Because snow is like rain, it can have cleansing properties. However, unlike rain there is never a rebirth. Instead, under an unchanging environment, it continues to pile up. Most often, thick layers of snow, or lack of change, leave them with two options: to sled over it in a safe manner, or to crash and sink into the snow to freeze. This relates to the end chapter of Ethan Frome because at the end, Ethan and Mattie had two choices: to sled safely and return to their normal and expected duties, or to crash into the tree and sink into the snow. The significance of Mattie's injury after the attempt at suicide is that she was paralyzed, or frozen, from the neck down. The symbolism of snow also relates to Ethan’s lack of desire for change. In order to sustain a sufficient amount of snow, there must be a constantly cold climate. Ethan’s personality grew cold and selfish towards the end of the book, and because of that his wish for a paralysis of time came true in the worst possible way for