Analytic Response: “Ethan Frome” “Ethan Frome,” by Edith Wharton is a novel that tells the readers about the life of one family and how their futures are changed forever. The town where the story plot takes place is called Starkfield, Massachusetts. The main characters in this novel consist of Ethan Frome, Zeena (Ethan’s wife), and Mattie Silver (Ethan’s cousin-in-law). The novel starts off about how the family is living after the aftermath of their actions. The reader witnesses the struggle of Ethan Frome’s family and the hardships they face. The author’s use of diction, structure, irony, and symbolism create an amazing story that is next to impossible to put down.
Structure, Diction, and Theme The strong use of diction and structure create a solid foundation
…show more content…
The irony makes the reader ask themselves What would have happened if Ethan Frome kept his desires to himself and didn’t pursue them? Or What if Mattie Silver never came to live with Ethan and Zeena? The novel would have a completely different ending and a different story plot. Irony is seen throughout the story as Ethan Frome tries to escape his miserable life with Zeena, but he cripples himself in the process. The following lines explain how Ethan and Mattie Silver get crippled.
The big tree loomed bigger and closer, and as they bore down on it he thought: ‘It’s waiting for us, it seems to know.’ But suddenly his wife’s face, with its monstrous lineaments, thrust itself between him and his goal, and he made an instinctive movement to brush it aside. The sled swerved in response, but he righted it again and drove down on the black projecting mass. There was a last instant when the air shot past him like millions of fiery wires, and then elm…’Oh, Matt, I thought we’d fetched it,’ he moaned; and far off, up the hill, he heard the sorrel whinny and thought: ‘I ought to be getting him his feed… (Wharton,
Many people oppose society due to the surroundings that they face and the obstacles that they encounter. Set in the bleak winter landscape of New England, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton is the story of a poor, lonely man, his wife Zeena, and her cousin Mattie Silver. Ethan the protagonist in this novel, faces many challenges and fights to be with the one he really loves. Frome was trapped from the beginning ever since Mattie Silver came to live with him and his wife. He soon came to fall in love with her, and out of love with his own wife. He was basically trapped in the instances of his life, society’s affect on the relationship, love, poverty, illness, disability, and life.
“After the mortal silence of his long imprisonment Zeena’s volubility was music in his ears” (Wharton 29). This quote is one of the numerous times that symbolism is used in the novel Ethan Frome. From the first couple of pages to the last chapter one can see the symbols Wharton uses giving the novel such character. The symbols deliver depth and such a greater meaning in this novel.
Perhaps Edith Wharton's reason for writing Ethan Frome, was that it so vividly reflected her own dreary life. Abandoned of any love as a child from her mother and trapped in a marriage similar to that of Zeena and Ethan, Wharton found herself relying on illicit love. This illicit love was also her favorite topic of writing, which helped her to escape her own tragedies. She spent many nights in the arms of other men searching desperately for the love she believed existed, but had never felt, which is evident in all of her writings.
Ethan Frome is a man torn between what he wants to do, and what he should do. Life in a rural town can be tough, but when faced with complications, it can be almost unbearable. When Ethan decides to marry his distant cousin, Zeena, his life turns down a long and lonesome road. Ethan's lack of assertiveness and decisive action only worsens his already lonesome and stressful life.
The main theme of the book Ethan Frome is failure. It is shown in three ways throughout the story: Ethan's marriage, him not being able to stand up to Zeena, and his involvement in the "smash up".
An emotion is a distinctive feeling deriving from a relationship with other individuals. Emotions are very powerful and can either hinder or strengthen an individual. Emotions can be a tragic flaw. In the novel Ethan Frome written by Edith Wharton, Ethan Frome is a tragic hero that has a tragic fall which leads to his demise. His demise is when he has thoughts of running away from his present life. Ethan Frome's haramita is that he is a very concernful person.
Edith Wharton's tragic story, Ethan Frome is about a man named Ethan Frome in an unhappy marriage which leads to a tragic ending. Ethan, as the tragic hero, had a tragic flaw, selfishness.
Ethan Frome's life and his tragic destiny is shaped by the setting in the book. Ethan is depressed and run-down from life in Starkfield. The narrator believe that
The main conflict in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome is the conflict between Ethan’s love for the girl, Mattie, and his commitment to his wife, Zeena. Throughout the story, this conflict creates tension between the characters and will eventually lead to the final conclusion as to the end of the story. This is also the theme of the story and is what captures readers’ attention in this classic piece of literature.
One of the first words words to descrive ethan nature was as a reserved man who took hes obligations onto others seriosuly. The story conveys that ethans life as quite miserble for a long time. And hes unfiufuled life was contuinusly shown in the story. When he was young he persued hes dream of being a enginer sadly that was interrupted by the sudden death of his father. He took responsiblity of taking care of his mother, which was his first obligation, putting his dreams and wishes on hold to never be continued.
Edith Whartons, “Ethan Frome,” is a classic tragic love story where the imprisonment of a love triangle is established by the contrasting archetypes of Mattie, Zeena and Ethan. This is caused by the contrasting archetypes Wharton created along side with these characters. Ethan Frome’s archetype is evidently a lover and a caregiver, which can be proven when Ethan “put a premature end” to his “unfinished studies” to c are for his frail parents. Furthermore his lover archetype is reflected when “his heart beating fast” due to the anticipation of seeing Mattie while picking her up. When the narrator says, “Whom his desertion would leave alone and destitute,” the narrator suggests that Ethan’s concern for Zeena prevents him from pursuing his own desires. However, in trying to keep Zeena from suffering, Ethan makes both Mattie and Zeena miserable.
In the book “Ethan Frome” by Edith Wharton, Ethan, the main character in the book, experiences many episodes of isolation persuading him to escape from and cope with them with outlets of hope, only leading to a life of permanent isolation. The story depicts a classic ironic switch of roles and a triangle of unusual “love.” With many people coming and going, Ethan looks to rely on someone to relieve his isolation and communicate with, only setting him up for trouble.
Irony is a useful device for giving stories many unexpected twists and turns. In Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour," irony is used as an effective literary device. Situational irony is used to show the reader that what is expected to happen sometimes doesn't. Dramatic irony is used to clue the reader in on something that is happening that the characters in the story do not know about. Irony is used throughout Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" through the use of situational irony and the use of dramatic irony.
When one is going through a difficult moment of their life, they will often seek the support of their family. In some pitiful cases, however, their family is unwilling to help them. Edith Wharton’s novel Ethan Frome, describes such an unfortunate situation. Mattie Silver was brought into the Frome residence after the death of her parents to assist Zeena, who reluctantly accepted her. She did not appreciate Mattie’s efforts but her husband Ethan, unsatisfied with their marriage, viewed Mattie as a symbol of hope. Her cheerful presence delighted him. Whenever she faced a troubling situation, Mattie felt that she could trust Ethan to protect and care for her well-being.
Poised to fly through the air, to finally let go, Ethan and Mattie cling to their last hope of being together. The landscape is still, the snow settled from hours of continuous falling, and they glide down the hill to their inevitable doom. Pages away, two lifelong friends stand in a gentle clearing with a pond lazily pooling about, as they say their final words just before the ring of a gun. Edith Wharton’s, Ethan Frome, takes readers back to the late 1800’s in Starkfield, Massachusetts. Ethan is a simple farmer burdened with a wife who insists she is sick whenever a slight sneeze escapes her. His dull, inescapable life brightens at the appearance of his cousin-in-law, Mattie, who comes to take care of the house. As the two lovers slowly descend into a darkness of their own creation, they do not take note of the warnings that surround them. In an entirely different kind of tragedy, John Steinbeck’s, Of Mice and Men, follows the quiet lives of George and Lennie who have finally found jobs on a ranch after forceful measures were taken to run them out of their old ones. One big and dumb, the other small and clever, these two friends find themselves on opposite ends of a gun with only one option; pulling the trigger. Both novels use setting to illustrate that place not only reflects one’s emotions, it also greatly dictates one’s future, as it can either stifle or encourage one’s dreams and aspirations, demonstrating the enormous role it has in any book.