Symbolic Colors in Ethan Frome
Rough Draft: Ethan’s Colors Symbolism approach to interpretation has so many possibilities—so many paths to consider! An exciting approach to interpretation and criticism, comparable to hunting, finding the symbols, an object or image that, although interesting in its own right, stands for or suggests something larger and more complex—often an idea or a range of interrelated ideas, attitudes, and practices (Murfin & Ray 391), practiced by finding the repetition of colors throughout Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome became the adventure. Within the pages of the novel, repetition of colors reveal themselves and critic’s interpretations discussed. Symbolism The color white can have many connotations. According to the Dictionary of Literary Symbols white can symbolize “sincerity” “candor” or “faithfulness”. White can also symbolize purity and perfectionism as well as the absolute (Mitford 106). Within the pages of Ethan Frome, Wharton uses white to describe the snow as “white earth” (Wharton 13) and referring to the hills as being “white curves against the sky” (Wharton 83) and “the white and scintillating fields patches of far-off forest hung like smoke” (Wharton 30). Perhaps leading to the purity and perfectionism of the snow that decorates the New England countryside, however winter often symbolizes the harshest of seasons, that is personified as an old man, frail, cold with white hair (Ferber). Wharton also uses the color white to describe the church and its steeple—“white glimmer of the church” (Wharton 88); “slim white steeple” (Wharton 13). In this case, I believe that the color does symbolize purity and faithfulness. In the West, black represents the color of death, mourning, and the underworld. It also has associations with evil (Mitford 106). Black can also simply represent “bad” as well as death of purity and sincerity (Ferber). Wharton uses the color black in instances that describe the character’s surroundings or attributes. For example, “clumps of
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