Imagery in Ethan Frome Essay

Edith Wharton establishes patterns of imagery in her book, Ethan Frome. She associates the imagery and setting with three main ideas; winter, death, and light. When we think of winter, we think of Zeena and more importantly, Ethan. When we think of light, we always think of Mattie. When we think of death, we think of different scenes in the book. To help support the three main ideas, Wharton uses metaphors, similes, and other uses of figurative language.

Winter, as the setting, sets the tone of the story throughout the entire book. In the prologue, it describes that Ethan has endured too many Starkfield winters. Wharton gives the feeling of bitterness and depression by using winter as the setting. One way she gave this feeling is when she referred to the sky as a sky of iron. Winter also symbolizes the cold, snow, darkness, isolation and loneliness. We learned early in the book that Ethan wanted to leave and go to a larger town, but that dream of his was never fulfilled. Because of this unfulfilled dream, Ethan gives of a depressed feeling up until he meets Mattie anyways.

Death is everywhere in Starkfield. If I had to relate it to any of the characters, I would say Zeena, only because she is so sick throughout the book. Also, we know from the beginning of the book that some tragedy happens to the Frome family but we arent sure until the last few chapters of the book. So, the prologue sets a feeling of possible death for the whole book. Before the accident when Mattie and Ethan enter the house, Wharton describes the kitchen as the deadly chill of a vault after the dry cold of the night. I think this image is appropriate for the experiences of the years following Ethan and Matties accident. Another image I remember is when Wharton describes a vine at the farmhouse like the crape streamer tied to the door for a death. That reminds me of Ethan, because the vine is trapped and wants to get out, just as Ethan had wanted to do before Zeena became ill. Now, Ethan feels trapped in the town and in his relationship with Zeena. Another reference to death is that Ethan passes the gravestone with his ancestors name on it and his wives right next to it. Ethan wonders if that will be him and Zeena one day. I think he secretly wishes it will be him and Mattie next to one another.

Although death and winter overtake the story, there is a little gap of light in the book. That little amount of light comes from Mattie. Mattie is young, beautiful, and has a great personality. Ethan relates her to feelings of warmth in many different instances. For example, Matties mood reminds him of the flit of a bird in the branches. Ethan is swept by her beauty and perceives her face like a window that has caught the sunset and like a wheat field under a summer breeze.

In conclusion, The three main ideas that we relate the imagery to are winter, death, and light. we see that imagery is everywhere in the book. When we think of winter, we think of the setting and we think of Ethan and Zeena. When we think of death, we think of different images throughout the book and a possible foreshadowing of someones death or accident in the beginning of the book. Lastly, when we think of light, we think of Mattie and how Ethan perceives her. All of these references to the three main topics not only refer to images of the setting but images of the characters feelings.