Theme Of Fate In Ethan Frome

3. Re-read the flashback of the night before in Ethan and Zeena’s bedroom. What does it reveal about their marriage? Does it help to explain why they do not have any children?

So, it can be seen that Zeena and Mattie do have common feelings for Ethan Frome. She probably has resentment and dislike for Ethan From and even herself since it was her idea to crash the sleigh into the oak tree. Also, since her youthfulness was cut short because of an accident and there was no everlasting love that followed it.

Frome’s suffering brought about by forces beyond his control. Included in these forces are the weather and time of year, leaving for college and having to come back, and falling in love. The winter weather influnces Ethan to marry Zeena.Due to the seasonal weather, Ethan makes a poor choice in marrying Zeena. “After the funeral, when he saw her [Zeena] preparing to go away, he was seized with 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. He had often thought since that it would not have happened if his mother had died in spring instead of winter” (44). This quote substantiates Ethan’s regret in marrying Zeena. He believes he wouldn’t have made that same decision had it been spring time. Another force beyond Ethan’s control is seen in the introduction, it is about Ethan being forced to come home on page 5 ““Somebody had to stay and care for the folks. There warn’t ever anybody but Ethan. Fust his father – then his mother.””(25). This quote relates to when Ethan was forced from college and back to the

Although the two have a rare and precious day together without Zeena nothing happens because of Ethan’s moral values. His moral values is what keeps him isolated from Mattie and the happiness their relationship could provide “The cat who had been a puzzled observer of these unusual movements, jumped up into Zeena’s chair, rolled itself into a ball, and lay watching them with narrowed

In the novel Ethan Frome, written by Edith Wharton, Ethan Frome is responsible for his own misfortune, but is also a victim of fate, due to his unhappiness and loneliness. Ethan Frome has always been a victim of fate, except when he chooses his own misfortune by sledding to his death with Mattie Silver. Ethan Frome has been a victim of fate because while studying engineering in school, his father died and his mother became ill. Her illness required him to quit school and move back to his home to provide and care for her. "Somebody had to stay and care for the folks. There warn't ever anybody but Ethan. Fust his father-then his mother-then his wife" (Prologue

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

Ethan has such a moral dilemma because Zeena and Mattie are so incredibly different. He struggles with which personality and character traits he likes better. Zeena has been by Ethan's side since his mother was ill and he respects her

Secondly, Ethan Frome has had many failures within his life such as his marriage to Zeena. One may ask how is Zeena and Ethan’s marriage a failure? Ethan only marries Zeena after she could not nurse his mother back to health and she ends up passing away. When Ethan mother dies, Ethan is in a sullen mood or funk and in turn

Ethan being very needy marries Zeena, and once she turns cold, Ethan suffers. Ethan had been very lonely, living with his sickly mother.

Mattie and Ethan never follow their love due to Ethan's morals and the respect he has for his marriage to Zeena. He wants Zeena to be well and he takes care of her when she is ill. Frome’s feelings for Mattie never oscillate and he wants to be with this woman who is not his wife. Even though Ethan only had one night with Mattie alone, he cannot help but think of what he has done as he sits in the kitchen. Mattie presents minority, beauty, and good health- all of which Zeena does not possess. It seems he favors the more hip, young, and beautiful women than dull, boring, and unattractive women.

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

Ethan had not wanted to go to bed with Zeena but once Zeena began to pressure him, he backed down and followed her to bed like a hurt child. Thus, Ethan yields to his problem and entraps himself to a life of misery.  He illustrates his own dependence by his consistent submission to Zeena and by his inability to take control of events that are occurring in his life.

Since Zeena is so bitter and mean, Ethan is suffering

Ethan Potter in “The View from Saturday” said, “ Had I gained something from The Sillington House? Or had I lost something? The answer was yes.” This means he shed his introverted “shell” and with the help of “The Souls”, he now addresses himself as an extroverted comedian that appreciates Nadia’s “halo” a tad too much. This shows all throughout chapter 3, Ethan was introduced to Julian, whom brought together “The Souls”, who helped Ethan be his true self, to feel comfortable around his friends. Ethan feels he can be his true self around ‘The Souls”. He finally feels free from the shackles of society, and to top it all off he as a fine group of friends to share it with. Ethan comes to this conclusion because not only lost his identity at The

Ethan Frome begins with a visitor passing through starkfield that is told the story of Ethan Frome. Zeena, his wife, appears to be cold and callous, and mattie is her opposite being that she is young and carefree. Zeena has mostly been the one caring for others (Ethan's mother before she died) and when she gets sick (alot), mattie is the