The Grass Is Always Greener Elizabeth Gilbert, an author, writes: “You have been given life; it is your duty (and also your right as a human being) to find something beautiful in life, no matter how slight.” Nature, music and art are all natural sources of this beauty that must be rediscovered. Neuroscience, however, indicates that the most beautiful images for men are those of women. Edith Wharton uses this concept of beauty in her novel, Ethan Frome. Wharton uses Ethan's live-in women and their contrasting and changing physical appearance to emphasize the theme that hasty decisions lead to regret. Ethan's life exemplifies the well-known language that "the grass is always greener on the other side." Zeena, his wife whom he hastily married due to fear of loneliness, is the proverbial “side of the fence” from which he sees what might have been. At only thirty-five years old and “already an old woman” (57), she brings no joy to Ethan. Ethan constantly sees her as an image of repression, with her "sallow face [... and] trampled heels" (109). Zeena, anyway,...