He is still one of the "smart ones," according to the fellow townsmen, Harman Gow. His intellect draws him even closer to the character Mattie. Mattie Silver brings a summer passion in the midst of winter. Ethan's arctic, wintry soul is changed to a blissful and loving one, as he begins to spend more time with Mattie. For example the author writes, "They walked as if they were floating on a summer stream." This quote describes the world of Ethan Frome when with Mattie. Edith again depicts Ethan's feelings during an encounter with Mattie, "a wave of warmth went though him." This is just one of countless, incredible feelings Ethan has for Mattie. The reader also will form an opinion about the other people in the book because of the way Ethan views the world. His wife Zeena is everything Ethan does not want. She is ugly, flat chested, always depressed, and sick. She has hollow cheeks, a puckered throat, and a drawn face. Zeena's face has no color and it is bloodless. A very unsightly woman to say the least. Edith Wharton makes the readers want to cringe while reading about her. When describing Zeena there is always a reference to cold, darkness, sickness, or death. She walks through this book like a plague spreading gloom throughout the pages. As this lifeless, isolated, grim figure, Zeena embodies her landscape, and it is almost difficult to separate her from the wintry Starkfield landscape. Up until Mattie Silver is introduced to the book and Ethan's heart, the feelings that this book has are very cold and dark. Mattie Silver is seen as the light in Ethan's dark world. She doesn't seem to fit into the grays, blacks, and dark colors of Starkfield. Everything about her is associated with nature. Just as Ethan adores nature and thinks it is beautiful, he will love Mattie just as much and more. Any passage alluding this character will have images that reveal her sweet, pure, and lively youthfulness.
