Imagery_and_Symbolism

In the novel Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton’s characters are incapable of effectively expressing their feelings and ideas. Wharton is presented with the difficulty of showing the character’s problems to her readers. She is able to correct this problem by the use of various types of imagery and symbolism throughout the novel. A few examples are the compatibility of setting and character, different uses of light and dark and sexual symbolism. The frustrating main character Ethan, along with Mattie (at the end of the novel), suffer from sickness or disability. Ethan’s life is defined by caring for the sick. In the years before the novel begins, Ethan tends to his ailing mother, and then is required to care for his wife Zeena, who is living with abnormalities. After Ethan and Mattie’s attempted suicides, Ethan has to spend the rest of his life disabled and living with a sick wife and the handicapped Mattie. The signs of illness in the characters give indication that the characters are ultimately in states of deprivation and decline. The imagery in the novel is centered on cold, ice and snow, and hues of white. The characters are always complaining about the cold, and the scene at the end of the novel uses the winter sport sledding as a means of suicide. The symbolization of winter is used as a powerful, psychological force in the novel. There is beauty initially in the snowflakes and icicles, but eventually the imagery becomes overwhelming as the tone of the novel becomes increasingly cold and grim. In contrast to the dull gray and white colors of winter, there are a couple instances where Wharton emphasizes Mattie wearing the color red. Mattie wears a red scarf outside the church after the dance, and she wears a red ribbon in her hair in the Frome house on the evening of Zeena’s absence. Red is seen as the color of blood, good health and vitality, all of which Mattie possesses, and all of which Zeena lacks. Red stands out in the landscape of Starkfield, just as Mattie stands out in the landscape of Ethan’s life. Red is also seen as the color of crime and sin, and known as the color of the devil. Mattie’s scarlet accessories symbolize her role as Ethan’s allure toward moral transgression. During an evening meal shared by Ethan and Mattie, the cat breaks Zeena’s pickle dish and seats itself in Zeena’s rocking chair. The cat is a symbol of Zeena’s unseen presence in the house that reminds Mattie and Ethan of the Zeena’s existence. The broken pickle dish (Zeena’s favorite wedding present) represents the collapse of the Frome marriage. The fact that the dish is red, and that Zeena insists it remains unused, is symbolic of sexual and emotional deadness of their marriage. The landscape and setting of the novel is also symbolic. Ethan’s home, a lonely New England farmhouse, indicates that the isolation of his home reflects his isolation. The house’s dilapidated condition reflects his fortunes. The “L” part of the house, or the main center of the farm, has been demolished. The narrator depicts the loss of this building as a symbol of the dwindling of Ethan himself. Another act of symbolism is found in the sled run at the end of the novel. A sled rider will normally give up control and submit to the natural forces of gravity and friction while maintaining a slight ability to steer the sled. Ethan, however, forfeits this ability as well on the sled run. His coasting down the hill symbolizes his inability to escape his predicament through any actions. He is unable to face the consequences of any decision and lets other individuals, financial constraints, and society make his decisions for him. Ethan wants to satisfy Mattie’s death wish because it will completely eliminate any type of consequences for both of them. As a sled rider gives up control, Ethan gives up his destiny to Mattie and fate.