Girl

Metaphor is a type of figurative language that makes an implied comparison of two unlike things so that the reader must infer the meaning. Metaphors contain two parts—the object or concept being described and what the object or concept is compared to. At the story’s conclusion, the author employs metaphor when the mother discusses bread and the baker:

always squeeze bread to make sure it’s fresh; but what if the baker won’t let me feel the bread?; you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the bread? (Lines 50-53).

The reference to touching and feeling the bread communicates sensual connotations. One interpretation is that the “bread” is a metaphor for sexual maturity. In this light, the last few lines of the text may contradict the control and harshness the mother expresses earlier regarding her daughter’s sexual expression. If the mother encourages her daughter to make sure the “bread” is “fresh,” she encourages her to make sure that her sexual partners are adequate, satisfying, and fertile. Her tone at the end implies that she does not want her daughter to be “the kind of woman” (Line 53) that eschews sexual relations.