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Tragic hero in the novel ethan frome
Tragic hero in the novel ethan frome
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Ethan Frome
In the novel Ethan Frome, the reader is presented with the character of Ethan, who seems to commit wrong and immoral acts throughout the book. From lust to lies, we see Ethan seemingly jump from one sin to the next. But one can only say these things about Ethan if they have a severe case of tunnel vision. If one looks at the entire character that is Ethan, he can see that while Ethan may commit immoral acts, he is a character that the reader reacts to in a very sympathetic way.
At the beginning of Ethan’s story, the reader is told about a man who is in love with his wife’s cousin. A natural reaction to this idea would be to think that Ethan is a bad person, a man with no morals. But as the plot develops, we are shown the true nature of Ethan; a kind man forced into a marriage with a nagging and bothersome wife. Ethan has spent many years alone with his hypochondriac partner, and the entrance of Mattie into his life is the ray of hope and happiness that he needs to survive. Mattie is not portrayed as a home-wrecking tramp, and therefor the reader feels much differently toward the relationship between Ethan and Mattie than he otherwise would. Even though his affair with Mattie is most definitely an immoral act, the reader feels sympathetic to his situation. Perhaps in her depiction of the lonely man’s situation Warton evokes emotions that the reader has experienced in his own life, therefor causing the reader to become even more sympathetic towards Ethan and his troubles.
Even as Ethan is preparing to commit suicide, a sin that is definitely considered immoral, the reader feels both sympathy and relief that Ethan will escape his situation. When the reader finds out that he survived, there is a kind of let down that he will continue to be tormented in his situation for the rest of his life.
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.
He could not get away from Zeena, nor run away with the girl he felt drawn to. There was no way Ethan could afford to get away even if he tried. Ethan could not afford to pay for himself to leave town, nor could he provide for the woman he desired. He also imagines life as if he were suddenly resolved from all the issues going on in his life. All the issues that went on, Ethan brought upon himself due to the way he managed his life.
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.
Ethan is the definition of a teenager and this characterization is known for making bad decisions so whenever he makes a decision in the book the reader can predict that something's going to go wrong like when he agrees to rob a bank or when he smashed his dad’s car in the first place.
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
Mrs. Hale tells the narrator that if Mattie had dies, Ethan may have lived, but as things are, his existence is a kind of a living death. In addition, in chapter two, he had asked his dead ancestors, at their graves, to help him keep Mattie with him. We find that his natural ally is death and life is his enemy. Mrs. Hale believes that Mattie? surviving the accident is literally a fate that is worse than death, since the dead hold their peace, whereas Mattie and Zeena are often mad at each ther, adding to Ethan?s suffering and unhappiness.
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".
One might think sacrificing things in life would lead to simplicity and happiness. However, in the novel Ethan Frome written by Edith Wharton, the character Ethan from shows that sacrifice can be heartbreaking and tragic. Ethan Frome sacrifices his figurative life, and happiness, as well as logic and reasoning for obligation to convey that love, is never enough.
The denotative definition as per Definition of Intersectionality: On the Intersecting Nature of Privileges and Oppression is “ Intersectionality refers to the simultaneous experience of categorical and hierarchical classifications including but not limited to race, class, gender, sexuality, and nationality. It also refers to the fact that what are often perceived as disparate forms of oppression, like racism, classism, sexism, and xenophobia, are actually mutually dependent and intersecting in nature, and together they compose a unified system of oppression.” The term was coined by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw in a 1989 paper titled “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination
The tragic fall that Ethan Frome has is that he is a very concernful person. An example that of this flaw is when "'Somebody had to stay and care for the folks... Fust his father-then his mother-then his wife'" (Wharton 3). This quote demonstrates Ethan's flaw because he gives up
“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 begun reading I thought Zeena was just simply an ill wife, with her hard-working husband. While Ethan battles his feelings for Mattie, I was angry. This is based on how I was raised, I was angry that Ethan liked another while his own wife struggled with her own health. I thought he could do more to help his wife. The quote shocked me, I didn’t think of Zeena like this. I thought of her as a sickly, caring wife. I was wrong and this section gave me a new version of what was happening. Soon instead of being angry at Ethan, I became
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.