Mattie Silver by Ethan Frome - 764 Words

â€Å"Magic Mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?† the Evil Queen inquiries (1). In the novella Ethan Frome, Mattie Silver (Snow White) surpasses the beauty of every living organism in Starkfield. Zenobia Frome correlates herself with the Evil Queen. Furthermore, Zeena, a hypochondriac in the eyes of Ethan Frome, is used as a foil for Mattie Silver. In the dark and gloomy tale of Ethan Frome, the story emerges as an inverted fairytale. The â€Å"fairy maiden† anthropomorphizes into a greater evil than the Evil Queen, herself. Snow White was known for her pale skin, red lips, and her beautiful voice. Alike Snow White, Edith Wharton sedulously attaches red and light with Mattie Silver, symbolizing her with a red scarf. Ethan Frome and Zeena are associated with dark and grim colors blending in with their haggard surroundings. Ethan is in awe when he sees Mattie, his silver lining. Zeena envies Mattie indirectly in the story and goes out of her way to make he r seem like a horrendous person. Moreover, Zeena emerges as the powerful Evil Queen in Ethan Frome that successfully wins. Thus, in Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton taints the classic fairytale to become a disastrous tragedy of two lovers. Undoubtedly, Wharton exemplifies Zeena’s rigid and haggard physical appearance to portray the â€Å"Evil Queen† in Ethan Frome. Edith paints the picture of a â€Å"sallow-complexioned and old at thirty-five† Zeena Frome, accentuating her â€Å"high protruding cheekbones, lashless lids over piercingShow MoreRelatedIsolation Between Ethan Frome And Mattie Silver1502 Words   |  7 Pagesdeveloping relationships between the characters, whether friendly or hostile. An obvious relationship that is formed is the one between Ethan Frome and Mattie Silver. Mattie was brought in by Zenobia, or Zeena, Frome as an assistant around their house. Ethan, being isolated from most other people that would bring him happiness, quickly begins to fal l in love with Mattie. This is made clear early on, stating, The girl was more than the bright serviceable creature he had thought her. She had an eye toRead MoreThe Character Of Mattie Silver1743 Words   |  7 PagesThe Character of Mattie Silver Edith Wharton is very popular for giving much importance to woman characters in her novels. She started writing before the World War II and the status of women was not the same as it is today. Women were only supposed to cook, clean and do chores around the house. In Wharton’s novel Ethan Frome, the character of Mattie Silver is not portrayed as any other woman of that time. She was different. Born in 1862, Edith Wharton Newbold Jones was brought up within the gracefulRead Moreethan frome motif essay975 Words   |  4 Pages English 11 AT set 1 B/D Ethan Frome Essay Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome: Connections to Motifs Motifs are interesting literary devices, treasured by many authors, to make up or help support the plotline of each story written. In the novella Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, she uses the motif of parallelism of the setting of Starkfield, Massachusetts, and other characters such as Ethan Frome and Mattie Silver, to help describe the way that Starkfield and other factors entangle each characterRead More Essay on Whartons Ethan Frome: Ethan Frome as Fairy Tale750 Words   |  3 PagesEthan Frome as Fairy Tale    Edith Whartons Ethan Frome is vividly real to its readers, its issues continually relevant to society, but through its structure and moral lessons, it is intended to be read as a fairy tale. Elizabeth Ammons discusses this fairy tale in her article Ethan Frome as a Fairy Tale, explaining that the novel is a vision of the narrators. As evidenced by the introductory chapter, the narrator truly has few clues as to the real story of Ethan Frome, and theseRead MoreEdith Wharton Shows Love Can be Stupid in Ethan Frome Essay721 Words   |  3 Pageslove is the strongest force in the Universe, but by god, â€Å"Ethan Frome† by Edith Wharton shows it can also be the stupidest. â€Å"Ethan Frome† a Fictional Romantic (and somewhat ironic) novel follows a man named Ethan Frome in his cold, melancholic life in Starkfield, Massachussetts during the late 19th century. Frome is unhappy, married, and desperate. That is until he meets Mattie Silver; his hope for a better life. Breaking down â€Å"Ethan Frome† the reader can realize that this is far more than a loveRead MoreComparison of Jim from Huckleberry Finn or Ethan Frome1540 Words   |  6 Pages How can you compare Jims situation from Huck FInn to Ethan Fromes situation. How are the two characters alike and how are they different. Base your answers on information regarding their genre. Which character has more of a chance of making it and why? Jim from The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn and Ethan Frome from Ethan Frome share many incidents in a indistinguishable occurrence. They also share many qualities that allow each of these two characters to have divergent and duplicate qualitiesRead More Essay on Whartons Ethan Frome: Development of the Novel and Characters937 Words   |  4 Pages The Development of   the Novel and Characters nbsp;   In the novel Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, the character of Ethan Frome plays an important role in the development of the rest of the book. He has several character traits which distinguish him from the other main characters. Also, there are many factors which play against him throughout the novel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The physical appearance of Ethan Frome played a significant part in creating his character. He was a tall, thin man. HeRead More The Wicked Witch and Snow White Essay815 Words   |  4 PagesThe Wicked Witch and Snow White Edith Wharton presents two memorable characters in her novel, Ethan Frome. The reader is presented with Mattie Silver who is young, and good-natured, and Zeena Frome, who is a bitter hypochondriac seven years her husband’s senior. Upon a first inspection, Zeena Frome and Mattie Silver of Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome seem to be extreme opposites in every respect, but upon closer scrutiny, one finds though they are indeed different in character, though they eventuallyRead MoreEthan Frome Analysis794 Words   |  4 PagesEthan Frome Essay Throughout the tragic yet romantic novella, â€Å"Ethan Frome†, written by Edith Wharton, the protagonist, Ethan Frome, experiences frequent loss of hope in his life. The story follows his daily struggles and how those defeats in human nature impact him, as well as others, later on. Furthermore, the author reveals how his decisions lead to irreversible mistakes, which shows the irony in his situations. Ethan feeling hopeless and defeated is majorly expressed in the story. For exampleRead MoreIrony in Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton Essay examples1035 Words   |  5 Pagestragic novella, Ethan Frome, presents a crippled and lonely man – Ethan Frome – who is trapped in a loveless marriage with a hypochondriacal wife, Zenobia â€Å"Zeena† Frome. Set during a harsh, â€Å"sluggish† winter in Starkfield, Massachusetts, Ethan and his sickly wife live in a dilapidated and â€Å"unusually forlorn and stunted† New-England farmhouse (Wharton 18). Due to Zeena’s numerous complications, they employ her cousin to help around the house, a vivacious young girl – Mattie Silver. With Mattie’s presence