How can one possibly think the name Starkfield in the novel Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton is a coincidence? The isolation of the town as well as the cold severity of the constant bleak winter explicitly illustrates the literal meaning in the name Starkfield. Nothing an author presents is ever fortuity in well written literature, in particular in the novel Ethan Frome, written by Edith Wharton. The novel Ethan Frome is written in a manner utilizing flashbacks, a switch in point of views, a framed story structure, and imagery; the structure builds up suspense, generates a sense of roundness, engages the reader and compares characters. Primarily, an attribute heavily critiqued by other authors
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The imagery associated with Zeena is lifeless and icy. When Ethan sees her before her trip to Bettsbridge, she sits in "the pale light reflected from the banks of snow," which makes "her face look more than usually drawn and bloodless."(Wharton 34). In contrast, the imagery that depicts with Mattie is associated with warmth and natural life. Ethan, contrasting from the “icy darkness” he feels around Zeena, see’s Mattie as “a wheat-field under a summer breeze.” (Wharton 79). With the two women compared parallel to one another, the divergence between the two is heightened. Conceivably the biggest difference between the two is Mattie’s adventurous spirit compared to Zeena’s dull, monotonous lifestyle. Mattie enjoys activities such as going sledding down dangerous hills, dancing, and socializing with many of the people of Starkfield. Zeena stays at home all day unless she has one of her frequent illnesses, in which case she might make a visit to the doctor. Wharton purposefully makes the two characters paradoxes to extentuate how Ethan wishes to live, collated to how he does married to …show more content…
The two novels are composed of a frame of a narrative leading to a firsthand account of the contents of the tale. The constitution of both literary masterpieces are designed to affect the setting, mood, and tone; thereby also influencing the reader’s outlook. As one can see, the anomalous outline of Ethan Frome very much institutes readers to catch a different perspective of a ruined man; one that a normal structure would not have. The skeleton of the novel leaves the audience anxious to read further, a feat the simple tale of Ethan Frome could not have accomplished without it’s
The imagery associated with Zeena is lifeless and icy. When Ethan sees her before her trip to Bettsbridge, she sits in "the pale light reflected from the banks of snow," which makes "her face look more than usually drawn and bloodless."(Wharton 34). In contrast, the imagery that depicts with Mattie is associated with warmth and natural life. Ethan, contrasting from the “icy darkness” he feels around Zeena, see’s Mattie as “a wheat-field under a summer breeze.” (Wharton 79). With the two women compared parallel to one another, the divergence between the two is heightened. Conceivably the biggest difference between the two is Mattie’s adventurous spirit compared to Zeena’s dull, monotonous lifestyle. Mattie enjoys activities such as going sledding down dangerous hills, dancing, and socializing with many of the people of Starkfield. Zeena stays at home all day unless she has one of her frequent illnesses, in which case she might make a visit to the doctor. Wharton purposefully makes the two characters paradoxes to extentuate how Ethan wishes to live, collated to how he does married to …show more content…
The two novels are composed of a frame of a narrative leading to a firsthand account of the contents of the tale. The constitution of both literary masterpieces are designed to affect the setting, mood, and tone; thereby also influencing the reader’s outlook. As one can see, the anomalous outline of Ethan Frome very much institutes readers to catch a different perspective of a ruined man; one that a normal structure would not have. The skeleton of the novel leaves the audience anxious to read further, a feat the simple tale of Ethan Frome could not have accomplished without it’s