Character Analysis Of Ethan Frome

After her and Ethan Frome’s wreck though, she becomes what Zeena was and experiences what she went through. She becomes that resentful and despaired person, that the younger version of Mattie is majorly differentiated from. At the end, irony is displayed because Zeena seems to regain some of her health and beauty while Mattie lost all of hers.

In the novel Ethan Frome, written by Edith Wharton, Ethan Frome is responsible for his own misfortune, but is also a victim of fate, due to his unhappiness and loneliness. Ethan Frome has always been a victim of fate, except when he chooses his own misfortune by sledding to his death with Mattie Silver. Ethan Frome has been a victim of fate because while studying engineering in school, his father died and his mother became ill. Her illness required him to quit school and move back to his home to provide and care for her. "Somebody had to stay and care for the folks. There warn't ever anybody but Ethan. Fust his father-then his mother-then his wife" (Prologue

That makes him stand between what he want and what he need and all he wants, just to stop at thinking. And Ethan's thoughts become his biggest barrier to reaching happiness. Ethan loves Mattie. Ethan dreams about the happiness of him and Mattie. We know that when Ethan says, "I guess we'll never let you go, Matt," he whispered, as though even the dead, lovers once, must conspire with him to keep her; and brushing by the graves, he thought: "We'll always go on living here together, and someday she'll lie there beside me.". But there is no way that comes true when he becomes passive in front of Zeena. When Zeena figures out what is wrong in her family, and try to indirectly force Mattie to leave the farm, Ethan is passive with his feeble reasoning cannot protect Mattie. Then, Ethan plans to flee with Mattie. But once again, another thought comes up to Ethan's mind as an excuse for his passivity, and make him flinch. The narrator states, " If he gave the farm and mill to Zeena what would be left him to start his own life with? Once in the West he was sure of picking up work—he would not have feared to try his chance alone. But with Mattie depending on him the case was different. And what of Zeena's fate? Farm and mill were mortgaged to the limit of their value, and even if she found a purchaser—in itself an unlikely chance—it was doubtful if she could clear a thousand

|never showed. Ethan does Mattie's chores around the house for her and sneaks in extra time with her. Ethan found a companion who showed interest in him. It was |

Ethan has such a moral dilemma because Zeena and Mattie are so incredibly different. He struggles with which personality and character traits he likes better. Zeena has been by Ethan's side since his mother was ill and he respects her

The first factor which adds to Ethan’s tragic fate is time. The book is mainly set in the nineteenth century and in those times things like divorce and adultery were less acceptable. Ethan would have felt morally wrong to leave this wife working on a poor farm or just leaving her money. Ethan’s birth into a poor family and in the time he was born, meant that he couldn’t really do anything so he was left unhappy. There was no welfare state in the nineteenth century America so again Ethan had to accept the burden of looking after his parents and wife, paying all of Zeena’s medical ’needs’ with no help. Ethan must have found

Lastly, the parallelism of Starkfield can be juxtaposed to Mattie and Ethan in an emotional state. Ethan is stuck in an emotional labyrinth: He knows that he must care for Zeena, his wife, but he also loves Mattie. He ultimately decides that life with Zeena would be worse than dying next to his true love, Mattie, which causes his suicide attempt, which he bails out on at the last second, causing his disfigurement. Mattie is trapped emotionally in the same way: her love for Ethan. She shows her feelings multiple times, with the major attempt during their dinner alone. Her plan is to eventually get him away from Zeena and to marry her instead, but this is not a valid option in Ethan’s eyes, again pointing back to the sledding accident.

An ineffective hero, known as a tragic hero, possesses many characteristics. Ineffective heroes are doomed from the beginning, but most importantly, are wounded physically or emotionally, in most situations, as a result of their own flaws. Ethan Frome of Edith Wharton's novel, Ethan Frome, possesses characteristics of an ineffective hero. He suffers from the beginning of the novel, stuck living with his sick parents, and as a result of his flaws, he marries Zeena and falls for Mattie, resulting in both his physical and emotional fracture. However, Ethan cannot succeed and ultimately suffers, as a result of his neediness.

Mattie Silver's arrival at the Frome household is everything Ethan needs.  His lack of assertiveness has led to his deep hatred of his wife and his life.  He soon falls in love with young Mattie and when Zeena decides it's time for her to go, Ethan hesitates to stand up for himself and Mattie.  When he is forced to take her away, he tells Mattie about a story similar to theirs(Wharton, 56); he offers the chance for them to run away together, but Mattie declines.  If Ethan had only made the decision for them, or stood up to Zeena, his life would be much better off.

Zeena was taking care of Ethan’s mother and he fell “in love” with her while she was taking care of his mother. It is said that “Her efficiency shamed and dazzled him. She seemed to posses by instinct all the household wisdom that his long apprenticeship had not instilled in him” (29). Ethan proposed to Zeena because he didn’t want to be alone, it is said in the novel that “He was seized with an unreasoning dread of being left alone on the farm, and before he knew what he was doing he had asked her to stay there with him” (29). It is unclear whether Zeena possessed a love for Ethan as Ethan claimed to of have for her. In the end of the novel Mattie is looked at as the annoying one, and he starts to care for Zeena because she is not the one inept to do household chores.

Edith Wharton uses Mattie to express isolation and being lonely. She comes to the country with ribbons in her hair and more joy in herself. She wanted to free Ethan from the terrible society he lived in. Life in Starkfield is bleak and boring. No one comes outside or enjoys themselves. This is mainly why Ethan wants to escape the barren and poor neighborhood. Ethan is also isolated as well. He opposes society mainly because he cannot be with the one he loves and he doesn’t want to ruin his marriage to Zeena as well. When Zeena falls ill, she goes to the doctor for a couple of days and returns only to find her expensive china now ruined. Angry, she tells Ethan that she needs more hired help and plans to send Mattie away. Upset, Ethan did not know what to do . He decided to write a letter to Zeena telling her to run the farm and be by herself. However, he

When Mattie is to be sent away, Ethan and Mattie grow desperate looking for a way out of their impossible situation. They decide that it is better to die in a sledding accident together than live their lives apart. Ethan hesitates slightly, “But in a flash

Ethan made many decisions throughout his life which caused him to live his life in misery. First, Ethan did not pursue his dream and finish college after the death of his parents. If Ethan had finished college, he could have left

He took a wild step forward and then stopped. “You’re—you’re not coming down?” he said in a bewildered voice.” (134) Ethan has physical strength, but no emotional strength or personality. Zeena can impose her will on him anytime she chooses. His anger comes out in bewildered voice. Ethan feels like Zeena is the one thwarting his hopes and dreams and failures, because she wants to get rid of what he desires, Mattie. Earlier he described Zeena as “smart” (80) but now she is “imposing.” Zeena’s name comes from the name Zenobia, who was the queen of Palmyra. “Zenobia as beautiful and intelligent, with a dark complexion, pearly white teeth, and bright black eyes. She was said to be even more beautiful than Cleopatra, differing though in her reputation for extreme chastity. Sources also describe Zenobia as carrying herself like a man.” (Ball, Warwick (2001). Zeena’s strong overpowering will seems to be another reason why ethan just can not leave Starkfield, he blames her for putting out his “flame of hate” (134) when he was destined for this all along.

In Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, the title character, Ethan, is unhappily married to Zeena. As Zeena is sickly, her cousin Mattie comes to help out with housework. Ethan and Mattie begin a doomed love affair that ends in disaster. Ethan and Mattie attempt to conform to the expected gender roles for the early twentieth century, while Zeena bucks expectations and ends up happier for it. This shows that people are happier when they act like themselves rather than how they are expected to act.