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The importance of symbolism
The use of symbolism in the novel
How does edith wharton use symbolism and imagery in ethan frome
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In the book Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, Wharton was able to paint a picture of the situation using motif such as the red pickle dish. This dish was a gift given to Ethan and Zeena on their wedding day by a relative of Zeena, therefor the pickle dish symbolized the marriage. The pickle dish is was described as red which is a color only associated with Mattie so the pickle dish also symbolized Mattie. The fact the object was a pickle dish tied the object with Ethan because he was the only main character that has a “pickle”. It is very obvious that the pickle dish means a lot to all three characters by how they react when it breaks.
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.
”(Wharton 3). Because of his loneliness, he asked Zeena to marry him without thinking it through. He had no feelings for her and desperately hoped it would make him feel better. While being married to Zeena, his unhappiness peaked and caused him to fall in love with another girl who was the Fromes’ maid, Mattie Silver. Romance was in the air and most definitely not between Zeena and Ethan.
It made it clear to people that something was not right when the pickle dish was brought down from the shelf. In a way Mattie symbolized the cat when the pickle dish was destroyed. The cat knocked over the pickle dish, which symbolised the destruction of their marriage. This shows that when the cat destroyed the pickle dish, Mattie also destroyed Ethan and Zeena’s
This departure leaves Ethan alone with Mattie in his house. Even while the two are becoming closer falling for one another, and with Zeena gone, their love is still interupted by Ethan's cat knocking over the plate of pickles. This is symbolic because the cat embodies Zeena as she refuses to allow Ethan and Mattie's relationship to relish and bloom. The cat is constantly around the two, monitoring their every move, which can portray Zeena secretly knowing about the relationship they have with one another. This symbol advances the work because this action of Zeena (the cat) can portray her distrust of her husband which leads to later conflicts in the story, such as telling Mattie that she does not need her contributions any longer and removes her from her
In the prologue of Edith Wharton’s novella Ethan Frome, Wharton's style aids the characterization of Ethan Frome. The mood is dark and dreary the setting of Starkfield, Massachusetts during the winter. The sentences are long and leisurely which emphasizes the length of the New England winters. Due to the setting being in Massachusetts, Ethan Frome’s personality is reserved and reticent and he does not feel the need to have constant conversations with the narrator as he escorts him to his destinations. There is also a distinct dialect; for example, Harmon Gow, the “village orator,” pronounces “first” as “fust” and “worth” as “wust.”
The reader first sees this when Ethan agrees to go back home to care for both his mother and his father, "put[ting] a premature end to [his] studies", and deserting his only chance at a job outside of his family farm (Wharton 26). Ethan, rather than make a better life for himself and his future family, decides to put his troubles aside, and give up his life for the intentions of others. At many parts of the novella, such as when Ethan tells a friend that he "'used to'" be interested in science, the reader understands that Ethan cannot help but regret his previous decisions (Wharton 16). Continuing, another example of Ethan's blind resolutions is when he marries Zeena, despite knowing it is not what he wants; it seems that he marries her as a favor, for she helped his mother when his mother needed it most. Ethan once again acknowledges that he made this decision "before he knew what he was doing", ultimately proving to the reader that he gradually begins to understand his own flaw,
Sometimes one’s surrounding can display how their lives will be as they continue to grow. Author Edith Wharton uses “Ethan Frome” to make a point about the naturalism in literature, the specific point being one’s future has the potential to be shaped by the environment that they live in. In Ethan Frome, symbolism was utilized to show how the life of the character, Ethan, was indirectly determined by many aspects of his own surrounding. The cemetery in which Ethan’s ancestors are buried foreshadowed Ethan’s inability to leave Starkfield and gain a better and more promising life, unlike the one he was living.
In Edith Wharton's famous book Ethan Frome, main character, Ethan Frome’s story is a personal tragedy. His own decisions he makes are his own fault. But what is his tragedy? Well, to a certain understanding, his tragedy is that in the present day, he is always dreary and not as happy as he could have turned out; in other words, one could say that his tragedy is that he is unsuccessful in happiness. Although one may argue that the tragedy wasn’t all Ethans fault, and that the weather of new england caused it, that certainly isn’t true.
That looks on tempests and is never shaken” (Lines 1-7). In Edith Wharton’s classic, Ethan Frome, this theme is present for protagonist Ethan Frome, who falls in love with his maid, Mattie, and forsakes his wife, Zeena. Ethan and Mattie’s flirtation with infidelity sets a catastrophic series of events into play: Zeena is jilted by the lovers’ betrayal, Mattie asks for the irrational way out of her situation, and all three characters make destructive decisions. Ethan’s indifference toward his wife and lack of compassion for her illnesses clearly demonstrates Ethan and Zeena’s loveless relationship.
After the narrator appeared shocked at Harmon’s assertion that Ethan Frome could live to be a hundred years old due to his already aged appearance, Harmon suggested that this is so because “...he’s been in Starkfield too many winters” (Wharton on 5). There is a harsh, cold in the world outside for six months each year and Ethan had been subjected to its brutality for his entire life. But relief from the elements cannot be found in the Frome household for the cold within their home is just as brutal. Wharton makes it quite clear to her readers that Ethan does not love his wife, for he harbors a secret affection for Zeena’s cousin, Mattie.
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).
The cat… tried to effect an unnoticed retreat, and in doing so backed into the pickle-dish, which fell to the floor with a crash” (Wharton, chap 4). When Mattie moves in and her relationship with Ethan grows, she begins to break Zeena and Ethan’s marriage. Mattie moving in could be represented by the cat getting on the table. When the cat knocks over the dish, it breaks. This symbolizes that when Mattie got too close, Ethan’s marriage broke apart.
Ethan’s initial response is to attempt to simply piece back the pickle dish with glue. The use of glue or “the easy route” to fix the broken pickle dish so Zeena won’t discover the accident, symbolizes Ethan’s thought process to try repairing their loveless relationship. Furthermore, Ethan is afraid to even tell Zeena that the dish has broken which shows the lack of communication and understanding in their relationship. Zeena’s response is much more dramatic, by intensely accusing Mattie of not only breaking her most prized possession, but also threatening her husband and their marriage. Zeena’s anger and resentment over the broken pickle dish actually illustrates her sorrow over her broken and unfulfilling marriage.