Feminism with Frome Ethan Frome, created by Edith Wharton, has both a male narrator and male main character. The female characters, while being looked down upon by their male counterparts, rise above the stereotypes of feminism. The presentation of Zeena and Mattie as part of a feminist culture arouse. This novel expresses women’s individual wants and needs, but both female characters had no responsibility to fulfill them. This also examines the relationship struggles and interactions between men and women in literature. Edith Wharton grew up with a wealthy family who lived in a controlling society which prohibited women to achieve anything a man could. This book, published by Wharton in 1911, is one of the few pieces in her fiction novels …show more content…
For example, : Against the dark background of the kitchen she stood up tall and angular, one hand drawing a quilted counterpane to her flat breast, while the other held a lamp. The light, on a level with her chin, drew out of the darkness her puckered throat and the projecting wrist of the hand that clutched the quilt, the deepened fantastically the hollows and prominences of her high-boned face under its rings of crimping pins. (Wharton 22) Ethan has a nightmare vision when he returns home from the night in the village with Mattie. Zeena exerts mental domination over Ethan and she asserts her position at the head of the household. The prominence of feminism proves that Ethan would rather be around a girl like Mattie instead of Zeena.
“Ethan felt confusedly that there were many things he ought to think about, but through his tingling veins and tired brain only one sensation throbbed; the warmth of Mattie’s shoulder against his. Why had he not kissed her when he held her there?” (Wharton 24) This illustrates that as Ethan was resting in bed, all he could think about was Mattie and regretting how he didn’t kiss her when he seemed to have the perfect chance. Since all of his thoughts revolved around her, Mattie had complete control over Ethan’s emotions. This is ironic because men couldn’t be controlled by women in this time period, but Mattie had Ethan wrapped around her
Throughout the book, Ethan himself appears to be lifeless which reflected on how he lived his life due to not pursuing his dreams and remaining in the same old town his ancestors inhabited. Ethan is not the only one dreaming within the book. Mattie also pictures herself with Ethan in the future and it does come true. However, she is not Ethan’s wife like she planned to be. She is stuck with both Ethan and her cousin as her cousin cares for her and the man of her dreams. The reality they are facing becomes more of a hell than a happy ending as they imagined it would
Ethan has dreams of leaving Starkfield and selling his plantation, however he views caring for his wife as a duty and main priority. One day, Zeena’s cousin, Mattie Silver, comes to assist the Frome’s with their daily tasks. Immediately, Mattie’s attractive and youthful energy resuscitates Ethan’s outlook on life. She brings a light to Starkfield and instantaneously steals Ethan’s heart; although, Ethan’s quiet demeanor and lack of expression causes his affection to be surreptitious. As Zeena’s health worsens, she becomes fearful and wishes to seek advice from a doctor in a town called Bettsbridge, giving Ethan and Mattie privacy for one night.
In the novel Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, the protagonist Ethan Frome has an unusual personality. Along with this, Ethan’s motivations seem hidden. Ethan mainly associates with his wife Zeena and his young lover Mattie. The reason his social circle is limited is because the town has shunned him. The people have isolated him due to the decisions he has made. The story begins with the new town Reverend who forms a special interest in Ethan. Furthermore, the story goes back in time to explain why the town treats Ethan the way they do.
Ethan Frome is the main character of Edith Wharton’s tragic novel. Ethan lives the bitterness of his youth’s lost opportunities, and dissatisfaction with his joyless life and empty marriage. Throughout the story Ethan is trapped by social limits and obligations to his wife. He lives an unhappy life with many responsibilities and little freedom. Ethan Frome studied science in college for a year and probably would have succeeded as an engineer or physicist had he not been summoned home to run the family farm and mill. Ethan quickly ended his schooling and went to run the family farm and mill because he feels it is his responsibility. He marries Zeena after the death of his mother, in an unsuccessful attempt to escape silence, isolation, and loneliness. Ethan also feels the responsibility to marry Zeena as a way to compensate her for giving up part of her life to nurse his mother. After marring Zeena he forgets his hope of every continuing his education and he is now forced to remain married to someone he does not truly love.
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.
Mattie and Zeena, the two leading women characters in this novel have many differences that set them apart from each other, but also similarities that grab the reader’s interest. When they both entered Ethan’s life, they were a breath of fresh air that broke the silence in Ethan’s life. However, the crisp air that Mattie brought was prolonged and when Ethan began falling into a pit of silence again, she was there to get him to speak his mind and let out his emotions. She tried to have a positive outlook on life and to try new things to benefit her and others around her. Mattie was more outgoing and spontaneous opposed to Zeena. While Mattie was out and about in the town, Zeena was home all day. Zeena was bitter and controlling towards Ethan and everyone else in her life. Regardless, they were both willing to help when push came to shove. "Zeena 's done for Mattie, and done for Ethan, as good as she could. It was a miracle, considering how sick she was – but she seemed to be raised right up just when the call came to her. Not as she 's ever given up doctoring, and she 's had sick spells right along; but she 's had the strength given her to care for those two for over twenty years, and before the accident came she thought she couldn 't even care for herself” (Wharton 23). So despite of Zeena being cruel and pessimistic most of the time, she was willing to return the favor of kindness and
3.?Against the dark background of the kitchen she stood up tall and angular, one hand drawing a quilted counterpane to her flat breast, while the other held a lamp. The light on a level with her chin, drew out of the darkness her puckered throat and the projecting wrist of the hand that clutched the quilt, and deepened fantastically the hollows and prominences of her high-boned face under its rings of crimping-pins. To Ethan, s...
In the novel Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, the character of Ethan Frome plays an important role in the development of the rest of the book. He has several character traits which distinguish him from the other main characters. Also, there are many factors which play against him throughout the novel.
When Zeena was there while Ethan's mother was ill to "nurse her", she gave him the "human speech" he longed for because his mother had "lost the power of speech." Ethan felt that he would be "dreadful" if "left alone" if Zeena were to leave him, so he ended up marrying her so she would stay. Ethan is unable to make decisions without thinking of her first or being reminder that she's the one he is loyal to because of this attachment. Even having blissful moments with Mattie, Ethan cannot rid his mind of Zeena. While having supper, the cat "jumped between them into Zeena's empty chair" and when reminded of Zeena, Ethan was "paralyzed." Ethan is happy when with Mattie, but his love for her will never rid him from Zeena. Ethan was even planning o asking the Hales for currency, but the thought of "leaving alone" his "sickly woman" led him to desert his plan in taking money to leave Zeena by herself. This shows that even in his desire to escape her, Ethan values their marriage and is still thinking of her greater good. Ethan's happiness resides in Mattie to the point where he was willing to kill himself to be with her forever, however, midway through the attempt, "his wife's face, with twisted monstrous ligaments, thrusts itself between him and his goal." Due to Zeena showing herself to Ethan near death, he "swerved in response" which may have caused the attempt to fail. This scene demonstrates how Ethan, even when
Meanwhile, how could she keep the farm going? It was only by incessant labour and personal supervision that Ethan drew a meager living from his land, and his wife, even if she were in better health than she imagined, could never carry such a burden alone" (Wharton 73). This evidence demonstrates Ethan's quality of his kind and loving nature towards others. The reason is when he wants to leave Zeena, he thinks about her future and how she will suffer to support herself. He cannot bear Zeena's pain, so he puts her future and their marriage before his dreams. His dream is to "leave with Mattie the next day" (Wharton 72). Another example when Ethan is a very concernful person is when "she would have suffered a complete loss of identity" (Wharton 38). This quote demonstrates Ethan's concern for Zeena because Ethan's dream is to move to the metropolitan area, but Zeena's sickliness will make her look inferior to the city. Ethan's concern for Zeena's image prevents him to "sell the farm and saw-mill and try their luck in a large town. Ethan's love of nature did not take
“No, he didn’t. For I’d ‘a’ been ashamed to tell him that you grudged me the money to get back my health, when I lost it nursing your own mother” (Wharton 46). This section of the book fixed my perception of Zeena. As I began reading, I thought Zeena was simply an ill wife, with her hard-working husband. While Ethan battled his feelings for Mattie, I was angry.
Ethan quickly realized that this marriage with her wouldn’t give him the sense of happiness that he wanted, but instead made Ethan feel even more alone and even less happy than he was after his mom had died “.makes him feel further removed from happiness.” (Hoffman). This situation furthers once Mattie arrives at the Frome household and Zeena begins to isolate herself in her room, complaining that she is sick and needs bed rest. This sense of isolation is especially shown when the Narrator tries to talk to Ethan and gain more details about his life, but Ethan won’t talk “, he has trouble obtaining further details. Ethan’s isolation is evident in their conversation.”
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.
“Girls wear jeans and cut their hair short and wear shirts and boots because it is okay to be a boy; for a girl it is like promotion. But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading, according to you, because secretly you believe that being a girl is degrading” (McEwan 55-56). Throughout the history of literature women have been viewed as inferior to men, but as time has progressed the idealistic views of how women perceive themselves has changed. In earlier literature women took the role of being the “housewife” or the household caretaker for the family while the men provided for the family. Women were hardly mentioned in the workforce and always held a spot under their husband’s wing. Women were viewed as a calm and caring character in many stories, poems, and novels in the early time period of literature. During the early time period of literature, women who opposed the common role were often times put to shame or viewed as rebels. As literature progresses through the decades and centuries, very little, but noticeable change begins to appear in perspective to the common role of women. Women were more often seen as a main character in a story setting as the literary period advanced. Around the nineteenth century women were beginning to break away from the social norms of society. Society had created a subservient role for women, which did not allow women to stand up for what they believe in. As the role of women in literature evolves, so does their views on the workforce environment and their own independence. Throughout the history of the world, British, and American literature, women have evolved to become more independent, self-reliant, and have learned to emphasize their self-worth.
A. A. Edith Wharton’s Women: Friends & Rivals.