The Pickle Dish Symbolism In Ethan Frome By Edith Wharton

Society does not accept Frome’s passion for Mattie, causing the cat to break the dish to disturb their temptation. Both Zeena and the cat are silent observers,while the cat sits in Zeena's chair, and breaks the dish right before an intimate moment between Ethan and Mattie, Zeena knows of their feelings and tries to separate them from afar. In this qoute Zeena is present at the moment, the narrator say,” the cat who had been a puzzled observer of these unusual movements jumped into Zeena’s chair,rolled itself into ball, and lay watching them with narrowed eyes”(Wharton, pg 56 ). The cat symbolize society rejecting their passion for each other. The cat would represent Zeena regular tactics, as if she was presence, while they were together tempting an adulterous affair with each

Also, Zeena’s authority over Ethan is personified by the cat’s destructive presence during Ethan and Mattie’s secret dinner. There are many parallels between the cat and Zeena, which is demonstrated by the cat’s spy like, distrusting behavior. We see the the cat is Zeena’s solider, when the cat “backs into the pickle dish, and it falls to the floor with a crash” (Wharton 32). Zeena was the one to ruin the marriage, but she still wants to keep Ethan . The cat then “jumped into Zeena’s chair, rolled itself into a ball, and lay watching them [Ethan and Mattie] with narrowed eyes” (Wharton 34).

Edith Wharton uses symbolism to add to the story. The cat symbolizes Zeena when she is not there. Edith Wharton used the Fromes’s cat to embody Zeena’s presence. The cat is usually there to come between Ethan and Mattie just like Zeena does. One day when Ethan and Mattie were eating together the cat had “jumped between them into Zeena’s empty chair” (73) to separate the two.

After enduring what seemed like an unsuccessful attempt in rescuing the cat, the American wife is in low spirits as she returns to her room. Looking in the mirror, she begins criticizing her appearance and voicing how she wants “to have a kitty to sit on [her] lap, [...] eat at a table with [her] own

The color of the dish is a representation of Mattie and meaning of red in the story. Her red scarf, lips, and ribbon all connected her to the symbolic object, the pickle dish. The pickle dish is first showed as Zeena's and Ethan's physical meaning of their marriage. Once Mattie comes into Ethan's sight of love, her presence destroys it. The way it happens in the story is that as Ethan and Mattie prepare for dinner the cat jumps onto the table and breaks the red pickle

At that moment, she started as a woman of faith then it later spunned into a confused soul questioning her faith. Moreover, I noticed the cat being a talked about character in the story. The cat is a symbol of the grandmother herself. All the characteristics the old woman portrayed, the cat has it as well. For the reason that, in the story after the car accident the cat clung to Bailey’s neck and he became violent and flung the cat to the tree.

She feels intimidated and considers her situation, “Uh oh, I better leave him alone. He’s very big, and I’m so small.” Next to him is an older back and white female who looks bored, but accessible. “Hello” enquires Suzy timidly, “Can you tell me why all of us are here?” The docile cat licks her left paw and meows curtly, “Get used to it.” She glances at the big black cat, “We’ve been here a long time.” Suzy Q decides to keep to herself for now and, instead, starts to preen and bathe herself. Later, maybe she will try to talk to the black and white female

One night a new cat comes along and the previous incident reoccurs, despite the man not wanting it to happen. The man ends up killing his wife instead of the cat and promptly buries her in the basement wall. The cat, who jumped into the wall, starts to howl when the police arrive and gives the man away. The theme in both stories is that of good versus evil. Evil lurks in the hearts of all, and sometimes people act upon it.

In the story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’connor, symbolism is found in the grandmother's hat. For the grandmother, the most important thing is that she is considered a lady. The grandmother is a finely dressed woman who is more worried about herself than her family by stating, “In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady.” (368) The hat, which represents her moral code, is damaged and falls apart during the car accident. The accident is caused by the family cat that was “smuggled” on board the trip by the grandmother when she was forbidden to do so. The irony in her hat being destroyed shows that she is no longer considered to be a “lady.” Also, the imagery in the story is very easy to see and hear.

( talking with his mouth full ) Grettel: I have a bad feeling of this house. ( Questioned) Hansel: Well, all I 'm interested in the food. ( Taking mouthfuls of candy) Narrator: ( The witch look at her window and sees what is happening. She goes down stairs and opens the door. ) Witch: What are you doing to my poor house boy.