Mattie tells Ethan about Ned Hale and Ruth Varnum’s brush with death when their sled almost hit the elm tree as it was going downhill. This couple serves as a symbol for Ethan and Mattie of the happiness that they might have, and Ethan bases some of his illusions about himself and Mattie on Ned and Ruth’s actions. This description of Ned and Ruth’s near accident on Corbury hill, plus an earlier mention of Corbury hill and sledding, foreshadows Ethan and Mattie’s smash-up.
As Ethan and Mattie near the farmhouse, Ethan sees the dead cucumber vine that reminds him of a funeral crape. He half wishes it were there for Zeena: Ethan subconsciously wishes she were dead. He has the same thought when he cannot find the back-door key and thinks that tramps might have broken into the house.
Wharton hints at Zeena’s sickness and disagreeable nature and describes various unattractive physical characteristics. When Zeena opens the back door, Ethan really sees her for the first time. Wharton’s description of Zeena emphasizes the hard and cold nature of the woman. She is “tall and angular,” with a “flat breast,” “puckered throat,” and “projecting wrist.” She is the ugly reality from which Ethan is trying to escape in his dreams of Mattie.
Zeena has felt “so mean” she could not sleep. In colloquial usage the words denote that she felt ill, but there is an ironic connotation of Zeena’s vindictiveness intended as well. It appears that Zeena wields some kind of power over Ethan. When Ethan realized, years ago, that he could not communicate with her, he became acquiescent. In this situation, he gives in to his wife, and with Mattie’s warning look, goes to bed.
