How Does Zeena Stay In Control In Ethan Frome

In Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, the narrator recounts the life of Ethan before his smash-up. Ethan and his sickly wife, Zeena, live in the small town of Starkfield, Massachusetts with Zeena’s cousin, Mattie. As the years went by, Ethan begins to develop a crush for Mattie and those feelings are reciprocated. Zeena, on the other hand, tries to stay in in control over every aspect of both of Mattie and Ethan’s lives. But towards the end of the novel, Ethan and
Mattie attempt suicide and fail, and after the two are incapacitated, Zeena recovers and begins to care for her family. But all through the novel, Zeena was too sick to even take care of herself, leaving the reader to wonder why she would start to care for Ethan and Mattie. Overall, Zeena

She is accustomed to bossing people around and tormenting them mentally. For example, right before
Ethan was about to clash with the tree Ethan imagined, “...his wife's face, with twisted monstrous lineaments, thrust itself between him and his goal…” This means that Zeena does have an impact on Ethan’s thoughts and actions, thus she is always in control over every aspect of Ethan’s life.
But in order for Zeena to remain in control after her husband’s accident, she would have had to overcome her illness so she could have the strength to care for two other people. Zeena more than likely realized that if she remained sick, she could not stay in power over Ethan since she would have to rely on a hired helper or help from the townspeople. And at the end of the novel, Mrs. Hale stated, “It was a miracle, considering how sick she was—but she seemed to be raised right up just when the call came to her.” Considering how sick Zeena was described as, this quote may lead the reader to speculate that Zeena was only pretending to be sick. Zeena more than likely knew that if she and her husband were both healthy, Ethan would have had

Another reason why Zeena suddenly began caring for Mattie and Ethan is that she wanted to put an end to their relationship. At the beginning of the book, Zeena notices that Ethan has started shaving every day, leading the reader to think that Zeena knows about Ethan’s secret crush. And as the novel progresses, Zeena concocts a plan to send Mattie away. But the most concrete evidence of this claim is when Zeena snapped at Mattie, “You're a bad girl, Mattie
Silver, and I always known it. It's the way your father begun, and I was warned of it when I took you, and I tried to keep my things where you couldn't get at 'em—and now you've took from me the one I cared for most of all—” This remark helps the reader realize that Zeena may actually care for Ethan if the reader speculates that the “one” Zeena is talking about is Ethan himself and not the pickle dish.
And at the end of the novel, the roles are reversed. Instead of Ethan trying to nurse Zeena back to health, Zeena is caring for Ethan. Although Zeena may think she is in control, Ethan may just decide to steal the power from Zeena, much like how she did when she was sick. And overtime, Zeena may even become fed up with taking care of Ethan and decide to leave