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Ethan Frome Theme Essay

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While everyone has a right to their own happiness, the truth of the matter is that it is not always easy to reach. While a person can struggle their entire life searching for happiness, some may never find what they’re looking for or may never be satisfied with what they have in front of them. The character Ethan, in Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton is a story of full of unlucky love and fate. Ethan stumbles upon a gravestone with his name on it, except this man had a wife, Endurance. This leaves Ethan wondering what his own gravestone with his wife, Zeena, will one day say. This moment took a toll on his view of his own dying marriage and opened up many more foreshadows of fate as well as a pickle jar and the color red. The significance of the …show more content…

The red scarf and red ribbon Mattie wore at the dance and later throughout the story make her stand out from the crowd, which proves Ethan's belief that she is more than just exceptional. The color red represented Ethan’s fate, passion, and love. Another message of fate in the story was when, "A red sun stood over the grey rim of the fields, behind trees that looked black and brittle." This quote from shows the scenery and gives and idea about life in Starkfield. The red sun coming up over the grey field shows that nothing interesting goes on. The quote also gives the idea that it is grim in Starkfield but the color red, representing desire, showed more than just a plain town. Overall, the significance that the gravestone of Ethan Frome and Endurance his wife took, related to the novel's theme of fate greatly. This moment in the story was not the only sign that changed his view on his marriage and living in Starkfield, but the pickle jar and the color red too. Ethan was shook and knew he did not want his future to end up living the same life in Starkfield after seeing the gravestone. Although Ethan was never truly satisfied, the gravestone definitely helped change his views on what and who he

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