Ethan Frome Character Analysis

(p.93). This highlights how much Ethan truly cares for Mattie and his willingness to defend her no matter what. His love and care for Mattie is shown through Ethan’s actions as

Isolation can be the determining factor in changing one’s mindset. In Ethan Frome, Ethan faces many disappointments throughout the novel. In the novel, Ethan is an orphan since both parents have passed. His wife Zeena who is also his cousin has become the dominant one in the relationship taking over full control. While living in Starkfield, Zeena has suddenly become “sick” and is forced to bring in her cousin Mattie for help around the house. Zeena is depicted as a bitter prematurely old woman who is always “sick” while Mattie is the picture of health as well as the sweetest woman alive. When Mattie comes into the picture, she becomes the speck of happiness in which Ethan longs for but Zeena keeps taking away. This brings up a theme of failure throughout the novel.

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

Ethan Frome, written by Edith Wharton; this novel is about a farmer, Ethan, who lives a sad life in the town of Starkfield; he had many ambitions for the future only to have them crushed by his wife, Zeena. When Zeena’s cousin, Mattie, comes to live with the Fromes, Ethan soon realizes that he has developed feelings for Mattie and she was the object of his affection. Ethan immediately becomes involved in a love triangle between Mattie and Zeena. Unsure whether or not to follow his heart and run away to marry Mattie or just ‘shrug off’ his feelings for Mattie and pretend like they were never there, Ethan is faced with a tough decision. A few days later while Mattie and Ethan are out sledding, Mattie has the idea of running into an elm tree,

Throughout the novel, the readers can gather information about who Ethan Frome is. Ethan Frome is a man who wants to feel free for once in his life. Ethan first tried to escape the isolation of his family’s farm and his ill mother when he goes off to college in Worcester. Here he was beginning to grow as a person, but was forced to drop out and move back to the farm after his father’s death. Ethan feels imprisoned by the farm, his work, and his sick wife. Mattie is Ethan’s particle escape from his isolationism, “The sweetness of the picture, and the relief of knowing that his fears of “trouble” with Zeena were unfounded, sent up his sportis with a rush, and he, who was usually silent, whistled and sang aloud as he drove through the snowy fields.” (Wharton 29). He feels as if Zeena holds him back from exceeding his full potential while Mattie makes him feel free.

Ethan had opportunities to speak to Mattie but he didn’t take the advantage of it. For instance, the night Zeena was not there, according to Ethan’s own words, “He had not even touched her hand” (Wharton 76). In addition, Ethan never speak up enough against Zeena’s decision to hire a new girl. If Ethan loved Mattie, why did he

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

Denis Eady, a rich and young man, offers a ride back to the deteriorating farm to Mattie. Mattie refuses and Ethan offers to walk her back. As they get back, Zeena opens the door and has a cold attitude when talking to Mattie (19-28). Denis shows interest in Mattie, yet Mattie is not willing to flirt back with him which shows her infatuation with the Frome household. Mattie can marry off and live in a lavish household without feeling demand from her environment. However, Mattie stays in the Frome household despite Zeena’s attitude with her and the poor conditions of the shelter. This demonstrates her obsession to stay on the farm. Nearing the end, Mattie says, “I’m not crazy; but I will be if I leave you” (90). This piece of dialogue marks the transition from Mattie’s love for Ethan to her obsession of Ethan. Mattie’s mental stability is fluctuating according to Ethan which shows that she obsesses with Ethan. Soon, Mattie proposes that both of them should commit suicide by crashing into the large elm tree (90). The proposal to commit double suicide happens because of her obsession with Ethan. Mattie wants to stay with him forever and could not bear to part with him because of her obsession with Ethan. She reaches the conclusion that the only way she does not have to leave Ethan is if they die together. However, if Mattie dies,

This final decision didn’t cost Mattie her life, except her mobility. Ethan’s inability to commit has now hurt

Frome and his wife soon allow Zenobia’s cousin, Mattie Silver to live with them due to her mother dying. Mattie works as an helping hand but somewhat forgetful in some of the things that she is supposed to do around the house causing Frome to do the things she doesn't do. After a while Frome begins really talking and spending time with Mattie and starts to catch feelings for her. The narrator soon learns about an incident with one of Zenobia’s dishes and how she tells Frome that she is hiring a new girl to help around and how they wouldn't be needing her cousin anymore. This makes Ethan angry but he knows that he would not when a battle with his wife. He tells Mattie that she has to leave and ends up later taking her to the train station.

Often times, when people are hurt and taken advantage of themselves, they in turn take advantage of others. This is true of the character Ethan Frome in the novel of the same name by Edith Wharton. Zeena takes advantage of Ethan, so Ethan takes advantage of Mattie. Mattie is the true victim in the novel because she is young and impressionable, which Ethan uses to manipulate her. She has pure intentions, but ultimately ends up living a miserable life mainly to the fault of Ethan.

Ethan Frome has a strong enough sense of responsibility to keep himself from achieving true happiness with his love Mattie. While Ethan and Mattie sit in the sled preparing to ram head first into the tree, he sees Zeena’s face appear before him, and this reminds him that he still needs to care for her. Sitting on the sled with his love, Ethan

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

Just as how the story started, with the three of them together in a house, the story ends with each trapped in it. Just as Harom said in the prologue, Ethan has been in “Starkfield too many winters,” but could not leave due to his duty to care for his ill parents and wife. Now the only thing stopping him is his own illness, an ironic twist of fate. The three are trapped in a cruel situation caused by disabilities as well as poverty. The harsh winters of Starkfield rage on as their ‘eternal hell’ continues. The social norms that prevented Ethan from fulfilling his desires have finally come into play. What stopped Ethan before was his duty as a husband to never abandon his wife, conforming to the idea that marriage will never put them apart despite otherwise. His morality prevents him from swindling money from two sympathetic characters in his life and running away with Mattie. Although admirable, this eventually leads to his unhappiness. Now, Ethan cannot leave Starkfield ever, due to the many factors that he caused years ago.

Edith Wharton’s novel, Ethan Frome, takes place in Starkfield, Massachusetts during the winter season sometime around the turn of the twentieth century. By using flashback, first-person narrative and limited third-person narrative, Wharton tells the tale of an unfortunate man, Ethan Frome, whose world takes an ironic turn that traps him into a life of misery. The story describes Ethan’s life as it was twenty-four years prior and the ill-fated circumstances that resulted in the broken man he had become. Just like many Americans, Ethan Frome had dreams and hopes for a better future but family obligations and poverty were obstacles he simply could not overcome.