Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton Setting Analysis Essay

The Winter is the opposite of summer, during the winter not only does the winter change but the town's appearance. The houses that once looked artificial were exposed and looked abandoned. “Winter comes down savagely over a little town on the prairie...The roofs, that looked so far away across the green treetops...they are so much more uglier then when their angles were softened by vines and

The first factor which adds to Ethan’s tragic fate is time. The book is mainly set in the nineteenth century and in those times things like divorce and adultery were less acceptable. Ethan would have felt morally wrong to leave this wife working on a poor farm or just leaving her money. Ethan’s birth into a poor family and in the time he was born, meant that he couldn’t really do anything so he was left unhappy. There was no welfare state in the nineteenth century America so again Ethan had to accept the burden of looking after his parents and wife, paying all of Zeena’s medical ’needs’ with no help. Ethan must have found

When Harmon states that Ethan has been in the town of Starkfield too many winters leads to the narrator finding out that Starkfield and the town members become emotionally buried under the snow covered blanket of Starkfield?s winters. Winter in Starkfield is depressing and cold and it seems to rub off on the residents of the town. People of the town say he is cold and depressing, simply because he has been in Starkfield too many winters.

Wharton describes a still and serene snow scene to depict the entire mood of Starkville, the dull town where Ethan lives. Wharton shows that before Mattie arrives, Ethan continues a monotonous and bleak life at his vaccant farm with little human interaction. The white, dull, and cold snow represents the emotionless life that Ethan experiences. There is no color or hope, like sprigtime, in Ethan’s life. His future holds more of the same harsh and bitter lifestyle on his farm, while he cares for his lifelong companion, Zeena. Wharton uses the white snow as a way to further understand the rut Ethan

Many people oppose society due to the surroundings that they face and the obstacles that they encounter. Set in the bleak winter landscape of New England, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton is the story of a poor, lonely man, his wife Zeena, and her cousin Mattie Silver. Ethan the protagonist in this novel, faces many challenges and fights to be with the one he really loves. Frome was trapped from the beginning ever since Mattie Silver came to live with him and his wife. He soon came to fall in love with her, and out of love with his own wife. He was basically trapped in the instances of his life, society’s affect on the relationship, love, poverty, illness, disability, and life.

In the novel, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, Ethan Frome conflicts with facing reality as opposed to obtaining a false dream. Ethan has to face the reality that he is not allowed to leave with his new founded love, Maddie. He had tried to obtain the false dream of running away with her, but this love is forbidden and he was left to stay at home with his wife, Zeena.

The town of Starkfield is very aptly named: the town is barren and has long, harsh winters. Staying in Starkfield for too many winters is considered a terrible fate by many, and is the unfortunate fate of the main character. But the setting of Starkfield was established the way it was for a specific purpose: to help develop characters in a very intimate manner. This is why not many characters, outside of the three main characters, are seen throughout the novel, to force them to connect with each other. Edith Wharton uses the theme of isolation to develop the characters to have intimate understands of each other, and allows her to create strong characters.

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.

In Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton is saying that unhappiness resulting from having to choose between love and unwanted responsibility cannot be avoided. Through her use of imagery, she illustrates the difficulty of making choices between what is expected and what is desired. Ethan becomes happy when his responsibility to his wife Zeena goes away when she leaves town, and he is able to pursue his love for Mattie. The world is described differently whether Ethan depending on who Ethan is with, and imagery is used to show his emotions. Mattie is always described as being colorful, while Zeena is seen mostly in darker colors.

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton opens to a bleak New England winter in Starkfield. The novel’s protagonist, Ethan Frome, resides here. Ethan resided “in Starkfield for too many winters.” In fact, the author projects the image of a hell through her description of Starkfield. The city’s name finds its root in a word used to describe a barren or naked place. The author also compounds the image of a barren wasteland by having the story take place in winter, which in the New England region acts as a crippling force, equivalent to a substantial army besieging a weak defenseless town. In sharp contrast to this desolate area, lies Mattie. Wharton first introduces the reader to Mattie, when she wears a bright “cherry colored scarf.” (12) Wharton

Edith Wharton uses setting to compliment the loneliness Ethan feels while living at his farm. The village Frome lives in is, at the start of chapter 1, described as being under “two feet of snow” (Edith Wharton, 11). Snow can oftentimes be interpreted negatively because of the bitter cold it brings, symbolizing hardships and, often, death. Death of loved ones is never easy on an individual, and people are known to draw into themselves when someone close to them has passed, resulting in their own isolation. Indeed, the topic of death is brought up shortly afterwards, when Frome mentions how his father’s death, and the “misfortune following it”, led him to halt his studies (Wharton, 11). Frome was so overcome by a feeling of loss that he’d given

Themes, which are main ideas or underlying meanings in work, are used to add more definition and meaning to a story. In the novel, “Ethan Frome” written by Edith Wharton, the themes of death and life are often expressed within the characters. The characters Ethan and Mattie are examples of the theme of life, while Zeena becomes an example of death.

The novel, Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton is set in early 1900s New England; more specifically Starkfield, Massachusetts. The name of Frome’s hometown itself is ironic for how it is portrayed in the story. Due to the “stark”ness of the town and surrounding areas it affects all of the characters and adds to the somber tone of the story. The long and harsh winters affect how all members of the community interact through their daily lives.

Rationale As part of our English A Language and Literature syllabus, we studied Ethan Frome under Part 4 (Literature) of the syllabus. My primary source is a novella called Ethan Frome (1911) by Edith Wharton. I have chosen to re-write the prologue of Ethan Frome because it will be aimed at better understanding for students. My primary target audience will be the students of my age who study Ethan Frome.

This quote brings up the idea of how the season of winter is what isolated him to a point where people question that “‘... he’s been in Starkfield too many winters. Most of the smart ones get away.’” (Wharton 5). As the novel progresses, this brutal climate also develop characteristics, warm and happy or cold and miserable,