Theme Of Literature In Ethan Frome

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

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.

Throughout their marriage, Ethan and Zeena didn’t really communicate and when Zeena says that Mattie Silver’s time of residing with the Fromes is up, Ethan is furious and thinks to himself, “...an evil energy secreted from the long years of silent brooding” (Wharton 50). Although Mattie has only stayed with them for only a year and is relatively incapable of doing the simplest of household chores, a certain happiness is induced in Ethan when he is around the lively Mattie, “To him, who was never gay but in her presence…”(Wharton 14). This passion deep within Ethan is another thing he has to lie to himself about. His duty and obligation to Zeena doesn’t allow for him to divulge and act on his true feelings. In fact, having to lie about his passion towards Mattie drives Ethan to think death is the answer to his

Winter, a melancholy season, bring to the people the feeling of loneliness. The lonely person becomes lonelier. In the cold winter, just a little ray of sunshine is enough to warm a person's lonely heart. However, no one knows that little ray of sunshine in cold winter is a start point of the tragedy of love. Like "Ethan Frome" is written by Edith Wharton. The story revolves around the love triangle of three characters, Ethan, Zeena, and Mattie. Zeena, Ethan's wife, with illness, she represents the lack of energy. Contrariwise, Mattie, Zeena's cousin, who makes Ethan falls in love, represents the full energy of life. Mattie is a little ray of sunshine of Ethan in the cold winter. That makes Ethan feels thrilled, and the love triangle begins

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.

Thesis: The setting of Ethan Frome creates a hopeless, fatalistic feeling, as if Ethan’s life is doomed from the start. When one also takes into consideration his past life and the way actions work against Ethan, it becomes clear that Edith Wharton believes Ethan’s tragedy is due mostly to fate rather than the choices he makes.

As the story of Ethan Frome progresses throughout the novel, the reader along with the narrator begin to understand the true definition of the barren winter land Ethan Frome seems to be stuck in. We all come to the understanding that at points throughout

Ethan Frome, who this fictional biography is about, is dominated by his id, or inner child and consequently makes very impulsive, childish decisions. His first major mistake that the reader learns about was his hasty decision to marry Zeena. Wharton explains,

 In the novel Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, the character of Ethan Frome plays an important role in the development of the rest of the book. He has several character traits which distinguish him from the other main characters. Also, there are many factors which play against him throughout the novel.

Edith Wharton utilizes multiple literary devices in Ethan Frome to convey different meanings for the readers to decipher. She exercises the use of symbolism the most throughout this novel. Ethan Frome is the story of a man trapped in his marriage while falling for his wife's caretaker and cousin. This complicated relationship and its many tense situations, allows Wharton to dive into different scenarios and symbolic meanings. The most notable uses of symbolism occurs during Ethan and Mattie’s first night together.

The electronic beat of the Samsung ringtone crashed through dark silence, and the Snooze button waded in and out of my blurry vision. I lay there debating whether or not to get up and subject my toasty feet to the icy inferno that is my floor, and caved. Five more minutes...

There are a quite a few short stories, novels,and poetry that uses things to represent something else. This is also known as symbolism. Stories and novels such as “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston, “The Most dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, and “ The Giver” by Lois Lowry. These novels consist a great deal of symbols.Also, these symbols may have more than one meaning to them. In the novel “Ethan Frome”,there are many different things that symbolizes something. The symbols that are found in the novel, “Ethan Frome”, is the cat, the dead cucumber vine and the pickle dish.

In her novel Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton takes a step from her usual writing style of focussing on the upper class she was raised in and focuses on the troubles of the lower class. This story is about a man who tries to escape poverty ends up failing.Using the sociological critical approach one is able to hypothesize why Wharton moved from her usual writing style and determine a theme from it. The sociological approach is when one examines the political or economic context in which the story is written. Examining the society and class the author lives or lived in along with the society and class the author writes about a theme based around these ideas can be formed.

In the bitter town of Starkfield, Massachusetts, a traveler finds himself in a snowstorm and has to take shelter in the house of Ethan Frome, a old man with a bad leg. Many years prior, Ethan worked as a millworker. He later married Zenobia Frome who fell ill soon after. Zenobia’s young cousin, Mattie Silver, goes to the house to assist her. Ethan finds himself infatuated with Mattie and can’t bare the thought of living with his dull wife in that bitter town. Ethan dreamt of running away with young and beautiful Mattie. Did he stay to tend to his wife, or was he smart and got out of town?

From the famous words of Péter Zilahy,“You have to make choices even when there is nothing to choose from.” The title character in Ethan Frome desperately tries to choose fleeing with his long-lost love, Mattie, versus staying at home fulfilling his sacred oath to his wife, Zeena, even though he knows he cannot run away from destiny. He experiences a desire to escape his marriage in order to maintain true love, but instead of obtaining the life he wishes he beings to suffer as he learns that when man conflicts with fate incidents of destruction are to happen and essentially destroy one's life.