Symbolism In Ethan Frome
Kaydance Heathcock Mrs. Agee 11.4 English 25 February 2023 Symbolizing Ethan Frome Throughout the years most literary works have contained symbolism. Symbolism represents the truth symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realism. One writer today, Wharton uses the smallest ideas to create a larger impact on an overall view of examples. In Edith Whartons’ Ethan Frome, the author uses symbolism of the red pickle dish, the cat, graveyard, and Starkfield to show the tragedy of Ethan’s life. The red pickle dish is a representation of the past and future relationship between Zeena and Ethan. The dish, one of Zeena’s favorite wedding gifts, shows the destruction of the shattered …show more content…
“Oh, Puss!” said Mattie, and they laughed again” (p. 39). On the night Zeena is in Bettsbridge, Ethan and Mattie are sitting and talking. They touch hands and the cat jumps into the chair and knocks over the pickle dish. The dish in which Mattie had secretly taken down to use on the occasion. “The name has benumbed him again, and once more he felt as Zeena was in the room between them” (p.39). The cat represents intelligent, graceful, and independent like Zeena; it serves as an implicit invisible presence in the house. It is a force that keeps coming in between Mattie and Ethan reminding them of his wife’s …show more content…
She portrays the feeling of fear Ethan has of being trapped in Starkfield. Not only does it represent Ethan’s fear, it also symbolizes darkness and death. “He passed by the graves on the knoll and turned his head to glance at one of the older headstones, which had interested him deeply as a boy because it bore his name. SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF ETHAN FROME AND ENDURANCE HIS WIFE, WHO DWELLED TOGETHER IN PEACE FOR FIFTY YEARS” (p.37). This made him feel as if he was going to be trapped in Starkfield forever with Zeena, whom he did not love or want to be with. Ethan found out his mother was going to die and instantly panicked. He saw Zeena was going to leave and with the fear of being alone in the harsh winter he asked her to
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618 Words | 3 PagesThis 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
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997 Words | 4 PagesAfter his parents died he was very depressed. he did not want to feel lonely so he married so he married Zeena. Ethan really did not want Mattie there at first.
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722 Words | 3 PagesAfter Zeena discovers what had happened, she gathered “up the bits of broken glass she went out of the room as if she carried a dead body”(Wharton 54). Zeena is starting to realize how their marriage is falling apart, and like the pickle dish, it is shattered and unlikely to be
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1006 Words | 5 PagesThe 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.
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738 Words | 3 PagesEthan’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.
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733 Words | 3 PagesMattie is panicked and worried when the pickle dish is knocked over and destroyed by the cat, and 3. Ethan is trying to figure a way out to repair or get a new pickle dish. Each of these represent different parts of Ethan and Zeena’s marriage and the relationship between the three characters. In Ethan Frome, the pickle dish is kept up high on the shelf so that nobody can get to it.
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550 Words | 3 PagesIn 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.
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