Zeena As A Villain In Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome

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

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.

Ethan's wife, Zeena, displays another area of the poverty of Ethan's life. Her particular poverty is the lack of feeling. She is a cold, decrepit individual, who is convinced that she is sick, and refuses to be told otherwise. She is very uncaring and unpleasant. She constantly gripes at Ethan, and she can't stand her cousin, Mattie. on page 38, Zeena is trying to get rid of Mattie, by hinting that she should get married quickly. She wants to hire another girl.

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.

Zeena makes life for both Ethan and Mattie miserable by preventing them from running away together. As sickly as Zeena is for years, her medical bills are far too expensive for her to support herself without the help of Ethan. As soon as Zeena discovers that Ethan and Mattie are in love she begins scheming to cause issues for Ethan. Zeena talks to Ethan about how Mattie will be leaving the two of them soon to get married, possibly to Denis Eady. She tells Ethan they need to find a replacement for Mattie as soon as possible but Ethan is running late so they hold off the conversation.

|almost like a childhood crush. Zeena is very suspicious of their relationship. The last straw was when Mattie broke the pickle dish while Zeena was away. This was |

Zeena was nasty and treated everyone so badly. Her nasty words and her tone really got to Mattie but not so much Ethan. “Zeena made no reply: She did not seem to hear what he had said” (Wharton 51). She is a selfish person and she does not listen to what anyone else says but herself. Also, Zeena automatically switched up on maids too quickly. “But when Zenobia's doctor recommended her looking about for someone to help her with the house-work the clan instantly saw the chance of exacting a compensation from Mattie” (Wharton 48). It was not necessary to switch up on maids that quickly but Zeena did not care at all and she did it anyways leaving Mattie upset. Lastly, Zeena seemed to be a hypochondriac. “Zeena had always been what Starkfield called “sickly” and Frome had to admit that, if she were as ailing as she believed, she needed the help of a stronger arm than the one which lay so lightly in his during the night walks to the farm” (Wharton 32).Zeena always had the intention of being “sick” but she was not sick enough to hire a maid or being able to control Ethan. She could of took care of herself without a problem. If Zeena was not so moody, selfish, and disrespectful, this could of changed the

In Edith Wharton’s powerful work Ethan Frome, she introduces two leading female characters and instantly creates a comparison of the two within the reader’s eyes. This, not coincidentally, is the same comparison the protagonist Ethan constantly faces and struggles with throughout the novel. On one hand, Zenobia, commonly called Zeena, Frome has been a long-standing part of Ethan’s life. Years of marriage, although not always happy, combined with her always declining health, cause Ethan to feel indebted and sympathetic towards her. While, on the other, Mattie Silver, a relative of Zeena walks into the life of the Frome’s, and with her brings a new feeling of life and vitality to which Ethan has never experienced before. Her appearance in

Isolation can be the determining factor in changing one’s mindset. In Ethan Frome, Ethan faces many disappointments throughout the novel. In the novel, Ethan is an orphan since both parents have passed. His wife Zeena who is also his cousin has become the dominant one in the relationship taking over full control. While living in Starkfield, Zeena has suddenly become “sick” and is forced to bring in her cousin Mattie for help around the house. Zeena is depicted as a bitter prematurely old woman who is always “sick” while Mattie is the picture of health as well as the sweetest woman alive. When Mattie comes into the picture, she becomes the speck of happiness in which Ethan longs for but Zeena keeps taking away. This brings up a theme of failure throughout the novel.

However, the restraints that moral and societal concerns imposed by society on the desires of an individual are arguably the novel's most noticeable theme since the plot of the prose is centered on Ethan’s desire of a lady who isn't his better half. The novel describes ravaging soul of Ethan as he is torn between the obligation to his wife and the desire of his heart. Ethan describes Zeena as the epitome of coldness and despondency. When he saw her before she embarked on her journey to Bettsbridge, he found "the pale light reflected from the banks of snow made her face look more than usually drawn and bloodless (Wharton 39). On the other hand, Wharton’s discerption of Mattie in the eyes of Ethan is related with natural life, warmth, and summer. At the start of the Novel, He perceives Mattie's face as "like a

Ethan marries Zeena and falls in love with Mattie as a direct response to his neediness for care and company. As well, Ethan also finds it a necessity to be accepted by Starkfield, which compels him to live with Zeena and finally stops him from escaping with Mattie. Ethan’s desire for love and acceptance could have been the outcome of a neglected childhood. He had been caring for his parents from a young age, as Harmon Gow tells the narrator, “Sickness and trouble: that’s what Ethan’s had his plate full up with, ever since the very first helping”(6). Ethan spent most of his life caring for others and possibly lacked love from his own sick parents, which may be the reason for his neediness for society to be both proud of him and others to give him the care, which he had to give up from an early age, taking care of his parents. As many studies show, the young need love and affection in order to help with their self-esteem and it is a vital aspect of one’s mental health. Seeing the outcome of Ethan, a lack of care for the young, may cause detrimental effects on ones life as he or she grows

Zeena appears to use her illness as a way to manipulate others to do things. Ethan usually does things to please Zeena. He is taking care of her and feels as if he cannot run off and abandon her. Zeena is controlling over Ethan and wants him to do whatever she pleases. She went away to see another doctor to get a second opinion on her illness and used Ethan’s money to pay for the treatment that she was prescribed even though she knew she wouldn’t be able to do the treatment. As the relationship between Ethan and Zeena becomes worse, Zeena is able to sense the relationship between Ethan and Zeena and becomes

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.

Undoubtedly, Wharton exemplifies Zeena’s rigid and haggard physical appearance to portray the “Evil Queen” in Ethan Frome. Edith paints the picture of a “sallow-complexioned and old at thirty-five” Zeena Frome, accentuating her “high protruding cheekbones, lashless lids over piercing

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.