As Mattie and Ethan walk home, Wharton emphasizes the difficulty Ethan has in communicating with Mattie. He is unable to express his affection in words or action. When provided the opportunity to reveal his feelings to Mattie, he can only say, "Come along." The isolation and silence that Ethan experiences (a result of the lack of communication in his marriage), have become barriers that inhibit him. Because Ethan is incapable of telling Mattie that he loves her, he "attach(es) a fantastic importance to every change in her look and tone." He needs her approval to fuel his romantic illusions. Ethan's insecurity causes him to intimate that her rejection of him is because she intends to marry Eady and leave the Frome farm.
Ethan's love for Mattie as yet remains one-sided and is fed on illusion. The closest Ethan can come to telling Mattie how he feels is to pull her to him and whisper that they will always be together. Ironically, they are passing the graveyard as he pronounces these words, and Wharton foreshadows their death in life.
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.
