Personal Narration In Ethan Frome By Edith Wharton
Ethan Frome is a novel written by the Pulitzer-winning author Edith Wharton in 1911, that is set in the fictitious town of Starkfield, Massachusetts. In the novel, a new minister of the town who pities Ethan’s life narrates the whole story of Ethan’s thwarted dreams tangled between desire and reality, true love and responsibility in an extended flashback. The wrong choice Ethan makes on Mattie and Zeena turns his life into a great tragedy and irony, as the scene the minister sees at the end of the movie at Ethan’s house – he has to take care of his wife and mistress at the same time. Due to the fact that Ethan is destined to live a miserable life and his poor ability of making the right decisions, Ethan’s dreams never came to fruition. …show more content…
Ethan spends his whole life taking care of other people, from his father and mother to Zeena and Mattie, which hinders him from chasing his dreams and opportunities of joy. Originally, Ethan was going to college, majoring in engineering until his mother got sick, which forced him to relinquish the possibility of having a brighter future, he has to go back home to implement his responsibility by taking care of his mother. After his mother died, Mattie’s arrival lightens up Ethan’s stark life: Mattie is young, beautiful and positive like spring while Zeena is cold, bitter and selfish like winter. The author represents Mattie as sunlight and Zeena as the ugliness of the house in the novel, “…a flash of watery sunlight exposed the house on the slope above us in all its plaintive ugliness.” (Wharton 22) Zeena’s sickness was still a dilemma existed between Ethan’s desire of living with his true love, Mattie and what he believes is morally right – caring for the sick Zeena, even though in the first place Ethan married Zeena not out of love, but in an attempt to flee himself from isolation, loneliness and heavy duties at the house. Finally, Ethan and Mattie choose to preserve their love and happiness through the only way they think of –in heaven. However, like a quote says, “That's life — whichever way you turn, fate
Ethan Frome Character Analysis Essay
492 Words | 2 PagesEthan Frome takes place in Starkfield, Massachusetts, in the late 1890s to the early 1900s. One of the three main characters Zenobia, better known as Zeena, is Ethan Frome’s wife. Zeena and Ethan came to be a couple when Ethan’s mother became sick and Zenobia came to assist her. After Ethan’s mother passed, Ethan felt lonely and did not want Zeena to leave. Ethan fell in love with Zeena and later married her, although she was seven years older than him.
Ethan Frome Determinism Analysis
729 Words | 3 PagesIn conclusion, throughout the novel, Ethan Frome is never truly able to carry out his own free will. He seems to be forever bound to Starkfield and his demanding life. Even at the beginning of the book, Ethan always seemed to be imprisoned by the difficult situations that he is put into, causing him to be inevitably stuck in the deep rut that is his life. Overall, if Ethan had been able to exercise free will during the course of the storyline, there is no doubt that, at the conclusion of the book, Ethan would have ended living a considerably more joyful
Theme Of Isolation In Ethan Frome
116 Words | 1 PagesEthan Frome, who has to face multiple conflicts throughout the book with his nonstop dream to be an engineer which is crushed due to the illness of, Zeena, his cousin, but who also happens to be his wife. Also a love begins to grow mid way through the book between a girl named Mattie and Ethan, even though he is still married to Zeena which ultimately leads to the distance between their love. In the book Ethan Frome, the feeling of isolation in Ethan and Zeena becomes more prominent, while anger grows between Ethan and Mattie from having denying their love, which contributes to the many mistakes and downfalls Ethan has to face throughout the book.
Characteristics Of Ethan Frome
1300 Words | 6 PagesHis love is so great for Mattie that he even considers leaving town with her for the west and starting a new life, even taking into account the care and well-being of Zenobia. So even in this act of love towards Mattie he is still thinking of his current wife that has no love for him. Ethan’s second-to-last act of love is to knowingly end both his and Mattie’s life, because they both know they cannot be together. Ethan declares that he would rather Mattie be dead than not his, and to this end they both agree.
An Omniscient Narrator In Ethan Frome By Edith Wharton
1025 Words | 5 PagesEthan Frome by Edith Wharton Edith Wharton’s naturalist novel, Ethan Frome, is written using the point of view from an omniscient narrator. The details included about the narrator, such as the fact that he is an engineer who is not from Starkfield, allows for Wharton to control which aspects of the characters are explicitly revealed and what is left to the interpretation of the reader as they learn about Mattie, Ethan, and Zeena. This inclusion of an omniscient narrator, who has no personal ties to the characters, allows for the development of the relationship between Mattie, Ethan, and Zeena to play out with an increased sense of realism as Wharton builds a frame narrative, irony, and gaps of knowledge within the novel. Frame narrative plays
Literary Foils In Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome
275 Words | 2 PagesEdith Wharton’s uses Mattie Silver as a literary foil to Zeena Frome in ways which help highlight the differences between these two characters. As shown, Edith portrays Mattie as a warmer and brighter character, while Zeena is portrayed as a sick and cold character. For instance, Edith Wharton stated “All the way down to the village he continued to think of his return to Mattie. The kitchen was a poor place, not “spruce” and shining as his mother had kept it in his boyhood; but it was surprising what a home-like look the mere fact of Zeena's absence gave it.” This quote shows that Zeena’s presence in the house gives the setting a dark sense and when she’s not present and Mattie is the only one in the house, Ethan Frome sees the home as a
The Pickle Dish Symbolism In Ethan Frome By Edith Wharton
1006 Words | 5 PagesRight after the dish breaks, Ethan said that Zeena would have to blame it on the cat. In chapter 7, Ethan blames the cat which caused Zeena to “turn her eyes to Mattie” (Wharton, chap 7). This could also mean that Zeena blames Mattie for breaking the dish and relationship. In chapter 6, Ethan gets the glue to fix the dish. Symbolically it could mean that he found a plan or a way to fix his relationship.
Characteristics Of Ethan Frome
308 Words | 2 PagesA long time resident of Starkfield, the protagonist Ethan Frome shows he is considerate by caring for and helping others. He first shows this trait when he gives up his desire to live in a city to support his ill mother. Though he has a strong wish to leave Starkfield, he respects his duty and cares for his mother. Ethan also shows this attribute to Zeena, by looking after her and contributing to her medicine while she also falls ill. Zeena is again thought of by Ethan when the pickle dish breaks.
Ethan Frome Quotes
984 Words | 4 Pages“Is fate getting what you deserve, or deserving what you get?” (Jodi Picoult). Ethan Frome, written by Edith Wharton in 1911, embodies this quote. In Ethan Frome, all three main characters, Ethan, Mattie and Zeena have made decisions that will affect the rest of their lives. Ethan and Mattie had an inappropriate relationship behind Ethans significant other, Zeena 's, back which caused each of them to be emotionally distraught.
Theme Of Confinement In Ethan Frome
361 Words | 2 PagesIn a final scene from Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton draws a timeline leading up to the main character, Ethan Frome, and his love interest, Mattie Silver deciding to take their lives rather than letting the rules implied by the society of Starkfield force them to part, their decision in turn contributing to the theme that confinement from pressure from society can drive citizens to their torment. Contributing to the novel as a whole, this scene also highlights Ethan’s built up misery by displaying his willingness to die in order to escape his unwanted marriage to his ailing wife, Zeena. To begin with, as a resident in Starkfield, a town whose residents, obviously unadjusted divorce, consider seven year of marriage as “not so long”, Ethan feels
Ethan Frome Literary Analysis
738 Words | 3 PagesThe tragic novella of Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton focuses on adultery in rural New England. Stressing the importance of relationships, the narrator tells the story of Ethan Frome, a man searching for love. Despite being married to his cousin Zeena, he only views this civil union as a moral obligation. Then, he ventures into an adulterous relationship with Mattie Silver, and begins to understand what love is really about. The author often focuses on a red pickle dish, a treasured wedding gift, which unexpectedly shatters.
The Constant Battle Of Wealth In Wharton's Ethan Frome
782 Words | 4 PagesThe 1960’s were a very judgmental time in America. Many individuals were affected by the constant battle of self image. They cared how others thought of themselves based on many futile things such as wealth, property owned and religion. In order to appear more attractive to others, many people totally disregarded their morals and tried their best to achieve success. Ethan, Allen and Margie all battled against mortality and wealth throughout the novel.
The Theme Of Love In Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome
763 Words | 4 PagesThe nature of the Frome’s marriage was made transparent when Ethan fell in love with another woman. When the novel begins, Frome demonstrates his cowardice when confesses that he
The Importance Of Setting In Wharton's Ethan Frome
753 Words | 4 PagesIn Edith Wharton’s novel, Ethan Frome, setting plays an important role. The novel takes place in the fictional town of Starkfield, Massachusetts, in the winter and most likely during the early 1900s, a time better known as the Progressive Era. The Progressive Era brought about change and innovation in many areas, such as education and transportation. This change doesn’t really occur in Starkfield, however. Due to poor transportation, the residents of Starkfield become stuck during the harsh winter, and the majority of the rest of the year in this isolated town.
Ethan Frome: A Personal Tragedy
550 Words | 3 PagesEthan’s bad choices of leaving school, feeling lonely and marrying Zeena and then also being avoidant when he wants to leave her. Obviously, Ethan Frome’s tragedy is all caused by his personal decisions. One of many ignorant choices Ethan makes is when his mother gets ill, somewhere in the beginning of the story. During this time, Ethan dropped out of college.
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