Ethan Frome Reflection

Edith Wharton, author of the novel Ethan Frome, speaks through her narrator to tell the ironically realistic tale of a poor, wishful New England farmer, who quickly realizes that his desire for happiness is futile. Ethan Frome’s acquaintances in town describe him as a man who has lived in the small town of Starkfield, Massachusetts for “too many winters,” yet Ethan is only fifty-two years old (Wharton 10). As the narrator relates the “tale of unremitting isolation, loneliness, intellectual starvation, and mental despair,” it is obvious that Ethan’s suffering is something “neither poverty nor physical suffering could have put there” (Faust 817; Wharton 13). The misery from which Ethan suffers is the heartbreak over the unaccomplished dreams of his past. In Edith Wharton’s novel Ethan Frome, the author examines the effects of reality on the fulfillment of the dreams of the characters and the narrator through social conventions, isolation, and fatalism.

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.

The novel Ethan Frome is a short story packed with detail. It takes place in Starkfield and is about a farmer named Ethan Frome. Ethan made poor decisions because he was trapped living with two women; his wife, Zeena, and his wife’s cousin, Mattie. Ethan fell in love with Mattie. When Ethan and Mattie fell in love, they made a horribly rash choice making this novel a tragedy. A tragedy in literature is wherewhen a main character or hero suffers a downfall because of a character flaw, error in judgement, or forces beyond human control. The short novel, Ethan Frome, written by Edith Wharton, is a tragedy because of Ethan Frome’s character flaws, errors in judgement and the forces beyond his control.

As they were on their sled, they passed a street called "Shadow." This street reveals a hint that their love is not truly revealed and destined to be successful. The suicidal spot is the same spot where Ethan found Mattie's golden locket. You could say he found and lost Mattie's love in the same place. The emotional state of the characters were unstable, they both relied on a fictional love. This love was fictional due to the rush and lack of communication from both. To me, I feel like Wharton wants to get a message across, which is, suicide does not resolve your

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

In //Ethan Frome// Edith Wharton illustrates how Ethan views Zeena versus Mattie through the parallel scenes of when Ethan is greeted by Zeena/Mattie at the door of his farmhouse first coming home from the dance and second coming home from. Although both scenes play out almost identically, Wharton uses the slight differences to emphasize how Ethan sees Mattie as beautiful, submissive, and attractive compared to Zeena who he only sees as an obstacle. As Ethan comes up to the door the first time when Zeena waits for him, he is so infatuated by Mattie that Zeena has become but a hurdle for him to overcome. He even dreams about if a dead vine dangling was a"crape streamer tied to the door for a

The Novella of Edith Wharton, Ethan Frome, is a tragedy. Ethan Frome suffered tragedy because of his character flaws, errors in his judgment, and forces beyond his control. Ethan Frome married a woman, Zeena, he was lonely and not truly in love with her. When her cousin, Maddie comes to live with them Ethan becomes infatuated with her. When Maddie has to leave, Ethan and Maddie decide to kill themselves so they never would have to leave one another. In the novella of Edith Wharton, Ethan Frome, Ethan is a unique character who suffers a downfall due to character flaws, and errors in judgment, and most important forces beyond human control to in which he gains wisdom.

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.

Edith Wharton’s brief, yet tragic novella, Ethan Frome, presents a crippled and lonely man – Ethan Frome – who is trapped in a loveless marriage with a hypochondriacal wife, Zenobia “Zeena” Frome. Set during a harsh, “sluggish” winter in Starkfield, Massachusetts, Ethan and his sickly wife live in a dilapidated and “unusually forlorn and stunted” New-England farmhouse (Wharton 18). Due to Zeena’s numerous complications, they employ her cousin to help around the house, a vivacious young girl – Mattie Silver. With Mattie’s presence, Starkfield seems to emerge from its desolateness, and Ethan’s vacant world seems to be awoken from his discontented life and empty marriage. And so begins Ethan’s love adventure – a desperate desire to have

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.

To be noble you must possess high or excellent qualities. In the novel there are many examples of Ethan Frome being a noble person this is evident throughout his relationship with Zeena, Mattie, and other characters. Ethan put his life on hold and has always been there for his family especially Zeena; however, after Ethan and Zeena married she became ill a year later which put a negative effect on their relationship. Zeena became asexual and a very boring person.

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

Another ironic element of the sledding ride is the appearance of Zeena’s face, Ethan’s wife, during the scene. Ethan and Mattie are speeding down the hill towards the elm to what they believe will be their deaths. In one of the last instants before they reach the tree, Zeena’s face appears to Ethan. “But suddenly his wife’s face, with twisted monstrous lineaments, thrust itself between him and his goal, and he made an instinctive movement to brush it aside”. Ethan seems not to have thought about the effects his death would have on his wife, but this sudden image of his wife suggests that he feels guilty. It is ironic that he uses phrases such as “sullen self-absorption” and “evil energy” to describe his wife. Yet, she is the last person he imagines before he reaches the elm. This moment is one last time that he must brush her aside, as he attempts to break free from Zeena forever.

To begin with, Ethan largely takes advantage of how little life experience Mattie has had. She tells him “There’s never anybody been good to me but you!” (138). Ethan doesn’t truly love Mattie, because he doesn’t wish for her to have a happy life regardless of if that would include him. Mattie is young, smart, and beautiful and could marry any young man to start a family, or perhaps further her education and career instead. Ethan makes her believe that she can only be happy with him, the only person who has ever been kind to her. This leads her to suggest that they attempt suicide, even though she is not thinking clearly (143). Ethan encourages this unwise and hasty plan simply because it allows him an easy escape from his responsibilities as a husband to Zeena.