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Shyanne Lewis Cp English III Mrs. Hejazifar April 28, 2016 Symbolism of Color Analysis In Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, the symbolism of color plays a big role in the novel. There’s one color expressed throughout the novel. The color being red, symbolize different things for each red object. The color reveals a lot about the characters.
In the book Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton multiple objects are used to represent big moments in the book and is heavily used. There are many objects that clearly relate to people and relationships between people. The first emblem that represents love between Mattie and Ethan is Mattie's red scarf and ribbon in her hair. The first symbol is the pickle dish representing Ethans and Zeena’s relationship. The final commodity is the cat which represents Zeena.
By name alone, Starkfield already lets us know what kind of town the story is going to set in; a foreshadowing of the town itself and its inhabitants. A bare town that does not have much in the way of entertainment, and one that makes it difficult for its population to prosper. Early in the story, Harmon Gow—who despite having a small role in the whole of the story—sets a frame for the reader by remarking that “[m]ost of the smart ones get away” (Wharton). Those that do not leave seem to become as dull and bare as the town itself, and example of this is our main character Ethan Frome, who for all intents and purposes was regarded as smart fellow, yet was unable to leave this bleak town.
Edith Wharton’s novel “Ethan Frome” is a story filled with symbolism. Every part of the story has a purpose and reasoning behind it. Edith wrote the story with the intention of her readers having to think about what they are reading and dig deeper into the meaning of the story. The order of events of the story was carefully decided by Wharton to entertain and create suspense for the audience. Symbolism is strongly placed in the story, things like the color red, the setting of the story, the cat, and the pickle dish are some of the most obvious symbols.
It’s scary to think that there are certain things that will reveal itself only when the time comes. Being kept out of the loop, desperately trying to fit all the pieces of the puzzle, only to realize that there’s one piece missing, the last piece needed to construct the whole picture. That’s how Mary Boyne, the character from Edith Wharton’s short story “Afterward”, feels. Her husband suddenly disappears and she’s left alone to try and make sense of everything, only to discover the truth long after; a truth that shattered her reality. She was the one who “sent him to Ned”; she “told him where to go!”
In everyday life, people are put under many pressures and are expected to be perfect to society. In Edith Wharton’s, best-known and most popular novel, Ethan Frome, this idea is highlighted, showing the protagonist’s breakdown. Ethan Frome struggles against the rules of society and his duty to his family, fighting a battle within himself between what he wants in order to be happy and what he feels he must do to satisfy his family and society. Frome struggles between his desire for his wife’s cousin, Mattie, and his sense of duty toward Zeena, his wife. The pressures that come from the responsibilities in the Frome household lead to Ethan Frome’s emotional breakdown, showing how societal pressures can lead to harmful self-doubt.
Diego Saavedra Mrs.Metzker English 3 01/19/2017 Symbol of Love Cheating is a choice, not a mistake. In the story “Ethan Frome” by Edith Wharton. Ethan is committed himself already to one woman named Zeena, however, Ethan does start to fall in love with another lady named Mattie, who also happens to be the cousin of Zeena. In the story, there is a scene where Mattie and Ethan were cooking and about to have dinner, when the cat knocks over Zeena 's pickle dish, all these events are very key in the symbol of the story.
Edith Wharton is an American author of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In her novella Ethan Frome, Wharton uses symbolism as a way to develop a theme for the story. The story Ethan Frome takes its setting in a small New England community in which there is little to no acceptance with sinful deeds. Throughout the story there are many symbolic objects.
The image is depressing: In the middle of the winter under a dove grey sky the colors of Starkfield, each hue darker and more depressing than before. The chilly weather running through the house in and out of the room like a quiet ghost silently coming and silently going. The path is dull and the coldness delineates the marriage of the couple start to descending leading to one of them to have an emotional affair with another woman. Just like the weather in Starkfield, frigid and bleak.
Ethan compares Mattie’s face as “part of the sun’s red and of the pure glitter on the snow” (Wharton 38). Romanticism involves poetic talk of “the underlying spirit of nature produced [by] an intense, subjective experience” (Text 3, Line 17). These scenes only last a few moments but Gothicism encroaches the tender scenes whether it be by Zeena, the cat, or the somber weather that encompasses this small town. Mattie is Ethan’s only hope of temporary escape and they go as far as attempting suicide to end taking care of the dreadful Zeena.
Imagery and Symbolism Edith Wharton creates the novel with a high percentage of imagery and symbolism in one. Some ways she combines both imagery and symbolism together is by a flower. Wharton states, “He had never seen any as sun-golden before, and his first impulse was to send them to May instead of the lilies. But they did not look like her - there was something too rich, too strong, in their fiery beauty”(Wharton).
Wharton’s Ethan Frome uses Ethan Frome to demonstrate how sexual maturation and the development of a sexual identity can be stunted by circumstance. The use of imagery, symbolism, and language in Wharton’s novel emphasize Frome’s sexual inhibition and his development of sexual feelings because of Mattie. Frome’s natural reticence combined with familial tragedy at a young age prevented Frome from developing a strong sexual identity (Farland, 718). When Frome is with Mattie at Shadow Pond, he wants to express his feelings for her, but he “had never learned to say such things,” which is an indication of how he is insecure in his sexuality (Wharton, 135). Additionally, Frome’s marriage to Zeena further stunts his sexual development, as their marriage
As Edith Wharton said, “The worst of doing one’s duty was that it apparently unfitted one for doing anything else”. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton involved a man who was stuck in a love triangle as well as his home in Starkfield. The themes of passion and integrity apply to Ethan Frome like no other, whereas the theme of passion applies to Mattie Silver. Ethan Frome has tried countless times to get out of his home in Starkfield, “he’s been in Starkfield too many winters”(Wharton 6). All of Ethan’s attempts leave him empty and drawn back because of the sense of duty and integrity he has in him.
In Edith Wharton’s novel, Ethan Frome, the author uses symbolism to add depth to the story. Throughout the novel the cat embodies Zeena presence even if she is not in the room. The pickle-dish and the breaking of it symbolizes Ethan and Zeena’s marriage. Many different emotions and feeling are represented by the color red. Edith Wharton uses symbolism to add to the story.
In Edith Wharton’s novel, Ethan Frome, setting plays an important role. The novel takes place in the fictional town of Starkfield, Massachusetts, in the winter and most likely during the early 1900s, a time better known as the Progressive Era. The Progressive Era brought about change and innovation in many areas, such as education and transportation. This change doesn’t really occur in Starkfield, however. Due to poor transportation, the residents of Starkfield become stuck during the harsh winter, and the majority of the rest of the year in this isolated town.