This might sound stupid but may you explain more in comments will get back to you if you comment I will answer
A simile makes a straightforward comparison.
The answer is that the person was slowly beginning to understand the English language. The context clues are that because the person was able to slowly turn newspaper accounts into stories, and was able to chat and gossip with her other friends. She was also "helped...by her husband."
Aesthetic elements<span> impart an artistic quality.</span>
