The quote, " Her tragic heroines and heroes are the victims of the group pressure of convention; they are passionate or imaginative spirits, hungry for emotional and intellectual experience, who find themselves locked into a small closed system, and either destroy themselves by beating their heads against their prison or suffer living death in resigning themselves to it", by Edmund Wilson, is thoroughly expressed in the novella Ethan Frome, by Edith Warton. In this quote, Wilson is stating that the characters in which Edith Warton creates to be " Her tragic heroines and heroes..." are really the victims of wanting to live life to the fullest, to have " ... emotional and intellectual experience..." Only then to realize that they are restricted by yet their own lives. Throughout the novella, Ethan Frome, the words of Edmund Wilson become clear.
             One of the many themes that Warton incorporates in her novella is that isolation and silence can be destructive to happiness and well being. This theme can be interpreted in different ways therefore it can relate to more than one relationship between the main characters. There are three main characters in the novella, Ethan Frome, Zeena Peirce, and Mattie Sliver. For example, Zeena Peirce and Ethan Frome are married but because they never communicate, neither one of them knows how they feel and then it effects their happiness as a married couple. Warton also uses a great deal of symbolism in her novella. The darkness of Ethan and Zeena's house also represents their marriage.
             Another way of interpreting the theme is displayed between Mattie sliver and Ethan Frome's relationship. Isolation can also be representing the feel of their setting. When producing the novella, Edith Warton had a purpose to everything, the small town winter setting was suppose to give the characters a feel of isolation. Due to this, it effected the relationship of...