The Frome’s graveyard represents death, but also Ethan’ s inability to escape Starkfield. As Ethan passes the graveyard, he thinks about the generations of his family who lived an died on the farm, “We never got away- how should you?” (pg.
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What symbols are used in Ethan Frome?
Ethan Frome Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
- Dead Cucumber Vines, Crepe Streamers, and Other Symbols of Death. Ethan Frome is loaded with symbols of death.
- The Color Red. The red pickle dish isn’t only a symbol of shattering and death.
- The Church Basement and the Frome Home.
- The Farm, The Sawmill, and the Railroad.
What does Mattie’s fabric symbolize in Ethan Frome?
Thus, Mattie’s scarlet adornments also symbolize her role as Ethan’s temptress toward moral transgression.
What does the color white symbolize in Ethan Frome?
According to the Dictionary of Literary Symbols white can symbolize “sincerity” “candor” or “faithfulness”.
What does the elm tree symbolize in Ethan Frome?
Analysis. The Elm tree symbolizes Ethan’s only way out with Mattie. There’s no solution that would allow him to leave Starkfield and Zeena to run away with Mattie. The only way that he would be able to control his fate would be to crash both Mattie and himself into the tree in hopes of no survival.
What is the irony in Ethan Frome?
One of the ironies was when Ethan repeatedly saw Zeena’s face in the rocking chair while coasting; this instance is ironic because of how Ethan is deliberately coasting with Mattie to avoid Zeena, yet her face appears in front of him, demonstrating how he could never leave his stark reality in Starkfield.
What does the pickle dish symbolize in Ethan Frome?
The broken pickle dish that Zeena discovers at the top of the china closet symbolizes the shattered Frome marriage. Mattie is partially responsible for the breaking of both the pickle dish and the marriage, having handled them carelessly, and Ethan cowardly hides the broken state of each.
What is the main theme of Ethan Frome?
Society and Morality as Obstacles to the Fulfillment of Desire. The constraint social and moral concerns place on individual desire is perhaps the novel’s most prominent theme, since Ethan Frome’s plot is concerned with Ethan’s desire for a woman who is not his wife.
What does Zeena’s new doctor tell her she must do to help with her illness?
Zeena says the doctor told her she needs a hired maid to work in the house as she is incapable of handling housework due to her illness. Ethan reacts with confusion since Mattie is already helping out. You just studied 13 terms!
Did Ethan kiss Mattie?
Ethan leaves the bedroom and finds Mattie downstairs in the kitchen. Without explaining why, Ethan embraces and kisses Mattie, caught up in love for her and hate for Zeena. Ethan breaks the news to Mattie.
What is the significance of winter in Ethan Frome?
Winter is also symbolic of the isolation, loneliness, and immobility that Ethan experiences. The name of the town, Starkfield, symbolizes the devastating and isolating effects of the harsh winters on the land and the men who work the land.
What happens at the end of Ethan Frome?
Instead of finding escape in suicide, he and Mattie have ended up in a state of living death, in which all Mattie’s vitality has been leeched away, and she has transformed into a carbon copy of her former opposite, Zeena.
Whose idea is it for Ethan to pick Mattie up after the dance?
Instead of going into the church, Ethan hides in the shadows near a window and watches Mattie dance with Denis Eady. His jealousy prompts Ethan to recall some of the qualities that make Mattie precious to him.
What is the significance of Shadow Pond?
As Mattie and Ethan begin their ride, Ethan feels almost happy. He takes a route that leads them to Shadow Pond. The name “Shadow” is suggestive of the memories that Ethan and Mattie have of the spot; as well, it connotes the inability that Mattie and Ethan have of really communicating their feelings to each other.
Why does Ethan stay with Zeena?
When Zenobia Pierce, his cousin, came to help nurse his mother, Ethan was grateful for the company and conversation, and when his mother died, rather than being alone again he asked Zeena to marry him. Ethan married Zeena because he was afraid of silence, just as his mother was.
Does Ethan run away with Mattie?
With the money, Ethan decides, he will be able to run away with Mattie and start a new life elsewhere.
Is Ethan Frome a tragic hero?
Ethan is our tragic hero, a man of many faces. He lives with two women, his wife and his wife’s cousin, with whom he was (and maybe still is) in love.
What is the plot of Ethan Frome?
Ethan Frome is an isolated farmer trying to scrape out a meager living while also tending to his frigid, demanding and ungrateful wife, Zeena. A ray of hope enters Ethan’s life of despair when his wife’s cousin Mattie arrives to help.
Is Ethan Frome a good book?
In one of American fiction’s finest and most intense narratives, Edith Wharton moves this ill-starred trio toward their tragic destinies. Different in both tone and theme from Wharton’s other works, Ethan Frome has become perhaps her most enduring and most widely read novel.
What illness does Zeena have?
hypochondria
Her hypochondria and her few legitimate illnesses serve as excuses for her to indulge in patent remedies and expensive visits to doctors at a time when Ethan is struggling to pay off the heavy mortgage on the farm and still maintain financial solvency.
What does red pickle mean?
Theme Wheel. The pickle-dish, Zeena’s favorite wedding present, is a symbol of Ethan and Zeena’s marriage. For this reason, its destruction is particularly devastating to Zeena. The red color of the dish can be interpreted as symbolizing the passion that the couple no longer share.