Edith Wharton Rhetorical Analysis

In the passage, Edith Wharton uses constellations, imagery, and Ethan’s love of nature to convey his struggle with fulfillment after abandoning his dreams, creating a sense of longing that is felt throughout the novel.
In the text, Wharton uses constellations with their various meanings and names to describe the characters in the book which allow the reader to understand the characters’ actions. Ethan is describing how he feels about Mattie saying how she understands him and how he can tell her things like “‘That's Orion down yonder; the big fellow to the right is Aldebaran, and the bunch of little ones—like bees swarming—they're the Pleiades…’” and she is entranced by what he says. This line is a metaphor for his life as each character is

Orion is seen in greek mythology as a giant huntsman who defeats great beasts and was placed among the stars by Zeus. This is a perfect representation of Ethan as he strives towards this ideal life as a engineer in the city, but is trapped in starkfield by his wife Zeena. Zenobia(Zeena’s full name) meaning the force of Zeus, holds Ethan in Starkfield just as Orion is held among the stars by Zeus. The star Aldebaran represents Mattie. It’s the eye of taurus who is the constellation that is being hunted by Orion, similar to how Ethan is courting Mattie. Aldebaran is also known as the follower, showing how Ethan has power over Mattie because she is submissive and does what he says. In mythology, Atlas was forced to carry the world on his shoulders for all of time, the pleiades are his seven daughters. Orion pursued the pleiades, so Zeus placed them in the sky as stars to keep their father company. Regardless, Orion still pursues them even though they will forever remain out

He feels lost in Starkfield because he doesn’t love his work. He filled the void of his love for engineering and studying with his love for nature, “His unfinished studies had given form to this sensibility and even in his unhappiest moments field and sky spoke to him with a deep and powerful persuasion.” The author uses the word “sensibility” which means the ability to appreciate complex emotional or aesthetic influences. This conveys the depths of Ethan’s passion and relays to the audience that he used to have that kind of passion for his studies. Since his appreciation for his studies was replaced by his love of nature, it shows that Zeena, his work on the farm, and his work at the mill don’t fulfill his need for higher understanding and interpretation. Upon meeting Mattie, Ethan feels a very strong connection with her, unlike Zeena, because of the way that his love of “learning mingled with Mattie's wonder”. When Ethan shares his passion with Mattie, she mixes it with her innocent wonder, this allows Ethan to use the part of his mind that was not fulfilled in his life. The part of him that needed to be insightful and liked the challenge associated with higher thought. Mattie opening his mind and letting him share his feelings, helped turn Starkfield into a more beautiful place, “the cold red of sunset behind winter hills, the flight