Essay On The Color Red In Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome

In Edith Wharton’s novel Ethan Frome, setting is an important element. The setting greatly influences the characters, transportation, and activities.

Although the two have a rare and precious day together without Zeena nothing happens because of Ethan’s moral values. His moral values is what keeps him isolated from Mattie and the happiness their relationship could provide “The cat who had been a puzzled observer of these unusual movements, jumped up into Zeena’s chair, rolled itself into a ball, and lay watching them with narrowed

In the book Ethan Frome, the characters are caught between what is right and wrong. Mattie has a torn desire to be with her sister’s husband and Ethan does not stop her because he feels the same way. The theme for the book is duty and desire. Ethan has a desire towards Mattie because she does not complain and is thought of as

By taking the reader through Ethan Frome’s winding emotional journey, Edith Wharton in Ethan Frome, examines the effects of both physical, as well as emotional isolation on the human condition. The novel is set in the frigid winter, likely in the late 1800’s, in the rural, secluded, fictional town of Starkfield, Massachusetts. Ethan’s downtrodden farm is on the outskirts of this already remote, small community. Wharton strategically uses the isolated setting, Ethan’s unmitigated poverty and his loveless marriage, to cut her protagonist off from desperately needed meaningful connections. First, the failing health of his elderly parents forces Ethan to forego his dreams of a urban engineering career, to return to his isolated rural farm,

In //Ethan Frome// Edith Wharton illustrates how Ethan views Zeena versus Mattie through the parallel scenes of when Ethan is greeted by Zeena/Mattie at the door of his farmhouse first coming home from the dance and second coming home from. Although both scenes play out almost identically, Wharton uses the slight differences to emphasize how Ethan sees Mattie as beautiful, submissive, and attractive compared to Zeena who he only sees as an obstacle. As Ethan comes up to the door the first time when Zeena waits for him, he is so infatuated by Mattie that Zeena has become but a hurdle for him to overcome. He even dreams about if a dead vine dangling was a"crape streamer tied to the door for a

One item, actually the idea that the item represents, that symbolizes the theme of the novel Ethan Frome is the red pickle dish. That pickle dish symbolizes something different for each person connected to it. The primarily symbolism of the pickle dish is that of Ethan and Zeena’s marriage, it was a wedding present from her aunt (Wharton 35) and one of her most prized possessions. This highly symbolic pickle dish meant different things to the three people involved with it.

Isolation can be the determining factor in changing one’s mindset. In Ethan Frome, Ethan faces many disappointments throughout the novel. In the novel, Ethan is an orphan since both parents have passed. His wife Zeena who is also his cousin has become the dominant one in the relationship taking over full control. While living in Starkfield, Zeena has suddenly become “sick” and is forced to bring in her cousin Mattie for help around the house. Zeena is depicted as a bitter prematurely old woman who is always “sick” while Mattie is the picture of health as well as the sweetest woman alive. When Mattie comes into the picture, she becomes the speck of happiness in which Ethan longs for but Zeena keeps taking away. This brings up a theme of failure throughout the novel.

As previously stated imagery concerning Mattie is very warm and summer-like. Mattie's face seems to Ethan like "a window that has caught the sunset". Her effect on Ethan was likened to " spring rills in a thaw". Mattie's mood changes were, to Ethan "the flit of a bird in the branches.". When Ethan puts his arm around Mattie when they are walking home it seemed that they "were floating on a summer stream." When Mattie tells Ethan that she would never want to leave his house, "The iron heavens seemed to melt and rain down sweetness."

Gold, the literary norm for describing the sun, reflects happiness and wealth instead Wharton uses the color red—“sunrise burned red in the pure sky” (Wharton 30), “reddening in the afternoon sun” (Wharton 38), “red sun” (Wharton 74), and the “sun’s red and of the glitter on the snow” (Wharton 31). What does this mean? What is Wharton trying to convey? She uses the color to portray the sun at all times of the day, sunrise and sunset. When Ethan goes through life, he notices things as they pertain to him, thus, in this situation, representation of

Mattie and Ethan never follow their love due to Ethan's morals and the respect he has for his marriage to Zeena. He wants Zeena to be well and he takes care of her when she is ill. Frome’s feelings for Mattie never oscillate and he wants to be with this woman who is not his wife. Even though Ethan only had one night with Mattie alone, he cannot help but think of what he has done as he sits in the kitchen. Mattie presents minority, beauty, and good health- all of which Zeena does not possess. It seems he favors the more hip, young, and beautiful women than dull, boring, and unattractive women.

His struggles are exacerbated by his surroundings such as Zeena his wife, the bleak Starkfield landscape, and his home which often takes on an oppressive quality. Mattie was Zeenas cousin and Ethans lover. This novel shows how even though Ethan and Zeena are married; Ethan loves Mattie more than he could possibly love Zeena. "It's bad enough to see the two women sitting there - but his face, when he looks around that bare place, just kills me" (Chapter 10).

In Edith Wharton’s novel, Ethan Frome, one major critical theory revolves around the psychological criticism. The novel revolves around this critical theory because Wharton wanted the reader to observe how the setting becomes dependent on the emotional state of the character and vice versa. Throughout the novel, Wharton makes changes to the environment to represent Ethan’s fondness for certain characters. On the contrary, Wharton displays how the setting directly influences Ethan’s mental state. As the reader perceives this influence that each character has on Ethan Frome, they can develop an understanding of the relationships established in the novel. This critical theory will be expressed throughout the literary analysis paper, specifically in the Novel Summary section and Literary Criticism sections. The following text will analyze the drastic changes in the environment and compare it to Ethan’s mental state.

Edith Wharton's novel "Ethan Frome" depicts a love triangle that results in tragedy during the late 1890s or early 1900s. When Ethan Frome's mother was sick, his older cousin, Zenobia or Zeena, came to help, and he ended up marrying her after his mother's death. She had a cousin named Mattie Silver who comes to live with them, and Ethan soon becomes attracted to the young ebullient Mattie and her carefree spirit. Suffering is a common theme throughout the novel, as all three of the main characters are trapped in their own circumstances, and all endure suffering in their own way. The character Ethan is depicted as a helpless victim, however he is only so in the sense that he's emotionally weak and too caught up in his own self-pity to actually

In this book, Ethane Frome is married to Zeena Frome, but he is secretly in love with his wife’s cousin. Throughout this book, it shows the gradual growth of their love. It shows in the book that Ethan Frome has always had feelings for her and he protects her from Zeena. Zeena realizes their love and that’s when she makes Mattie leave the house. Ethan Frome then takes her to the train station and tells her how much he loves her. “’Oh, what good’ll writing do? I want

Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome Edith Wharton has succeeded in creating a place, which by its very name, is isolated and desolate - a "mute melancholy landscape", which unrelentingly consumes those within, preventing them from ever escaping its grasp. Furthermore, Wharton's novel delves into the human psyche, to give a glimpse of manipulation and entrapment. The prevailing mood is continually bleak and tragic, with only brief interludes of hope and romance, which are quickly ruined. Indeed, the main characters are often portrayed as victims; of their life, destiny and of their harsh surroundings.