Some books are just slow-moving. Once you pick them up and begin the first chapter, you find your mind wandering elsewhere, and soon realize you have to re-read the page all over again. This was originally my own problem when reading Ethan Frome. To the book’s credit, I found it exponentially more enjoyable by the halfway point. However, any excitement to read the book was hindered by its dull title and cover design. To get future readers more excited to start this rather slow-moving book, it desperately needs a new façade.
Ethan Frome. Congratulations, you’ve named your book after the titular character. But how does that contribute to the plot? No allusions to any story events, nor any double-meanings. It is simply the name of the main character.
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Since the story is set in Starkfield, and has a notoriously snowy landscape, I wanted to represent that element in my cover. The cover displays an evening sky, with purple clouds. I chose this to symbolize the “sun setting” on Ethan and Zeena’s marriage. The landscape itself is barren, but covered with white snow. In the distance a cabin can be seen, with a few lights on, visible through the windows. This symbolizes the happiness Mattie brings to Ethan, she is the joy of the house, the light of Ethan’s world. “To him, who was never gay but in her presence…” (14) This sums up the contrast in Ethan’s normal ambience, to that when he is with Mattie. I included a few other images to add to the scene. First, I placed an old-style wedding ring up near the clouds. Returning to the connection of the “sun setting” on their marriage, the wedding ring is there to represent one of Ethan’s impulsive decisions, carefully placed in the clouds to show that the fate of Ethan and Zeena’s relationship is “up in the air”. Secondly, an old fashioned carriage-like sleigh is placed on the otherwise barren ground. This image serves two purposes. It sparks the reader’s interest, Why is a sled sitting out in the open, with nobody riding it? The empty sled hints at the unforeseen death of Ethan and Mattie, yet again illustrating one of Ethan’s dangerous decisions. I chose these images because they combined happiness, sadness, and all led to important plot events and