Literary Devices In Ethan Frome's timeless novelEdith Wharton, Ethan Frome not only displays in plain sight all the flaws of human nature, but also contains many devices literature to help the reader understand. Wharton uses symbolism, internal conflict, and theme to help the reader connect and understand Ethan and his motivations. The novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë also uses these literary devices to provide insight into the lives of Heathcliff and Catherine and their violent love affair. Symbolism, used extensively in both works, first appears in Ethan Frome in the form of a simple border. Wharton introduces us to Ethan by showing his immediate infatuation with his wife's rambunctious cousin, Mattie Silver. Ethan watching Mattie through a church window while she attends a ball is a good example. “From there, still clutching the shadow, he moved cautiously to the nearest window, holding his body upright and craning his neck until he had a glimpse of the room” (Wharton 20). The window he looked out of represents the boundary that separated his life from Mattie's. Windows can often be symbolic, as we learn from Brontë's story. Out of pure curiosity, Heathcliff and Catherine looked through a window to observe their neighbors, Edgar and Isabella Linton. Edgar and Isabella came from a very wealthy family, while Heathcliff and Catherine were poor farmers' children. The window once again symbolizes a wall erected between two very different ways of life. Ethan Frome's landscape also proves to be an important symbol throughout the novel. The book is set in the bleak New England town of Starkfield, Massachusetts. "At the start of my stay, I was struck by the contrast between the vitality of the ...... middle of paper ...... who had married him. She would then return to Wuthering Heights and be struck by the difference in their lifestyles. Without the looming presence of Edgar's manipulation, Catherine could very well have followed her heart and married Heathcliff instead. After all, Catherine has claimed that her love for Edgar can and will change over time, but that she loves Heathcliff so much that he seems to be a part of her own being (Brontë 82). Overall, the novels Ethan Frome and Wuthering Heights are two whose points will forever remain relevant to human nature. Their brilliant authors have provided us with a whole new layer to the story by including extremely effective literary devices of symbolism, internal conflict and theme. Both novels have much to learn from them, including how to become aware of the flaws of human nature and the all-consuming phenomenon that is human love..