Imagery In Wharton's Ethan Frome

In the romantic tragedy of Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton uses Mattie Silver as a literary foil to her older cousin, Zeena Frome. Often, Wharton uses descriptive imagery, contrasting brightness and warmth, to darkness and cold, to highlight the differences between the two women. Mattie is typically shown in the light, reflecting or creating a source of heat. Ethan senses the change that came with Mattie’s arrival in his home. “...The coming to his house...was like the lighting of a fire on a cold hearth” (32). Feeling entombed in his bedroom with Zeena, Ethan looks at his door and thinks about Mattie. “...he had seen her lips in the lamplight he felt that they were his” (50). Lastly, after Zeena leaves for for a doctor’s appointment, Ethan recognizes