its vivid imagery. The setting of the book and the characters

themselves share the same traits - sullen, silent, somewhat cold and unfriendly. Edith Wharton uses these images to portray each

character, each setting, and each situation with an air of the

tragedy that will soon strike them. The characters and the settings

in Ethan Frome share many of the same characteristics and are

therefore symbolic of one another. Even the name of the village in

the story takes place in is symbolic - Starfield. Every feature of

the landscape seems to relate directly back to the people of the

town, whether it is the town as a whole or a specific place. As

you will see throughout, Edith Wharton uses imagery and symbolism in

describing the plot, theme and settings.

Edith Wharton draws many parallels between the plot of the novel and it's setting. As you read this story, it has consistently

stated throughout the novel that the silence of each character is

symbolic of their inability to communicate with one an

from Mr. Hale as an excuse not to give her a ride to the flats when she has to

(Trilling, 102). Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton is a great example of this. One

Indeed, the character Ethan sees no hope and no future just his name on the

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3290
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)