One major symbol would be the use of red on Mattie Silver. In chapter one, Mattie is at a dance and Ethan is watching her every move from a nearby window. Edith Wharton describes Mattie as "a girl who had already wound a cherry-coloured "fascinator" about her head" and having a "cherry-coloured scarf." And in chapter four, the use of red appears again when Mattie opens the door for Ethan. Mattie's head consisted of "a streak of crimson ribbon." Red symbolizes love, warmth, good health, and vitality. Mattie displays such characteristics throughout the book. Red also symbolizes sin, adultery, and transgression. It alludes to the "Scarlet Letter." Mattie is like Hester Prynne. Mattie tempts Ethan to do evil and betray society's law of not committing adultery. The color red also stands out in the white landscape of Starkfield. In a similar way, Mattie stands out in Starkfield to Ethan. Without the use of red throughout the story, Mattie would be an ordinary character and probably be as dull of Zeena.
The cat symbolizes Zeena's mystical presence while she was away. In chapter four, Ethan and Mattie are having supper and the cat "jumped between them into Zeena's empty chair." Zeena is the obstacle that is always between Ethan and Mattie and in this situation, the cat resembles Zeena. In chapter five, Ethan and Mattie finished supper and Ethan sits in his chair resting. Ethan tries to get a view of Mattie. "The cat... had been a puzzled observer of these... movements, jumped up into Zeena's chair... and lay watching them with narrowed eyes." This is similar to how Zeena quietly observed them before she went on the trip Bettsbridge.
In chapter four, the cat retreats and backs up on the pickle dish, a wedding present. It falls to the floor and shatters into pieces. Ethan arranges the pieces of the pickle dish into a delicate balancing, trying to fix the dish. At this point, Edith Wharton shows the reader how Ethan and Zeena's marriage is similar to the pickle dish. Their marriage may seem unbroken but will shatter with the slightest disturbance. Zeena later finds the broken dish and is deeply sadden over it. It's not the pickle dish that Zeena mourns; it's the broken marriage.
The last major symbol in the story would be the final ride of Ethan and Mattie. By considering suicide, Ethan tries to run away from his troubles. He tries to run away from his financial circumstances and social conventions. He tries to run away from the duties and responsibilities of his life. In the end, Ethan's attempt fails symbolizing Ethan's inability of running away from his troubles. Ethan finally yields to destiny and fate when he says, "I ought to be getting him his feed..." This brings the book to a tragic and ironic end. Edith Wharton makes readers wonder who really controls our own fates and destinies.
