The night that they are alone, he pretends that they are married. He is happy only when imagining his life with Mattie. Zeena is the cold and ugly reality from which Ethan tries to escape in his dreams of a life with Mattie. Ethan kept silent in his dealings with his wife, “to check a tendency to impatient retort he had first formed the habit of not answering her, and finally thinking of other things while she talked” (Wharton 72). The total lack of communication between the “silent” couple is a significant factor in Ethan’s miserable marriage. Just as Ethan lives in silence, so too does his wife. “That the pickle dish has never been used makes it a strong symbol of Zeena herself, who prefers not to take part in life” (Lawson 68-69).Įthan’s response to Zeena’s rage was silence. Zeena’s fury at the breaking of an impractical pickle dish exemplifies the rage she must feel about her useless life. The warmth of their evening together is brought to an abrupt end by the accidental breaking of Zeena’s prized dish. While Zeena is visiting an out of town doctor, Ethan and Mattie, alone in the house, intensely feel her eerie presence. Her energy and warmth excite him and allow him to escape from his lonely, monotonous life.
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