This tragic book tells a story of yet another forbidden pair of lovers, but separates itself from other stories such as these with .

             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 another in order .

             to dispel their own loneliness. In the case of Ethan Frome, to .

             combat the silence, isolation, and loneliness in his life, .

             he marries Zenobia Pierce after his mother"s death; nevertheless, she .

             will never leave Starkfield and develops into an oppressively silent .

             hypochondriac. Ethan is unable to break away from the laborious .

             captivity of his farm. There seems to be no hope for Ethan, the .

             moral landscape of Starkfield offers no redemption and no new life. .

             Ethan must live out his days surrounded by the elements of a harsh .

             and indifferent nature. For Ethan, the escape he sees from the cold, .

             the silence, the isolation, and the loneliness of his life, is his name on a headstone in the Frome"s graveyard. .

             The motif of silence is complementary to the motif of isolation of man from his fellow men.