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Definition of Irony
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—The Smash-Up:
Ethan Frome is filled with foreshadowing. Although Wharton never explicitly states that Ethan and Mattie will be involved in a sledding accident, numerous passages in the novel hint at what is to occur.
Wharton's use of a frame story, which takes place more than 20 years after the accident, creates a lingering sense of foreboding and dramatic irony. The reader knows that Ethan will be involved in a "smash-up" and become permanently disabled, but they don't know when or how. Ethan, by contrast, is totally oblivious of the fate that will eventually befall him.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Together Forever:
The conclusion of Ethan Frome is deeply ironic for a number of reasons, and this irony amplifies the novel's tragedy.
At multiple points throughout the novel, Ethan wishes for Mattie to remain at the farm forever. In Chapter 2, he even fantasizes about the two of them dying and being buried next to each other in the family graveyard:
Unlock with LitCharts A+"I guess we'll never let you go, Matt," he whispered, as though even the dead, lovers once, must conspire with him to keep her; and brushing by the graves, he thought: "We'll always go on living here together, and some day she'll lie there beside me."
Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—The Smash-Up:
Ethan Frome is filled with foreshadowing. Although Wharton never explicitly states that Ethan and Mattie will be involved in a sledding accident, numerous passages in the novel hint at what is to occur.
Wharton's use of a frame story, which takes place more than 20 years after the accident, creates a lingering sense of foreboding and dramatic irony. The reader knows that Ethan will be involved in a "smash-up" and become permanently disabled, but they don't know when or how. Ethan, by contrast, is totally oblivious of the fate that will eventually befall him.
Unlock with LitCharts A+
Related Themes:
