Ethan Frome Themes

The key role in many novels generally is the setting, it helps the author reveal and reinforce characterization and theme. Edith Wharton uses setting in Ethan Frome to help bring out characterization and theme by the isolated life of Ethan Frome and the village in New England as well as the winter landscape surrounded by trees.

The book has a section entitled, “Marriage is traditional” and in that particular section it mentioned about how “marriage has changed over time.” When examined current day marriage trends show that people are looking for partnership or soul mates, not for the most traditional reasons of the past. The idea that one person is supposed to be with one person for the rest of their life is no longer relevant. It is possible to have many happy years with one person, but that does not mean that these people will die together. People can have a falling out. Situations change—people do grow. If people stayed stagnant their whole lives, where would society be? With the way

In Edith Wharton’s novel Ethan Frome, setting is an important element. The setting greatly influences the characters, transportation, and activities.

Modern, contemporary society’s mindset on marriage has shifted considerably over the years. Some research has noted the increase in early sexual experiences, greater acceptance of cohabitation and the increase in narcissistic tendencies, are complicating and muddying the ideals of what marriage means to people today. Research done on this subject resulted in several studies that found that spouses who did not believe that marriage would last forever, were less likely to commit to the relationship financially and were more likely to have extramarital affairs.

Today, alternative long-term relationships are growing in times in heterosexual and LGBTQ relationships. Cohabitation is defined by “Recent Changes in Family Structure” as quote: “an intimate relationship that includes a common living place and which exists without the benefit of legal, cultural, or religious sanction.” Between 2005 and 2009 2/3 of relationships approximately were preceded by cohabitation (“Rise of Cohabitation” 2014.) This arrangement is less committed and therefore it takes longer to end, without much emotional devastation of a pricey divorces. Most marriages still begin with cohabitation. However, it is becoming less and less likely that cohabitation will end in a marriage. Marriage is still common in today’s culture, with approximately 60.25 million married couples in 2016 (“Number of married couples in the United States from 1960 to 2016 (in millions)” 2016.) This is evident why it is killing the nuclear family standard. People are having less desire to fully commit to a marriage in the first place. 1950 social standards would have never accepted an unmarried couple as a part of a normal life so only can a legal marriage constitutes the ideal set forth. Another, way to break the standard is remove some components.

People have many dreams that they want to accomplish during their lifespan on earth. However, not all of the dreams can be fulfilled. The dreams and desires of a person can be hindered by interfering forces which might be external, social and environmental factors, or internal like lack of will. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton demonstrates how social factors, including rules and expectations, and environmental factors such as weather and landscape, hindered the protagonist from accomplishing his dreams. These factors together with his lack of will, played a major role in the tragedies of Ethan.

Ethan Frome written by Edith Wharton was an astounding yet surprising novel. The theme that really stood out the most in this story was courage. Throughout the story Ethan has to build the courage to deal with his feminine conflicts that change his outlook towards other characters. The discussion of characters and their choices will take place throughout this essay too.

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.

Motifs are interesting literary devices, treasured by many authors, to make up or help support the plotline of each story written. In the novella Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, she uses the motif of parallelism of the setting of Starkfield, Massachusetts, and other characters such as Ethan Frome and Mattie Silver, to help describe the way that Starkfield and other factors entangle each character mentally, emotionally, and physically. The importance of this is evident, as it shows during key periods in the story.

How does the writer illustrate Ethan’s changing emotions? How does this passage prepare us for events to come?

Relationships have shaped humanity since the beginning of time. From Adam and Eve to Romeo and Juliet to Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, relationships influence culture and fuel the imaginations and passions of many. Perhaps the most important aspect of a relationship lies in what it brings long-term: the continuation of our species. For all these reasons, relationships constantly appear and reappear in culture, music, and literature. However Charles Dickens and Betty Smith do not focus the effect of relationships on the bonding of two people together, but rather the full development and maturation of one individual’s identity. In their respective novels, Great Expectations and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Dickens and Smith explore how relationships impact a person’s identity and the importance of caution in selecting a lifelong partner.

The novel Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton tells the story of Ethan Frome and the tragedy he faces in his life. The story mainly focuses on the relationships between and among Ethan, his wife, and his wife’s cousin, with whom he is in love. Wharton uses different literary devices to develop the plot, including irony as one of the most effective. The use of irony in the novel, especially in the climatic sledding scene, greatly adds to the development of the tragedy.

In Edith Wharton’s novel, Ethan Frome, one major critical theory revolves around the psychological criticism. The novel revolves around this critical theory because Wharton wanted the reader to observe how the setting becomes dependent on the emotional state of the character and vice versa. Throughout the novel, Wharton makes changes to the environment to represent Ethan’s fondness for certain characters. On the contrary, Wharton displays how the setting directly influences Ethan’s mental state. As the reader perceives this influence that each character has on Ethan Frome, they can develop an understanding of the relationships established in the novel. This critical theory will be expressed throughout the literary analysis paper, specifically in the Novel Summary section and Literary Criticism sections. The following text will analyze the drastic changes in the environment and compare it to Ethan’s mental state.

A survey of 14000 adults states in ‘A Guide to Family Issues: The Marriage Advantage’ that marriage was a pertinent factor contributing to happiness and satisfaction with forty percent of the married individuals being happy as opposed to 25 percent of either single or cohabiting individuals. The same study shows that ninety eight percent of never married respondents wished to marry and out of those 88% believed that it should be a lifelong commitment. Even though, divorce rates are rising numerous researches show that young people aspire to have a lasting marriage.

The stark divide between love and marriage shown right the way through cannot be comprehended fully by the twenty-first century reader: in today’s society marriage and love are mutually exclusive - you very rarely get one