Ethan Frome Marriage Quotes

According to a quote from the film Braveheart, “Every man dies, Not every man really lives”. This quote seems to apply itself directly to Ethan Frome. In Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, the titular character doesn’t get a chance to really live his life. Death and hardship fill up his early life, as his father passed away and left him with little money and large amounts of work to do on the farm. Later, he is obligated to marry the woman who took care of his dying mother, who then got sick herself following the marriage. That in turn doesn’t allow Frome to move away from the small New England town he grew up in. To make matters worse, when his wife’s cousin comes to stay with the couple to help around the house, he falls hopelessly in love with her, but can’t do anything to act on it. In Ethan Frome, the titular character’s life is best described and haunted with the themes of lies, passion, and death.

State how marriage is presented in the stories, “Desiree’s Baby” and “The Story of an Hour.”

In the book Ethan Frome, the characters are caught between what is right and wrong. Mattie has a torn desire to be with her sister’s husband and Ethan does not stop her because he feels the same way. The theme for the book is duty and desire. Ethan has a desire towards Mattie because she does not complain and is thought of as

Ethan Frome and his wife, Zenobia (Zeena), never really know what true love feels like because they are both very lonely people. They meet when Zeena is caring for Ethan’s mother; due to their loneliness, they mistake the bizarre feeling of companionship for love. Ethan marries Zeena, not because he is in love, but because he does not want to be alone and he feels like he owes it to her for everything she is doing for him. She is aware of this and claims, “...you grudged me the money to get back my health, when I lost it nursing your own mother! And my folks all told me at the time you couldn 't do no less than marry me after—” (Wharton 83). In addition to Zeena saying that Ethan

Ethan Frome knew that it was wrong to cheat but he did it anyways. The narrator stated,“He became suddenly conscious that he was looking at Mattie while Zeena talked to him…”(Wharton 50). Ethan was all about Mattie and almost acted like Zeena was not even there. Also, Ethan could of avoided his decisions toward Mattie.The narrator emphasizes,“It pleased Ethan to have surprised a pair of lovers on the spot where he and Mattie stood with such a thirst for each other in their hearts; but he felt a pang at the thought that these two need not hide their happiness” (Wharton 58-59). Ethan is too attached to her and easily could of avoided it. Instead, he did not avoid anything and caused a lot of chaos especially with Zeena. Lastly, Ethan should of controlled himself. Ethan explained to Mattie,“What's the good of either of us going anywhere without the other one now”(Wharton 116)? It is wrong on every level just to leave your wife even if you do not love her just to leave with a girl that you cheated on Zeena with. Although Ethan is miserable, he still did it to himself but if he made better decisions, the their would of been different

Throughout the novel, Ethan Frome’s sense of responsibility lives strong enough in him to forget about his own happiness with Mattie, to stay with his wife Zeena, and to take care of the town when all of the others have passed away. In Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, Ethan’s sense of responsibility to his wife and land prevents him from achieving true happiness and causes his ultimate emotional death.

To make matters worse, a year after Ethan and Zeena married, Zeena became very ill and then Ethan chose to take care of her even though he was in love with Mattie. Zeena eventually tells Ethan she hired a new girl and she would be staying in Mattie’s room which infuriated Ethan. Ethan was noble because he was there for Zeena and he always let Zeena have her way. The final reason why Ethan stayed with Zeena is because he felt that withholding his love for Mattie, he is sparing Zenna’s emotions and feelings (Wharton 13). This shows Ethan is noble because he is protecting Zeena and hiding their love for one another. Ethan wanted to protect Zeena and not make her feel unwanted or alone.

This quote was found on page 13, in the introduction when Harmon Gow is explaining to the narrator who Ethan Frome is.

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.

prompted him to seek a relationship with Mattie. Her manipulative and lassitude state has kept Ethan bound and unhappy until the arrival of young Mattie. The reader notices a change in Ethan as he contemplates leaving Starkfield with Mattie, but his guilt stops this thought. Zeena can be described as a vitriolic character because she is self-centered and continually throughout the story inveighs Ethan and Mattie on all their actions and faults. His thoughts revealed that “even if he had the heart to desert her he could have done so only by deceiving two kindly people who had pitied him”

Cheating is when one is not loyal or faithful to the person one is currently in a relationship with. Generally, when a person cheats on someone, he will tend to treat the person that he is cheating with better than the person that he is cheating on. In Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, Ethan falls in love with Mattie, and Zeena notices it. Zeena expresses the way that she feels about Ethan being with Mattie and that she knows what is going on between them through her dialogue, actions, and what she observes. It is easy to see that Zeena knows that Ethan is trying to replace Zeena with Mattie.

They say love is the strongest force in the Universe, but by god, “Ethan Frome” by Edith Wharton shows it can also be the stupidest. “Ethan Frome” a Fictional Romantic (and somewhat ironic) novel follows a man named Ethan Frome in his cold, melancholic life in Starkfield, Massachussetts during the late 19th century. Frome is unhappy, married, and desperate. That is until he meets Mattie Silver; his hope for a better life. Breaking down “Ethan Frome” the reader can realize that this is far more than a love story. The major theme is centered on love, but more it’s far more tragic. The novel focuses on creating a love triangle that is far from perfect and slightly awkward, but can somehow still work. Ultimately, “Ethan Frome” proves a point,

The novel, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton tells of Ethan Frome and his struggles to be with the one he loves, Mattie Silver, and escaping the one he’s married to, Zeena. The tragedy that is Frome’s life is founded on the differences between Mattie and Zeena, such as their physical appearance and their communication and relationship with Ethan.

Humans turn to manipulation when they desperately want something, without focusing on the consequences. For instance, in the novella Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, characters such as Zeena and Ethan use manipulation when they need or want something. For example, Ethan uses manipulation in order to impress or be with Mattie. This is shown, when Ethan believes, “If the Hales were sorry for him they would surely respond to his appeal… He was planning to take advantage of the Hales’ sympathy to obtain money from them on false pretences.” (112-113), proving Ethan is manipulating the Hales’ sympathy in order to have enough money to leave with Mattie. Zeena also uses her health in order to manipulate others. For instance, Zeena grabs Ethan’s attention

Human beings often make permanent decisions based off temporary emotions. Ethan Frome, the protagonist in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, is morally constrained to Zeena, his sickly wife, but is also afflicted by his heartfelt emotions for Mattie Silver. After years of a harsh life with Zeena who he felt he owed, Ethan comes to believe that his greatest chance at a happy life is with Mattie Silver. However, in the end Mattie's other side, one which is extremely similar to Zeena's attitude, comes to rise, after an unsuccessful suicide attempt. Edith Wharton makes an ironic tribute to the book by presenting contrasting personas, including physical appearance and attitudes to describe Zeena Frome and Mattie Silver, but also adduces