Ethan Frome: How The Art Of Naturalism Conveys Realism

How the Art of Naturalism Conveys Realism Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Realism brought a new genre of literature to people worldwide. The creation of Realism allows readers to experience a real connection with a work through the authentic ideals spread through it. It proved different from the literature of Romanticism that most people were accustomed to reading at the time. Instead of presenting as inspiring and bright, Realism describes dark and depressing sides of life as a way of pushing for change. To express the points they needed to propel through Realism, writers began to use Naturalism. Naturalism brought descriptions of events that people could relate to; it changed the design of how people viewed literature due to how

The Jungle describes the conditions of early meat packing industries in America.The use of Naturalistic conflicts in Realism provides background, leading to the deeper meaning of the literature. The first example of Naturalism obtained within Realism occurs in Edith Wharton’s novel, Ethan Frome. In the novel, the protagonist, Ethan Frome, finds himself stuck in his hometown of Starkfield, Massachusetts. He resides in his family’s farmhouse with his extremely ill wife, Zeena. Ethan has become tired of his boring life with Zeena and finds a new, passionate love with Zeena’s cousin, Mattie, who has come to live with them and care for Zeena. When Ethan and Mattie attempt to run off together, they get into a major accident, leaving them immobilized from escaping Starkfield. The first naturalistic conflict in the novel involves economics, transpiring when Ethan wonders "what he and Mattie were to live on when they reached the West; now he saw that he had not even the money to take her there” (Wharton 8). Ethan’s impoverishment and inability to support Mattie exemplify the economic conflict of experiencing limitations from low financial resources that many people deal with during

The physical limitations of involvement in the “smash-up” accident are detailed to display how Ethan can be injured and deformed out of nowhere, just like everyone else. The third naturalistic conflict deals with heredity, emerging when Harmon Gow, a local of Starkfield, reveals "... [Ethan’s] been in Starkfield too many winters. Most of the smart ones get away. Why didn't he? Somebody had to stay and care for the folks. There wasn't ever anybody but