Ethan Frome Quote Analysis

Ethan’s ignorance and hopefulness. He doesn’t fully comprehend his actions which also emphasizes his immaturity.

Ethan Frome was characterized as an isolated and poor lived character. He was very society based. In his younger years, he was a follower, he lived his life based on what everyone else was doing. After he graduated, he thought the correct thing to do was fall in love and get married, however, he found out the hard way that that is not how life should be and he realized that many years later after he suffered.

First, Wharton contrasts the life of Ethan Frome to almost every place Mattie appears in the book by using words such as "fire" in her presence. She brightens Ethan's life and stands out against the dark, cold setting of Starkfield. Moreover, the color red is noted on Mattie's lips, cheeks, and choice of clothing. For example, outside from all the grey and brown in the dress she wore to a dance, "through her hair she had a streak of crimson ribbon"(82).

In //Ethan Frome// Edith Wharton uses Mattie and Zeena as foil pairs to illustrate the inevitability of isolation corrupting and embittering the victims of its hold. Mattie and Zeena both start out as kind and thoughtful individuals, but as they are forced into isolation on the farm, they inevitably end up becoming unbearable hags despite their previous energy. Both Zeena and Mattie initially arrive energetically as help for Ethan because the primary woman of the house is ill before Ethan falls in love with them. Originally, Zeena is kindly and able to "understand [Ethan's] case at a glance" (29) just as Mattie also came "without a sign of discontent escap[ing] her" (25) regardless of having to deal with the hard life. Wharton sets up Mattie and Zeena's pasts as almost identical to first establish that they both were equally thoughtful before they became trapped in Starkfield; however, Zeena realizes after marrying Ethan and becoming imprisoned on the farm that she cannot leave, but rather is now a captive of the farm's isolation. Once Zeena has married Ethan, they had originally planned on selling the farm and abandoning it, but after the farm proved to be unsalable, Zeena found "life on an isolated farm was not what she had expected" and soon afterwards "developed the 'sickliness'" that is depression from the isolation of the Starkfield farm (30). Despite Zeena's

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 |

The novel "Ethan Frome" by Edith Wharton was based on the moral of Fate vs. Freewill. Ethan Frome's decisions (free will) caused him many accidents later in life. After meeting Mattie Silver, Ethan's wife cousin, Ethan began to feel thrilled every time he was near Mattie. Despite of being married to Zeena, Ethan began to have an affair with Mattie. After coming back from seeking treatment, she began to suspect that Ethan and Mattie had something going on, so she decided to replace Mattie with someone else. Before Mattie left, Ethan and her went to village hill to purposely commit suicide to died together, but only ended up being injured.

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.

As previously stated imagery concerning Mattie is very warm and summer-like. Mattie's face seems to Ethan like "a window that has caught the sunset". Her effect on Ethan was likened to " spring rills in a thaw". Mattie's mood changes were, to Ethan "the flit of a bird in the branches.". When Ethan puts his arm around Mattie when they are walking home it seemed that they "were floating on a summer stream." When Mattie tells Ethan that she would never want to leave his house, "The iron heavens seemed to melt and rain down sweetness."

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.

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

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

Before dying, Mattie’s mom made Mattie promise to stay with her family and the farm, making her do endless work, leaving no time for writing. Her older brother leaves soon after getting into an intense argument with Pa. She wants to go to New York for college, and write a lot more after receiving news that she has a scholarship at Bernard College. But she can’t afford the train ticket and she can’t leave her younger sisters alone at the farm. So she stays and helps, still looking for money to get there, asking her wealthy Aunt Josie to give her money to get to New York, which Aunt Josie flatly denies.

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

Well I say it’s a pity she did…And I say if she’d ha’ died, Ethan might ha’ lived…” (Wharton 156-157). The attempted sledding suicide by Ethan Frome and Mattie Silver functions as the novel’s casement, because it embodies a somber lesson. The whole purpose of Wharton’s work is a moral lesson on how human emotion—specifically love—is a masterful influence on even the strongest human psyche. The illuminating incident acts as a casement because it represents what happens when people lose control of their lives. Literally, Ethan has trouble guiding the sled into the tree, and he struggles to stay on course with the target. Figuratively, Ethan struggles to maintain some degree of control on his spiraling life. The sled represents love. Ethan loves Mattie and is at the point where he will do anything in his power to be with her. The tree represents control. Ethan believes he can guide his love to go where he wants it, but in reality, he lost control the moment he let love take over his head. People control their lives up until they let their emotions cloud their judgement. Then, there is only a false sense of control, a ghost of a memory of what had