Updike often uses metaphor and personification to help explain a character's manner of speaking, describing the character's tone, enunciation, or the overall flow of the dialogue. This become evident in the very first sentence of the novel,
"...each s seemed the black tip of a just extinguished match held in playful hurt, as children do, against the skin."[pg 1]
The author applies personification by giving dialogue characteristics of a living thing, for instance on page four:
"Her voice bristled like a black cat's fur, iridescent." [pg 4]
"'The papers were passed in Providence,' Jane explained, pressing the nce hard into Alexandra's ear." [pg 4]
Not only does Updike take care to describe the ebb and flow of conversation, he also makes sure his audience is aware of exactly what type of accents his three 'witch' characters have:
"'From New York, " Jane hurried on, the last syllabel almost barked, its r dropped Massechusetts style." [pg 7]
The authors attention to detail in dialogue description not only helps establish a knowlege of the main characters in the readers' mind, it also greatly contributes to the image that is beginning to be constructed in Updike's exposition. By describing the simple vocalization of words so meticulously, John Updike crosses the line between the reader reading the lines and the audience actually hearing conversations.
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