Conflict Of Class Conflict In Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome

In Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, there is a prevalent conflict of class struggles. Ethan Frome, his wife Zeena, and their maid Mattie all live in extreme poverty. Wharton portrays them as miserable beings, seemingly always encompassed in misfortune. Wharton herself, however, lived a near opposite life compared to that of her characters. She was born into fortune; money was rarely a concern for her (Lee). Through a Marxist lens, one could argue that Edith Wharton, a woman of extreme wealth and privilege, would characterize lower, working class people such as the ones in Ethan Frome in an inaccurately dismal light. The consistent image of winter and coldness, typically associated with misery, in Ethan Frome foreshadows an unhappy ending for the

For example, some argue that the misfortune between Mattie and Ethan could have been avoided had Ethan had better communication skills. However, the misfortune lies not within the lack of communication, but because their environment would not allow it. In an societal sense, Mattie and Ethan’s relationship would be taboo, considering it was born from adultery. In an economic sense, the relationship would never work. Had Ethan not been as poor as he was, he could easily have run away with Mattie when Zeena had ordered her to leave. The only reason he did not leave was because with the farm doing poorly, he would leave Zeena unable to financially support herself (Wharton 50). The only way out of their predicament, according to Mattie, is sledding: they could be together if they both died together. This brings upon the image of winter being an oppressive force to these people. Their suicide attempt fails, and twenty four years later they are still trapped in the grips of the powerful winter. The elements of winter -- coldness and snow among others -- entrap Ethan and Mattie, not allowing them a way out of this unfortunate life they live. Wharton, purposefully or not, essentially makes sure that none of these characters get a happy ending. She leaves them under the oppressive hand of winter,

Edith Wharton, belonging to the bourgeoisie, perpetrates the stereotype of the pitiful, unfortunate lower class by not allowing Ethan or his family a way out of their predicament. While she does not allow Ethan and his family financial support, she also does not allow them any happiness within the relationships they have with each other. Ethan is in a unhealthy relationship with Zeena, Mattie and Zeena do not get along, and Ethan and Mattie have fallen in love with each other. None of these relationships works out in the end, leaving all of them to live in eternal misfortune. A symbol that supports the entrapment of the poor is winter. The winter cold does not allow agriculture to thrive in Starkfield, limiting their source of income. The imagery of snow is also associated with being miserable and being stuck or trapped within its icy grip. Wharton uses these images to further limit her lower class characters, dooming them to live seemingly terrible lives. This story perpetrates the idea of the proletariat constantly being under the economic and social control of the bourgeois. Just like how the poor inhabitants of Starkfield were under the constant looming influence of bourgeois culture, Wharton was literally in control of the way the poor are depicted in her novel. This shows that the bourgeois acknowledge the proletarian life, but do nothing to change it because it would not benefit