Analysis
The increasing gravity of Zeena’s illness—or at least
what she claims is the increasing gravity of her
illness—invests her with a ruthless authority in these scenes. Wharton
compares Zeena’s discussions of her sickness with the behavior of
someone chosen for “a great fate.” Zeena doesn’t see her ailment
as a curse; she acts as though her ability to live with suffering
proves her “elect” status, her virtue, and fortitude. She casts
herself as a noble martyr, telling Ethan that although anyone else
would need an operation given her condition, she is willing to struggle
on without one.
Zeena’s placement of herself in the role of a martyr is
certainly Ethan’s greatest obstacle in his attempt to keep Mattie,
but even without Zeena claiming the higher moral ground, Ethan would
be out of his depth. Zeena calls the shots because Mattie is her
relative, not Ethan’s. Likewise, the domestic realm is Zeena’s concern,
not Ethan’s. Zeena’s dominance within the household becomes obvious when
Ethan, seething, has a sudden urge to strike at her but then inexplicably
reverts to a state of passive bewilderment and meekness, retreating
downstairs. Similarly, Zeena’s well-timed entrance into the kitchen
forces Ethan back into silence just as he has finally managed to
reveal his true feelings to Mattie.
Certainly, Ethan realizes that Zeena, a chronic hypochondriac,
is exaggerating the severity of her illness in order to gain the
upper hand in their relationship. Nevertheless, he remains powerless
to oppose her. The self-possessed Zeena so carefully crafts her
statements that, though they may be lies, Ethan cannot disprove
them. Ethan, on the other hand, lacks grace and articulateness.
He clumsily allows Zeena to catch him in his own lie about the lumber advance,
and then proves unable to cover his tracks. As Wharton squarely
notes, Ethan is no good at lying, and his natural streak of honesty
is a factor in his eventual inability to realize his own dreams.
The broken pickle dish that Zeena discovers at the top
of the china closet symbolizes the shattered Frome marriage. Mattie
is partially responsible for the breaking of both the pickle dish
and the marriage, having handled them carelessly, and Ethan cowardly hides
the broken state of each. Significantly, though, it was the cat that
actually destroyed the dish. Throughout the narrative, the cat is associated
with Zeena, so the cat’s destruction of the pickle dish suggests
that Zeena must share responsibility for the failure of her marriage.
Zeena uses the dish as an excuse to vent anger that in fact stems
from the disintegration of the relationships around her. She mourns
for the destruction of the dish because she cannot openly mourn
the collapse of her marriage and happiness.
Meanwhile, the reader is left uncertain of Mattie’s feelings, because
Zeena’s arrival cuts short Mattie’s conversation with Ethan after
he kisses her. We assume that she feels the same passion that Ethan
does, but her words do not betray anything. Instead of discussing
the kiss, she immediately turns the conversation to Zeena and the
possibility of her own departure from the household.
