her staying to live with him and care for his ill wife. If he was to be doomed to remain in Starkfield forever, at least he would have Mattie with him. “He was never so happy with her as when he abandoned himself to these dreams” (Wharton, 36).Zeena, upon convincing herself she has become more ill, decides to visit a doctor in the neighboring town. Ethan dreamed of them being alone together, spending the evening sitting by the fire, as if they were married. “The sweetness of the picture, and the relief of knowing that his fears…were unfounded, sent up his spirits with a rush, and he, who was usually so silent, whistled and sang aloud as he drove” (Wharton, 50).Their evening together began just as Ethan had dreamed and he “was suffocated with the sense of well-being” (Wharton, 59). He often imagines he is married to Mattie, escaping his entrapment to Zeena. Their evening is disrupted by the eerie sense of Zeena’s presence, and the breaking of Zeena’s prized red dish. Zeena’s fury over the broken dish represents the fury of her useless life. “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). This event brought more silence to their diminishing marriage and Ethan feels an even stronger sense of his entrapment.Ethan and Mattie realize their mutual feelings, but Zeena’s return forced them back to dreadful reality. “The return to reality was as painful as the return to consciousness after taking an anaesthetic. His body and brain ached with indescribable weariness, and he could not think of nothing to say or do that should arrest the mad flight of the moments” (Wharton, 93).Zeena’s visit to the doctor was not only a great expense for the trip, but she had been convinced that she needed a full time caretaker, meaning she intended to dismiss Mattie. ...
