Ethan From: Fantasy is an Escape From Winter
Ethan From, the title character of Edith Wharton's tragic novel, lives
in his own world of silence, where he replaces his scarcity of words with
images and fantasies. There is striking symbolism in the imagery,
predominantly that of winter which connotes frigidity, detachment, bleakness
and seclusion.
Twenty-eight year old Ethan feels trapped in his hometown of Starkfield,
Massachusetts. He marries thirty-four year old Zeena after the death of his
mother, "in an unsuccessful attempt to escape the silence, isolation, and
loneliness of life" (Lawson 71).
Several years after their marriage, cousin Mattie Silver is asked to relieve
Zeena, a gaunt and sallow hypochondriac, of her household duties. Ethan finds
himself falling in love with Mattie, drawn to her youthful energy, as, "The
pure air, and the long summer hours in the open, gave life and elasticity to
Mattie" (Wharton 60).
Ethan is attracted to Mattie because she is the......
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Approximate Word Count: 1416
Approximate Pages: 6 (260 words per double-spaced page) |