Here you can read an extract from our study guide:
When the narrator revisits Dee’s house, one of the windows has a crack which “runs the full length of the glass like a scar” (ll. 80-81). This is a simile, as can be seen by the word “like”, but on an abstract level this also functions as a metaphor referring to the scars of the memories which have not yet healed for the narrator.
The metaphor of memories as wounds or scars is also mentioned in the first paragraph of the story: “Other memories have accumulated and a skin has formed, but that skin is easily pricked and the shame seeps through.” (ll. 1-2). This shows that the narrator still suffers from the memory of what happened 32 years ago, and it is never far from her mind.
The narrator refers to the lie she tells Dee about Ruth trying to kiss her as “currency: it bought attention and access, whether it was true or not” (ll. 115-116). This metaphor reveals that the young narrator thought of social relationships as purely businesslike transactions. She gave something, expecting something back, without caring for the people involved.
The bad memories are described via a simile, too. The narrator claims that her guilt was present at all of her son’s milestones “like the bad fairy at a christening” (l. 28). This shows that the narrator’s past actions have haunted her all her life, even during happy occasions.
Also, Ruth’s skin looks like “corned beef” (l. 98). The simile compares Ruth to a slaughtered animal, suggesting that she is a victim and highlighting her innocence. It might also foreshadow her death.