Ethan Frome Key Passage Analysis Essay Example for Free

Ethan Frome Key Passage Analysis EssayEdith Wharton quite deliberately brings in concert human emotion and the environment in her novella Ethan Frome. The characters are circumscribed by the environment in which they exist and the im orifice of escape from the environmental forces of nature, heredity and place shape the characters of the text. A moment of accept arises as Mattie and Ethan walk home together from the dance and a more romantic champion of possibility emerges.The reader is drawn to the love of Ethan and Mattie quite subtly it grows almost organically from innocent moments shared and this is perhaps why the reader does not see their affair as adulterous. We share the hope that glimmers in the dense cold that is Starkfield and its characters. Ethans sensitivity reflects an important aspect of his character that is shown to us in this section. His intelligence and the reading in Worcester has exacerbated his isolation within the Starkfield community.Harmon Gows ironic observation that most of the smart ones got a commission heightens the readers perception that Ethan is trapped. The appeal of natural beauty suggests a connection with the decorate that is romantic in its conception. Ethan communes with the environment and is able to see beyond the harshness in a way that the frame narrator cannot. The fact that he feels this appreciation of beauty as a silent and recluse emotion typifies the lack of communication within his land. Similarly, the night walks of Mattie and Ethan become moments of communion.Whartons choice of verbiage suggests that their relationship is more than a response to the physical harshness of the environment or repressed emotions the sweetness of this communion implies a genuine meeting of souls and minds that transcends the physical. The fact that Matties spirit trembled with the same touch of extol is inspiring for Ethan and the reader is encouraged to view the relationship as one of purity and innocence kin da than adulterous. Wharton uses the environment as the meeting point for the lovers wonder looking up to the stars (an image often equivalent with dreams and hope) or across the fields.It is interesting to note the descriptive language Wharton uses to describe Ethans vision when he is with Mattie. The sunset is red with cloud flocks over slopes of golden stubble with strong blue hemlocks the passion of the colors reflect the intensity of his emotions and contrast with the blank, barren whiteness that has characterised descriptions of Starkfield up to this point. It is as if Mattie, whose surname sparkles with colour, transforms the landscape and Ethan sees the world anew when he is with her.His masculine ego is hinted at by Wharton in the admiration Mattie displays for his knowledge of the environment. We tolerate been encouraged to view him as the powerless and emasculated husband, browbeaten by a shrewish wife. Mattie inspires a sense of manhood within him. This is interesti ngly displayed at the moment of crisis when the pickle dish is bust as Ethan takes pick up and feels the thrilling sense of mastery as he reassembles the dish. The symbolic nature of the dish representing the marriage of Ethan to Zeena is shattered and Ethan is liberated by the moment however fleetingly.Wharton suggests that Mattie and Ethan are closely (and perhaps idealistically) suited to each different she describes their walks as a communion. Matties description of the landscape looking as it had been painted strikes a deep chord within Ethan and he feels that Mattie is able to articulate his secret soul. The closeness and intensity of their relationship is perhaps understated depicted in the language of the environment rather than through fluent dialogue. Wharton often plays upon Ethans lack of eloquence to show the difficulty he has in expressing his emotions.