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Ethan Frome In the novel Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, Ethan’s wife Zeena plays an important role in the novel. Zeena changes Ethan through their marriage, and her illness. It is interesting when we find out that Zeena is actually Ethan’s cousin. It is questionable whether Zeena is sick or not. She often appears to be a hypochondriac. In the novel the narrator states that “Zeena, she’s always been the greatest hand at doctoring in the county” (5). If Zeena had the greatest hand at doctoring, she would be able to help take care of herself and at the same time help others. In the beginning of the novel we learn how Ethan found Zeena. “It was only when she drew toward her last illness, and his cousin Zenobia Pierce came over from the next valley to help him nurse her, that human speech was heard again in the house. After the mortal silence of his long imprisonment Zeena’s volubility was music in his ears. He felt that he might have “gone like his mother” if the sound of a new voice had not come to steady him” (29). Zeena brought Ethan color to his life. She made him more socia...
...n gave up. Her energy had to be devoted towards the survival of her family she then “grew increasingly anxious and upset”(163).
Ethan Frome has continuously viewed his wife, Zenobia “Zeena” Frome, as a sickly negative individual.
because his mother died. Since Zeena is why Ethan does not have control of his
Ethan marries Zeena so he won't be alone after his mother dies. She seemed like a very cheerful, vivacious person while his mother was sick. After their marriage all this changed. She became a very nagging, sick wife. Because of Zeena's "complications" they had to hire someone to help around the house. Mattie, Zeena's cousin, needed a place to live and seemed fit for the job. She moved in and Ethan took and immediate liking to her. He found someone that cared for him, was always happy, and could share his youth. All of which, Zeena was incapable of doing. Ethan longed to be with Mattie, but he was loyal to Zeena. Being married to Zeena was Ethan's first failure.
As a small child, about two years old, Lizzie's mother died. Her father, Andrew, married again. Lizzie did not like her stepmother even though she did not really remember her real mother at all. She never really accepted her stepmother as the person who raised her. And then one afternoon they were robber sunk in the house a...
In 1941, Audie's mother passed away. This was a troublesome time for Audie; her passing was exceptionally troublesome for him, and it was an occasion that would stay with him until the day he passed away. “She died
The beginning of the short story starts with the narrator's description of her mental state and the perception of her family members towards her condition. The narrator talks about, despite how she feels, her family, especially her physician husband John, did not take her condition seriously. She even mentions that John being
The swings creaked on the ice as Joe Bennett sat on one lonely swing dressed in black. Cold fingers ran to his mother's locket. His Mother Elizbeth Bennett's death crushed him like it crushed her. A man called in sick that day at the mines. He called she filled in for him and that was it. He couldn’t understand why it had to be her.
The heroine of this tale knows that she is not well, and the fact that medical authorities contradict her self-diagnosis frustrates her. She concedes that her husband should be more knowledgeable than her about her condition. This undermines her self-confidence in being able to evaluate herself.
Because most of these principles originate from her marriage with Edward Robbins Wharton, they take a truly feministic approach. The novel is about the narrator’s experience and meeting of Ethan Frome, a character of much depth. Throughout the novel, one finds out that Ethan Frome faced the troubles of a failing marriage. The story’s plot revolves around a love triangle between him, his wife Zeena, and Zeena’s cousin, Mattie (Kitto). Zeena and her cousin prove to be immensely divergent characters with contrastive personalities and behaviors. Zeena holds a controlling, unnerving, commanding type of personality, showing that Frome married her because of an inner sense of duty. On the other hand, Mattie has a more appealing, ambrosial personality with a more submissive nature in comparison to Zeena. Throughout the novel, Ethan Frome suffers internal conflict by not being able to choose between a sense of obligation to commit to his wife and his sense of desire to be with Mattie
"You see, for her words were medicine; they were magic and invisible. They came from nothing into sound and meaning. They were beyond price; they could neither be bought nor sold. And she never threw words away." --Pg. 85
Throughout the story, the narrator speaks of her mother’s grace and in moments when that grace was put under pressure,
The novel focuses on the the titular character and a young woman named Mattie Silver, and how their relationship affects Ethan’s relationship with his overbearing wife, Zeena. Examining the miserable Frome marriage reveals how Zeena Frome is portrayed as the villain. From the start of the novel, Zeena is the “obstacle” in the way of Ethan and Mattie Silver’s relationship. Ethan truly wants to pursue a relationship with Mattie, but is restricted due to his existing marriage. Zeena is a shadowy presence throughout the story, always popping up when Ethan and Mattie least expect it. In this sense, Elizabeth Ammons compares Zeena Frome to a typical “witch” present in common fairy tales, lending further credence to the assertion that Zeena is a villain. “There are women whose occupation in life consists of making other people unhappy,” she says. “Ethan Frome includes three…Zeena’s hypochondria, her frigidity, her taciturnity broken only by querulous nagging, her drab appearance—these things make her an unsympathetic character” (Ammons 139). Edith Wharton portrays Zeena in a negative light through imagery as well. Early in the novel, when Zeena appears for the first time, Wharton lets the reader imagine an ugly woman by describing her as having flat breasts and a puckered throat (Wharton
In the novel Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton creates an interesting plot revolving around two star-crossed lovers. Unfortunately, there is only one important thing that gets in the way of these lovers, a wife who’s a hypochondriac. Zeena, the wife, finds herself in a particular situation, a situation where she needs to figure out how to get rid of Mattie. She tries everything to get rid of her, especially her illness, using it as an excuse to get what she wants, oppressing Ethan’s desires and needs. Despite her malicious actions, she creates a justifiable reasoning of her intent. In Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton creates a psychological response in regards to Zeena. Rather than being depicted as the villain of the novel, Zeena is merely the victim of
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