Setting In Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome
The Importance of Setting in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome In her novel Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton uses a country setting to establish the values of morality and duty against the lonely and isolated backdrop of the “mute melancholy landscape” of 1881 Starkfield, Massachusetts (Wharton 13). In a snow-covered New England village, protagonist Ethan Frome, with his wife Zenobia and his love Mattie Silver, searches for a life of fulfillment. The reader senses Ethan’s struggles by observing the harsh winters in Starkfield, the bleak state of Ethan’s farm, and the poor conditions of his home. The harsh winters in Starkfield elucidate the “sluggish pulse” of its citizens (8). During the winters in Starkfield the people are so depreciated by the awful …show more content…
“Even for that part of the country the kitchen was a poor-looking place”(151). The kitchens in the New England part of the country where not extravagant or beautiful in any way so saying that the Fromes kitchen was even worse is saying a lot about their lives and the way they live. “The furniture was of the roughest kind”(151), the furniture was plain, old, and unappealing representing the carelessness of the way that the Fromes kitchen appeared and the ruin of the home, farm and mill making them not be able to afford lavish things. “Three coarse china plates and a broken-nosed milk-jug had been set on a greasy table scored with knife-cuts, and a couple of straw-bottomed chairs and a kitchen dresser of unpainted pine stood meagrely against the plaster walls” (151). The description of the materials in the Fromes home are rough and broken. The brokenness of the kitchen supplies provides evidence for how the people living in the Fromes house are broken, their love lives are broken, and their everyday lives are broken. They do not even bother to try to fix the utensils, they do not care for how their kitchen is presented exemplifying the lack of motivation and drive for a good happy life. The conditions of a person's home says a lot about them and the conditions of the Fromes home says that they have a dejected and miserable
The Importance Of Emotions In Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome
81 Words | 1 PagesAn emotion is a distinctive feeling deriving from a relationship with other individuals. Emotions can be very powerful and can either hinder or strengthen an individual. In the novel Ethan Frome written by Edith Wharton, the hamarita that Ethan possesses is the abundance of concern he has for others. This means that his emotions for others hinder his life. This leads to his demise which is when Ethan and Mattie crash the elm tree and they are sent to the hospital.
How Does Susan Glaspell Use Investigative Skills In A Jury Of Her Peers
262 Words | 2 PagesThe mess in the kitchen symbolizes the the improper marriage the two possessed and
Imagery And Symbolism In Ethan Frome By Edith Wharton
802 Words | 4 PagesA few things that stand out the most throughout the novel are winter, the missing ‘L’, and the elm tree, and these are the three symbols used by Edith Wharton in her novel Ethan Frome to describe Ethan’s characteristics. First and foremost, winter in Starkfield, Massachusetts, is a symbol for Ethan’s loneliness and confinement. In the eyes of the narrator, Starkfield winters were bad enough to make life miserable. In Ethan’s case, his unhappiness
Ethan Frome Character Analysis Essay
552 Words | 3 PagesEdith Wharton's book Ethan Frome is the tale of a man, his wife and the woman he falls in love with. Ethan marries Zeena but falls in love with Mattie who is the opposite of his wife in every way. Where Zeena is sedentary and a sickly woman, Mattie is exciting and lively. In an ironic turn of events the woman he falls in love with transforms into a mirror image of his wife. Ethan married Zeena, out of fear of being alone for the rest of his life and suffers an unhappy and loveless marriage because of it.
Ethan Frome Character Analysis
719 Words | 3 PagesMany see their hometown as wonderful and enjoyable, but in the novel, Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, the small town of Starkfield, Massachusetts has a sort of weather that makes people who live there, such as Ethan Frome, miserable. In the novel the severe weather in Starkfield serves as the prime purpose for Ethan, Zeena, and Mattie’s horrible demise. He did what he could to find pleasure in his marriage with Zeena, yet he had trouble rediscovering the initial reason for marrying her. Once Mattie came along, her and Ethan started to fall for each other and he became unfaithful in his marriage and eventually it resulted in him sharing his unhappiness with both Mattie and Zeena. Ethan Frome lived in Starkfield his entire life.
Jacob Lawrence's This Is A Family Living In Harlem
506 Words | 3 PagesThe family shows signs of being part of either a low or poor class based off the conditions of the household they are living in and the bareness of their apartment. For instance, the dining room is extremely small and the kitchen seems old and worn out. Correspondingly, the family members seem to lack personality due to to the simple clothing they are wearing. However, the bright colors found interior of the home create a contrast between the dreary environment of the household. This helps convey the message that although the family may not be as economically stable and live a dull life, they still happily interact among one another and come together every evening to have a meal together.
Isolation In Macbeth And The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald
1533 Words | 7 PagesIn conclusion, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Shakespeare create the setting of isolation to affect the majority of the characters within the written pieces. The two authors incorporate the setting to enhance the effectiveness of the works. F. Scott Fitzgerald creates the setting which develops Daisy Buchanan, the residents of East Egg, and Tom Buchanan. Shakespeare also constructs the setting to evolve characters, such as, Lady Macbeth, the upper class, and Macbeth. The two authors incorporate the setting of isolation in a variety of scenarios, both similar and
Lee Smith's Recipe Box
981 Words | 4 PagesNew recipes for hibachi, fondue, quiche, crepes and the most recent addition salsas, were added to her mother’s recipe box. These foods indicate how far she has come from the traditions of her southern hometown. Additionally, she describes how cooking isn’t solely controlled by women but to men as well in the 21st century. The chapter provides a stark between the conventional housewife and the new aged husband who shares the responsibility of cooking. The starts the comparison by describing the image of her mother waiting for her father to come home from work every day.
Rhetorical Analysis Of Lost In The Kitchen By Dave Barry
1029 Words | 5 PagesIn the conclusion paragraph, Barry talks about the point of view of his wife, that before womens liberation, men took care of cars and the women took care of the kitchen. Women had a more womanly jobs, while the men had the more manly jobs. The stereotypes of women having a job of working in the kitchen and doing all the chores in the house, make men believe nowadays that it’s okay for women to do all the work and that men don’t need to do as much as they have to in the kitchen. In conclusion “Lost in the Kitchen” portrays a story that focuses on the food of Thanksgiving, football, and the inability for men to multi task.
Symbolism In Susan Gaspell's Trifles '
349 Words | 2 PagesSusan Gaspell’s “Trifles” exposes a lot of symbolism through the play. In the beginning of play, the kitchen is “left without having been put in order . . .” (1038). The messy kitchen symbolizes Mrs. Wrights incomplete, empty life. When most kitchen are the place you come home to and feel warmed.
Ethan Frome Literary Analysis
738 Words | 3 PagesThe tragic novella of Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton focuses on adultery in rural New England. Stressing the importance of relationships, the narrator tells the story of Ethan Frome, a man searching for love. Despite being married to his cousin Zeena, he only views this civil union as a moral obligation. Then, he ventures into an adulterous relationship with Mattie Silver, and begins to understand what love is really about. The author often focuses on a red pickle dish, a treasured wedding gift, which unexpectedly shatters.
The Importance Of Setting In Wharton's Ethan Frome
753 Words | 4 PagesThe novel takes place in the fictional town of Starkfield, Massachusetts, in the winter and most likely during the early 1900s, a time better known as the Progressive Era. The Progressive Era ushered in massive change and innovation in areas like education and transportation. However, this change seems to pass Starkfield by, a town of fairly modest means and nothing too exuberant. Due to poor transportation, the residents of Starkfield could become “stuck” and “trapped” during the harsh winter, as well as the rest of the year in this isolated town. The limited opportunities and lack of choice in Starkfield also hold the characters back, particularly Ethan Frome.
Ethan Frome: A Personal Tragedy
550 Words | 3 PagesIn the story, the setting is in Starkfield, Massachusetts in the winter. Yes, the winter is usually metaphorically thought as depressing, sad and lonely, but Ethan has been around the winter of New England for a while, so he should be able to look past the stereotypical ideas, he could look at the better parts of winter as in the beautiful surroundings, and spending holidays with family. Unfortunately, Ethan cannot. He sees everything as dull and gloomy.
Morality In Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome
642 Words | 3 PagesIn Edith Wharton’s most remarkable novel, Ethan Frome, the main character, Ethan Frome, is in love with a prohibited woman… his wife's cousin. His wife, Zeena, is a sick woman who has a villainous essence to her and an irrevocable hold on Ethan. Mattie Silver is Zeena’s cousin and the woman Ethan is infatuated with. Through Ethan’s eyes, Mattie is described as youthful, attractive, and graceful basically everything Zeena isn’t.
Popular Mechanics By Raymond Carver Essay
675 Words | 3 PagesWhen the argument shifts its setting by moving from the bedroom to the kitchen, Carver’s use of symbolism adds intensity to the story. Too busy with their selfishness, “In the scuffle they knocked down a flowerpot that hung behind the stove” (329). Neither parent stopped to see the broken pot, nor did any of them break focus on their fight with the child. The kitchen is usually a place where a family comes together, but here they were breaking apart at the seams.
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