How does the author use metaphor in the novel, The Water Cure?

The author uses violence as a metaphor for the patriarchy, with all of its subtle and overt cruelties towards women. In one passage between chapters, a woman writes, “One day I looked at my husband and I thought, Would you knock them down? Would you stand up with your arms raised if they came for me?” (121) In a literal sense, she is wondering if her husband would protect her from other, violent men, but symbolically she is asking if there can be male allies in a patriarchal society. (She ultimately decides he would not protect her.)