Ethan Frome Fate

Throughout their marriage, Ethan and Zeena didn’t really communicate and when Zeena says that Mattie Silver’s time of residing with the Fromes is up, Ethan is furious and thinks to himself, “...an evil energy secreted from the long years of silent brooding” (Wharton 50). Although Mattie has only stayed with them for only a year and is relatively incapable of doing the simplest of household chores, a certain happiness is induced in Ethan when he is around the lively Mattie, “To him, who was never gay but in her presence…”(Wharton 14). This passion deep within Ethan is another thing he has to lie to himself about. His duty and obligation to Zeena doesn’t allow for him to divulge and act on his true feelings. In fact, having to lie about his passion towards Mattie drives Ethan to think death is the answer to his

Ethan and Mattie fall in love but are prevented from being together because Zeena attempts to remove Mattie from the Frome household. Ethan and Mattie attempt suicide in order to be together forever but they survive the smash-up and are left crippled with only Zeena to care for them. While some people believe that Mattie Silver is responsible for the tragic ending of Ethan

|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 |

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 is troubled as his life begins to shift drastically, his father was kicked by a horse and became mentally ill. With that he had to take over the farm, mill, as well as both his parents. After a while his father passed away and his mother too had grown mentally ill, now he had to do all the house work (Edith Wharton pg. 40). He needed help taking care of his mother so his distant cousin Zenobia had come down to help him out. His mother ended up dying leaving him all alone, with this he had seen Zeena as his escape, so he asked her to stay and later they got married. As time grew Zeena grew ill and silent, which left Ethan no one to speak with, everyone in town pitied him and tried to avoid him. Ethan was detached from his own reality, home, and

Ethan Frome is a tall character with disfigured shoulders, whose personality is timid, shy, repressed, reticent, and purpose as the protagonist is to attempt to confess his emotions to Mattie Silver, and deal with various situation throughout the story as he attempts to develop a relationship with Mattie. Two quotes that provide an insight into their personality are this excerpt reveals Ethan’s reticent, and shy personality being he had the opportunity to show his feelings to Mattie, however, he was unable to do so. In addition, the quote, elicits Ethan’s repressed personality, being he is reminded about Zeena when he is attempting to show his affection to Mattie.

As Aristotle once said, “A tragic hero is not an ordinary man, but a man with outstanding quality and greatness about him. His own destruction is for a greater cause or principle.” The character Ethan Frome in the novella, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton can be classified as a tragic hero. After being physically and emotionally isolated in a loveless marriage for seven years, the protagonist, Ethan Frome, began his descent as a result of an error in judgement. As an effect of this isolation, Ethan follows his instincts instead of his intellect, leading to a punishment much more harsh than his initial crime. By making poor choices, Ethan poses a threat to society and causes suffering to family members, friends and associates. The common characteristics of a tragic hero include the character beginning with noble stature, enduring his “hamartia” (tragic flaw), and suffering a punishment that is worse than the crime. The character of Ethan Frome fits into the archetype of a tragic hero. Through using Ethan as a tragic hero, the author, Edith Wharton, is trying to convey the

Ethan feels the responsibility and judgment that he will be faced with if he leaves his wife Zeena to be with younger Mattie, as his heart desires too, leaving him stuck in his marriage. Mattie faces the standards set upon her as a former city turned poor farm girl, but is unable to perfectly complete them. She had the talents expected of her as a city girl, but they are turned impractical and unuseful when she goes to help the Fromes. She has no skill in the housework expected out of her, which makes Zeena fire her and force Mattie to go to the city. Mattie sees the future so awful and she so unprepared and inept (as she was never made to take care of herself) that she sees death better than uncertainty. Zeena knows all the right things to do in the eyes of society and knows all the expectations, yet still does not do her life perfectly in the eyes of society and social norms. All are left with unhappy and quite awful lives, due to them attempting to follow what is expected of them by society. Maybe if they did not try and follow the rules that would be better off for it. The tragedies of the characters lives in Ethan Frome all mainly contribute to the theme that society’s rule and expectations lead not to happiness, but instead do not let individuals go after personal

When he was young his life stared to fall apart. He had to give up his life and become a full time caregiver. As Harmon says, “I guess it's always Ethan done the caring”(3). Ethan’s parents became ill and wasn’t able to care for themselves. His father became injured in an accident and his mother had a mental disability. Ethan took care of them for many years until they passed away. When his parents passed, he married Zenobia. Zenobia was there to continue with the things his mother did for him. Soon after their marriage Zenobia also became ill. Then had to take care of her too. After, all these incidents that happened, Ethan managed to stay strong through

Edith Wharton utilizes multiple literary devices in Ethan Frome to convey different meanings for the readers to decipher. She exercises the use of symbolism the most throughout this novel. Ethan Frome is the story of a man trapped in his marriage while falling for his wife's caretaker and cousin. This complicated relationship and its many tense situations, allows Wharton to dive into different scenarios and symbolic meanings. The most notable uses of symbolism occurs during Ethan and Mattie’s first night together.

Zeena’s cousin Mattie comes to Starkfield after her father passed away begins to live with the Frome family as the caretaker for Zeena. Frome begins to acquire a strange attraction to Mattie. The relationship between the two start to blossom and Zeena takes a notice to Ethan’s change in behavior after Mattie began living in the home, but does not directly confront Ethan instead she gives subtle comments to inform him that she knows something is going on. Ethan decides to disregard Zeena’s attempts and continues to pursue Mattie. At this point he has now married Zeena out of pure selfishness and starts to pursue another mistress right under Zeena’s nose. He is unable to divorce Zeena because she is ill and he thinks it is his duty to stay with abandon her, yet it is more for himself as a hopeless attempt at redemption from his first selfish act, but it is all counteracted by him being unfaithful to Zeena with Mattie. To sum it up two wrongs never make a

Ethan Frome is a story of sorrow and regret. The author Edith Wharton spins a tale of misery, where fate and freewill are unrecognisable. Ethan is seemingly introverted and shy which makes him sympathetic, but also selfish and impulsive which are very negative traits. His story is gossip in the village he is resident to, and when the unknown narrator visits the town; similarly to the reader, he hopes the story is one that will be unforgettable. It isn’t though, it is not exactly normal, but it is very anti-climactic and symbolic of life for most people. Ethan is like most men and desires excitement, and his dear Mattie is the source of that. Young, energetic, and charming; she’s a dream to him. He makes decisions in hopes of at least a grand suicide, but can't even achieve that. Even after the symbolic sled, he can’t achieve satisfaction, because he is trapped with his always grouchy wife and a now frustrated and older Mattie in a small cabin. The novel is a dramatic recreation of disappointment in life and the reality of events.

He notices her eyes by watching them at every moment at any time. He has OCD, which makes him do compulsive things like writing a note to his wife telling her that he will leave her for Mattie. Furthermore, “when [one] can't make [their] strange thoughts go away, they can bring misery and mental illness” (Adam). In the book, Ethan Frome and Mattie try to kill themselves to die together.

Ethan is a weak and submissive man who cannot deny Zeena although there is no love between them. He doesn't take the role of a husband and is very lenient towards her wishes. From the moment he met Zeena, he has allowed her to make all the decision even though he does not agree with her all the time, he never argues with her. “But if that were the case, how could any combination of obstacles have hindered the flight of a man like Ethan Frome.” (Wharton, Pg) Even the engineer wonders what possibly could have made Ethan stay in Starkfield. Zeena has taken any chance of success or happiness by grounding him to Starkfield and not allowing him to pursue his dream. “Ethan felt that if he had pleated an urgent need, Hale might have made the shift to pay him; but pride and an instinctive prudence