The Theme Of Love In Wharton's Ethan Frome

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In Ethan Frome, written by Edith Wharton, the main character is struggling with the temptations of adultery. Through the novel, the reader witnesses the love between Ethan and Mattie blossoming into something neither of them could ignore. Many flaws came with this strong bond that they both were faced with and that prevented them from being happy together. The obstacles of Ethan and Mattie's relationship were caused by Ethan’s unending love for her and the disapproval of their relationship that is expressed through the cat. In addition, another conflict with their relationship was the inability to escape from his abusive wife. Ethan was fond of Mattie ever since she arrived to live with him and Zeena. He was not happy with his wife and Mattie Silver reminded him of what he wanted his life to be. Mattie made Ethan feel important and gave him a sense of hope. When Mattie was in the room with him, he focused all of his attention on her: “ The only drawback to his complete well-being was the fact that he could …show more content…

As the novel progressed, the truth was revealed that Zeena was an unappreciative and unlikable wife. Zeena left the home because she was sick and needed to seek medical attention from specialized doctors. Upon her arrival home, she explains to Ethan that her illness made her incapable of doing daily chores around their home. Ethan does not understand how her sickness was as advanced as she claims and Zeena responds with no remorse: “I didn’t need to have anybody tell me I was losing ground every day. Everybody but you could see it” (Wharton 79). Ethan did not do anything to cause Zeena to act as she did. This scene portrays that Zeena did not love or respect Ethan, she believed that he did not appreciate all that she did. Both Zeena and Ethan were unhappy together, but they remained married and this was the one thing that kept him from being happy with

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