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Symbolism In Wharton's Ethan Frome

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In the novel “Ethan Frome”, written by Edith Wharton, there are several symbols used to insinuate at a deeper meaning of things. Ethan and his wife regrettably aren’t happy together. Ethan feels as though he’s constrained to stay with Zeena for helping him through struggling times with his family. Zeena feels she needs him to help her with medical expanses. The pickle dish represented two symbols that Wharton used to illustrate the relationship of Ethan and his wife Zeena. The pickle dish symbolizes their tarnished marriage as well as Ethan’s unacceptable love affair with Mattie.

The pickle dish is significant for several reasons, the first is that it is a symbol of Ethan and Zeena’s tarnished marriage. The red fancy pickle dish was important to zeena. She cherished it because it was given to her as a wedding gift. The dish was only brought out on special occasions. It was kept tucked away up high in the china-closet for many years; just as Ethan and Zeena’s marriage had been. The love and passion for one another was stowed …show more content…
Although Zeena forbid Mattie from touching the ever so special pickle dish she did. It exhibited how Mattie was stepping in on Zeena’s role as Ethan’s wife by using the pickle dish and making him dinner. The dish ends up getting shattered on the floor due to the cat. The dish was whole and safe, until Mattie came in contact with it. The pickle dish was shattered, and so had Ethan and Zeena’s marriage.

To conclude in the novel “Ethan Frome”, written by Edith Wharton, the pickle dish represented two symbols that Wharton used to illustrate the relationship of Ethan and his wife Zeena. The pickle dish symbolizes their tarnished marriage. The pickle dish also ebodies Ethan’s unacceptable love affair with Mattie. Looking at the novel Ethan Frome, symbols had a great importance in helping the story create depth in helping understand the novel as a

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