryl’s point of view, Lil and Else are described with a direct metaphor saying they are “little rats.” The description indicates that Aunt Beryl not only disapproves of the Kelvey girls but also hates them and thinks of them as vermin.

Aunt Beryl’s sending Lil and Else from the courtyard is described with a simile; she drives them away “as if they were chickens.” The simile emphasizes Beryl’s contempt for Lil and Else and her inability to recognize their humanity or their feelings.

Else’s reaction when seeing the doll’s house is described with a simile; she stands as “still as a stone,” suggesting that she is overwhelmed by the sight of it.

Lil and Else are described with a simile comparing them to “two little stray cats” that followed Kezia across the courtyard. The simile underscores the idea that Lil and Else don’t belong there.

Personification, giving human traits to something nonhuman, is employed in describing the Kelvey children; as they walked along the road, their shadows “walked” beside them. The visual imagery of their shadows “stretching right across the road” to the flowers on the other side creates the physical point of view from which Kezia sees them coming nearer to her.

Else is again described with a direct metaphor stressing her small size, and it also suggests her quiet nature. The description of her as a “white” owl recalls the previous detail of her wearing a “long white dress.” The word “white” has connotations of innocence and purity, further characterizing Else.

A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes one thing by saying directly or by implying that it is something else. Else is described here with a direct metaphor comparing her to a “tiny wishbone.” A “wishbone” is the small bone shaped like a “V” in a chicken breast. Its name derives from the tradition of two people breaking the bone after the chicken is eaten, and whoever holds the larger side of the bone gets to make a wish. The metaphor emphasizes that Else is small and fragile.

The second-person point of view is employed again in referring to Else as “our Else,” giving readers a sense of personal relationship with the child; it also suggests feelings of affection for Else

Kezia’s enchantment with the lamp and the features that distinguish it from the rest of the doll’s house suggest that the lamp will have special significance in the story.

The point of view shifts to second person as the narrator speaks directly to readers, drawing them into the story.

Throughout the paragraph, visual imagery is employed in describing the doll’s house so that readers can picture it in their minds. Painted in “spinach green” and trimmed in yellow, red, and white, the house is gaudy; the “big lumps of congealed paint hanging along the edge” of the porch indicate that there are flaws in the house’s appearance; it is, in fact, not perfect.

The door of the doll’s house is described with a simile, a figure of speech that compares one thing to another using “like” or “as.” English toffee is a candy made by boiling brown sugar and water; it is spread on a flat surface to harden and is then cut into serving pieces. A “slab” of toffee would be rectangular in shape, as is the door. The simile suggests the door’s appearance is very appealing.