Saturday, October 25, 2014

What do these comparisions suggest in The Duchess and the Jeweller: pearls to tears, rubies to heart's blood, diamonds to gunpowder.

By making these comparisons, the author is bringing out the
theme of class conflict. She is showing A) how hard Oliver has had to work to get himself up from
poverty and B) how much he resents those who are his social
"betters."


When Oliver refers to the pearls as tears and the rubies
as blood, he is alluding to how hard he had to work to become rich. He is saying that he put his
blood and tears into getting those things. Woolf is commenting here on how excessive Oliver's
desire for wealth is,


When Oliver refers to the diamonds as
gunpowder, he is expressing his hatred. We can see from his relationship with the duchess that he
harbors animosity and jealousy towards the aristocracy. He sees his diamonds as a way to destroy
them, as a weapon.


By making these comparisons, then, Woolf is
showing the strength of class-based anger in Oliver Bacon.

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