What metaphors are used in Marriage a la Mode by Katherine Mansfield?

Mansfield makes use of imagery and symbolism to define the group. For instance, Moira calls Isabel "Titania," who is the queen of the fairies of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. In Shakespeare's play, Titania is bewitched by a halfman, half-animal creature, just as Isabel is bewitched by her grotesque companions. Isabel's companions also sponge off the fruits of William's labor. This is aptly illustrated when Bobby Kane leaves Isabel to pay the shopkeeper for the candies he has chosen. The metaphor of the group's voracious and parasitic nature is also carried to the physical level, as Mansfield describes the scene at the dining table, where they all eat "enormously" of the food made available through William's work.