Letter
When Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote his novel, The Scarlet Letter, he was praised as being the father of the psychological novel. Since the completion of his landmark story, many other authors have taken their work in similar directions, and have tried to reveal human psychology through their writing. Authors have been trying to convey truths about human behavior and explain the human psyche, often unsuccessfully. Edith Wharton's novel, Ethan From, is an excellent example of a novel that succeeds in revealing truths. She fills her characters with nuances that reflect the subconscious and her setting is alive with reflected symbolism. She is able to interpret the characters actions in a way that can relate to all humans. Each word and phrase seems to be chosen so that it reflects a part of the subconscious in the characters. Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome is a psychological examination of the human mind, based on her use of setting to reflect emotion, characterization to show human tendencies towards chaos and other psychological aspects of the human mind. In Ethan Frome, Wharton uses the setting to show the feelings and psychology of the characters. Because the tone of the novel is somber and
Again this is a theme that is reflected by the setting, but it is also seen in the characters actions as well. She is the faint glimmer of light that Ethan holds on to that makes his life bearable. Within the house, Zeena and Ethan are clearly isolated from each other, due to Zeena's illness and Ethan's unhappiness. Ethan talks in the novel about removing the L shaped projection from off of his house. The color scheme used to describe the setting mirrored the desolation of the character's feelings. The houses are mostly several miles from the "center" of town. "The setting also captures the pervasive isolation of the citizens of Starkfield" (Springer 80). Because of her excellent use of imagery and description of the setting, Edith Wharton is able to incorporate the psychological elements of the characters onto the backdrop of the action of the novel. Ethan is symbolically the apple tree because of his physical deformities as well as the mental burdens he has faced during his life. The setting, using the bleakness of winter, ". The absence of a "sharp line" was shown with the used of an intermediate gray tone, which was seen recurring thorough out the novel. Even if Ethan was closer to town and could establish communications with people other than Zeena, he would still have feel separation. Zeena's illness gives her an escape and some have even proposed that it gives her a sense of identity.
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Acceptance Essays
