Character of Ethan Frome
Ethan Frome, a tragic romance, first published in 1911, is widely
regarded as Edith Wharton's most revealing novel and her finest
achievement in fiction. Set in the bleak, barren winter landscape of
New England, it is the tragic tale of a simple man, bound to the
demands of his farm and his tyrannical, sickly wife, Zeena, and driven
by his star-crossed love for Zeena's young cousin, Mattie Silver. An
exemplary work of literary realism in setting and character, Ethan
Frome stands as one of the great classics of twentieth-century
American literature.
The uselessness of poverty, mean spiritedness, and grim silence are
all-present in the tragedy of Ethan Frome. At each turn the
circumstances of rural poverty, mixed with the bitterness of isolation
and failure, lead the
main characters to lives of tragic resignation. As a result of their
miserable existence, they grow hard and mean-spirited, rarely
communicating except with complaints and anger. The townsfolk
tend to avoid them and are even reluctant to speak freely of the
ruined lives of Ethan, Mattie, and Zeena. Poverty's greatest curse is
that it takes away options. It traps Ethan at the farm, just as later
it forces Ethan, Zeena, and Mattie to live under the same roof.
The story is set in a small town of Starkfield, a barren and an
unproductive place. Ethan Frome, the novel's protagonist, is described
as having "been in Starkfield too many winters." Ethan Frome is a
taciturn, extremely responsible young man who marries an older woman
because of fear of being alone. He has no social skills, shy and
naive, and has got a kind of martyr complex.
E...
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...p on them, Ethan and Zeena began
to notice not the loss of their love, for they never had love, but the
realism of their fates. Neither were where they wanted to be in life
and their previous dreams were wrecked. This is what brought the
sadness into the home, only to strengthen as winters passed. Mattie,
too was not a love but rather an attempt to find something in his life
to make him happy. She represented everything that he wanted in
himself, youth, happiness, chance. In himself he thought that she
might offer some sort of temporary escape from his own gloom. Mattie
and Ethan were never in love. It was no more than a failing shot at
life. This is how I conclude that the focus of this book is not a
tragic love story but rather, a story of broken dreams, false hopes,
and the realism of the brutality of human fates.
Ethan Frome, the main character, portrays a weak character. He illustrates his weakness as a person in many ways. It starts off with him marrying his wife that he didn’t marry for the right reasons, then wanting her dead, so he can be with Mattie, the love of his life, and because Zeena is self-willed. He then agrees to partake in the very most thing that demonstrates how weak and desperate he really becomes. He has many difficulties and things he has to overcome and stand up to that he can’t find the courage and strength to do so and because of this becomes a weak character.
In the novel Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton applied significant factors (Messages) to show how the tale of this novel is a social tragedy. Even thought (Though) this novel might seem to be a tale of personal tragedy, it is actually a tale of social tragedy. The main character of this novel, Ethan Frome, is always conflicting (with) against the society whenever he is trying to do what he desires. As a result, society affects Ethan Frome’s life in many ways; most of the time society leads him to the tragedy.
Thus they explained that true love was difficult to bear and comprehend, but in tru...
Throughout the novel Mattie and Ethan are genuinely in love with one another. This can be proven when Mattie turned down Denis Eady the “rich Irish grocer” for Ethan. Another example was when Mattie “had an eye and an ear to hear” that not only listened but also understood Ethan. However it was the “lover” archetype that Wharton incorporated into Ethan that blurred the image of Mattie in Ethan’s eyes. Mattie is a manipulator that dragged Ethan into his predicament and...
In two of the three books in this series - Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy, and Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover - one character that was prominent was Zach Goode. However, Zach is an enigmatic character, whose relationship with Cammie - not to mention Zach himself - changed rapidly. After taking a closer look at Zach’s character, it is quite easy to find some very interesting things.
...lives. It gives readers the chance to emphasize with these women and their families. It let readers experience the trials and tribulations these women underwent firsthand. A nonfiction novel would not have had that impact and ability to draw readers that close.
when clearly the author had his interests in caring for the ill and dying. Would he not be writing a novel about how to come to terms with dying? I was definitely wrong in my assumption. The Four Things That Matter Most has five distinct parts within its pages that coincide with what the book is about. The first part introduces the four things, things that are imperative to aid in healing, creating, and completing relationships.
Ethan's last failure was the way he modified his and Mattie's lives regarding the "smash up". He wanted to run away with Mattie, but he could not because his practical sense told him it was not feasible to do so. Mattie wanted so desperately to be with Ethan that she suggested in order to stay together forever, to die together. It was Ethan's job to steer into the tree with the sled so that it looked like an accidental death.
around us, people who are in love. Ask to yourself, Why are they in love? Then,
Soon, instead of being angry at Ethan, I became confused as to my feelings for the characters. Similar to Ethan when he chooses to stay with Zeena. While I don’t have a wife I have to worry about, I’ve got to worry about my own well being and boy am I bad at that. Being a college student I understand the money struggles, and not being able to do everything (two jobs, and many hours of studying).
When I first knew I had to read a novel named Ethan Frome, I, without reading the back cover, suspected that it would be a boring biography of some historical and adventurous man of whom I would never head about outside of literature class. I was worried that I would have my usually difficult time getting involved with this book. However, I was pleasantly surprised that my interest began to grow as soon as page five.
Another weakness that resulted from this love is shown when he says, “Right then, he thought, he should’ve done something brave. He should’ve carried her ...
...orever, and that nothing can protect people from lost love. The poem was written in a calm manor, as the speaker had seemed to be humbled by his experiences with his loved one.
she left him for a man that showed much potential to give the kind of love
... already fulfilled it, and was enjoying every few seconds of it. Even if the rest of the creatures knew little to nothing of his sexuality or relationship with Ethan, he could still take comfort in the fact Ethan loved him. That’s all that mattered to him.