In novels, such as Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome, imagery and theme play a large role in developing the novel. An author's use of imagery gives the reader an idea of the novel's characters and setting. It helps to advance the reader's understanding of the novel and its theme. The theme of a novel is also an important aspect that one must consider in order to have a clear understanding of the purpose or central idea of the novel. Edith Wharton uses both positive and negative images of Starkfield and its inhabitants to enhance the overall theme of Ethan Frome.
             Imagery can be used in a likable manner making the reader enjoy the setting so that the theme may be elevated. The town of Starkfield is at first described as a cheery uplifting place saying, "The winter morning was clear as a crystal. The sunrise burned red in a pure sky, the shadows on the rim of the wood-lot were darkly blue, and beyond the white scintillating fields of far-off forest hung like smoke"(41). It also seems that whenever Mattie is around, Ethan's view of the world improves. This is shown on his walk home from the church social with Mattie when the narration states, "The night was so still that they heard the frozen snow crackle beneath their feet. The crash of a loaded branch falling far off in the woods reverberated like a musket-shot, and once a fox barked, and Mattie shrank closer to Ethan . . ." (35).
             Much the opposite, imagery can be used to make the reader dislike a certain setting in order to further the theme of the novel. The use of the wind and the snow in Starkfield help to place a label of despair on the town. The narrator says, "The snow had ceased, and a flash of watery sunlight exposed the house on the slope above us in all its plaintive ugliness. The black wraith of a deciduous creeper flapped from the porch, and the thin wooden walls, under their worn coat of paint, seemed to shiver in the wind t...