Ethan’s happiness after his evening with Mattie is a product of his self-deception. He still has not considered the implications of his love for Mattie. He fantasizes about the evening and still cannot bring himself to verbalize his feelings to Mattie. He sits and watches her do dishes. The imagery Wharton associates with Mattie continues to be that of warmth, life, and the spring and summer. The steam from the hot water has made Mattie’s hair especially curly so that it resembles the “traveller’s joy,” a climbing vine also appropriately known as virgin’s bowers.
When Ethan returns to the farmhouse with the glue, Mattie’s preparations for supper make the house seem as warm and hospitable as the previous evening. Dramatic irony is evident. Ethan and Mattie momentarily remember the happiness they shared the night before; however, their memories are a prelude to the anxiety and grief that is to come. Zeena’s wish to have Mattie out of the house will destroy the false sense of security that Ethan has felt and will break the illusion that he and Mattie will be able to endure Zeena together.
Ethan’s confrontation with Zeena occurs in their bedroom; a room ruled by Zeena. It is important to note that in the bedroom Zeena has previously asserted herself over Ethan (such as when she made a derisive comment to him about shaving every morning since Mattie’s arrival) and that Ethan thinks best when he is outside in the cold air. The imagery that Wharton associates with the confrontation between Ethan and Zeena is that of darkness. She uses words such as “dark,” “obscurity,” “dim,” “twilight,” and “darkness.”
Zeena is quite cunning about the way she asserts her dominance over Ethan. She tells him about her “complications,” eliciting his compassion for her, then she resolutely informs him that she has hired a girl to do the housework. Ethan (who didn’t get the money from Andrew Hale) feels guilty about the lie he’d told Zeena, and Zeena tells him they will be saving money on Mattie’s keep.
Zeena has conquered Ethan and he knows it. He attempts to change Zeena’s mind by urging her to do the “right thing” (after all, Mattie is her relation). Zeena’s authority prevails and she tells him the new girl will be arriving the next day. Ethan realizes his powerlessness and weakness. He finally sees clearly that Zeena controls him and what happens in the house. He sees her as an “alien presence,” “an evil energy.” Wharton points out Ethan’s awareness that he is entrapped in a loveless marriage. She alludes to the notion that Ethan will not violate his marriage vows (the rules of society). Ethan becomes so angry with Zeena that he wants to strike her, but he backs down and leaves the room. Ethan knows that Zeena has complete control over him.
When Ethan goes downstairs to eat dinner and reveal to Mattie that there is trouble, Wharton again makes use of imagery. Mattie’s fear causes her eyelashes to beat against Ethan’s cheek “like netted butterflies.” Ethan speaks to Mattie “as if he saw her drowning in a dream.” Their conversation has the effect of “a torch of warning” in a “black landscape.” Ethan feels as intoxicated as when kissing Mattie, but at the same time he is “dying of thirst for her lips.” These images used by Wharton are suggestive of captivity and death. The imagery is foreboding and foreshadows the tragedy that befalls Ethan and Mattie.
As Ethan is in the midst of his manly defense of Mattie, Zeena enters the kitchen. Her entrance causes Ethan to stop speaking in mid-sentence: Zeena’s dominance over Ethan is complete. Even after demonstrating his love for Mattie, he can not defend her in front of Zeena. Zeena sits at the table triumphant, smiling and flaunting her power over Mattie and Ethan. When she leaves the room to get her stomach medicine, Mattie and Ethan look at each other and “the warm still kitchen looked as peaceful as the night before.” Ironically, the moment is the calm before the storm.
Zeena finds the broken pickle dish and is visibly angered. Ethan once again becomes powerless when Zeena realizes he lied about the dish to protect Mattie. Ethan is unable to challenge Zeena, even to stand up for Mattie. Wharton foreshadows the smash-up as she describes Zeena carrying the pieces of broken pickle dish “as if she carried a dead body.” Ironically, Zeena’s concern will soon have to be for the broken bodies of Ethan and Mattie.
