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Comparing Ethan Frome And Fatal Coasting Accident, By Edith Wharton

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Ethan Frome and “Fatal Coasting Accident” Comparison Ethan Frome is a classic novel, written in 1911 by author Edith Wharton. She based the accident that occurred in her novel on the historical “Fatal Coasting Accident.” In Ethan Frome, the simplicity of the accident is similar to that of the “Fatal Coasting Accident”, but the details overall are very different. Edith knew one of the victims personally, which made her change some aspects out of respect, but she also changed them to make the story her own. Ethan Frome is different from “Fatal Coasting Accident” because Edith changed the storyline and technicalities, the reasons behind the accident, and the aftermath of the accident, which dramatized her novel and made it fictional. Firstly, …show more content…

In “Fatal Coasting Accident”, the accident itself was literally unexpected. Unfortunately, Hazel Crosby crashed the sled, but nobody wanted that to happen. She just happened to lose control of the sled because the sled was going down the hill extremely fast. On the other hand, the accident in Ethan Frome intentionally happened. The standing issue was that the accident didn't happen the way that they wanted it to. Mattie suggested to Ethan that they commit suicide by crashing into the big elm tree because they undeniably loved each other and did not want to spend another minute apart. Although, the plan went left because an image of Ethan's wife popped into his head, which shocked him, made him feel guilty, and instead of dying Ethan and Mattie were just seriously injured. In the passage it states, “Ethan! Ethan! I want you to take me down again.’ Ethan replies, ‘Down where?’ Mattie responds, ‘The coast. Right off...So 't we'll never come up any more’”(Wharton 109). Also according to the author, “But suddenly his wife's face, with twisted monstrous lineaments, thrust itself between him and his goal....”(Wharton 112). Ethan and Mattie ultimately were committing a suicidal act, which bumped the interest level of the story up, and made the story fictive because it's the total opposite of what happened in the real

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“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.

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The epilogue held many interesting sections but the statement that Mrs. Hales made about how miserable Ethan Frome’s life has become with two women that have imprisoned him with their issues. The quote is an inside about life for Frome after the incident, Mattie who use to be his joy has become an exact copy of his wife and the statement illustrates that his imprisonment of the two women has become in a way like death to him. The importance of the statement of Mrs. Hales is that it allows the reader to understand the events that have lead on after the incident and that things are not as they use to be, instead of Frome and Mattie having a loving life it has become full of misery. Mrs. Hale mentions how if Mattie had died Frome’s life would've

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In Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, Ethan Frome’s past contributes to the story more than any other character’s. The other main characters’ past may have been more difficult or life changing, but Ethan’s past definitely builds the story more. Ethan’s past builds his character more and dictates almost everything he does. This cannot be said for the other main characters in the story. Ethan’s farmhouse has always been home to loneliness.

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Ethan chooses his duty to Zeena over his dream with mattie he would receive when proposed with the option of moving to the West, he decides against it because of what he owes to Zeena. He doesn 't knows if she would not be able to support herself and that clouded future is why he doesn 't agreed to leave. Again, Ethan chooses between duty to Zeena and seeking his personal dream when he and Mattie were going to take their lives so they would not have to live without each other. Throughout his time with Zeena, he was forced to choose between duty to his family and his dreams. He could have left and continued his dream of being an engineer but instead he married her do to a sense of payment for what she had done for his mother.

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Strong feelings and real delemias are presented throughout the entire book; like in this quote, Ethan feels hopeless when his wife throws out their maid who he happened to love romantically. Leaving the reader with some personal connections and new struggles to ponder.

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In Ethan Frome, the first chapter is a prologue that is composed in the first person view of an unknown narrator that tries to ascertain Ethan’s story in Starkfield. Once the narrator enters the Frome household, the point of view changes to third person omniscient, and the story within a story begins. After that story ends, the epilogue returns to the first person and the point of view of the unknown narrator. It is the prologue and epilogue that serve as the framework of Ethan Frome, and the chapters between the two that is the main story. Another literary technique found in the narrative is the ever abundant examples of metaphor and simile.

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It is unusual in a story for the setting to serve the function of a character. In the novella Ethan Frome, the setting takes on a major role by mirroring the evolving mental state of Ethan Frome, the story’s reticent protagonist. The author Edith Wharton, uses the literary element of imagery to incarnate the inanimate setting in order to serve as an additional character. The imagery Wharton uses describing the snowy New England countryside, gives the reader the ability to observe Frome seeing the world at first, as colorless and hopeless. Later, Wharton uses imagery about the setting again, to reveal Frome’s transition to seeing that same world as brilliant and auspicious.

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In Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton depicts Ethan as a tragic hero who gets downtrodden by his circumstances and mainly, his personality. He has the tragic flaw of not being willing to put anyone in pain even if he benefits from it. Through this, he gets blocked from pursuing an education when he must care for his ill parents. Consequently, he also doesn’t get to socialize with other people of his age, making him feel awfully lonely. To further his tragic predicament, he marries Zeena, his cousin who arrives to take care of his mother and unfortunately, she prevents him from pursuing his love for nature and engineering by wanting to stay in Starkfield forever for her own ego.

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An event the night of the crash affects the way Paige and Lacey treat each other for the rest of the book, but her relationship with Jake is closer than it was. Ethan is Paige’s new friend and he plays a big role in the way she changes her life. He is a kind person, who Paige can have fun and be herself around. They begin to grow really close throughout the story and he supports her

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“Guess he's been in Starkfield too many winters. Most of the smart ones get away” (Wharton 13). The setting of the novel Ethan Frome creates an atmosphere which helps establish the character of Ethan Frome himself. Ethan is a man living a very depressing life in Starkfield, Massachusetts with his wife Zeena, whom he doesn't feel affectionate towards and only married because he's afraid to be alone. The environment he’s in is the only reason why he fell in love with Mattie.

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At one moment in the novel Ethan jumps

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Ethan Frome's tragedy was completely caused by his own

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The 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

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Edith Newbold Jones-Wharton, author of Ethan Frome, was born into a wealthy New York family. She grew up in the world of high society, but her true interests were not in wealth, but rather the beauty of language. She consistently read and wrote numerous pieces from a young age. She later ended up marrying Teddy Wharton, a mentally challenged man. Ethan Frome, spurs from her own personal experiences with her husband.

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Melissa Palacios English 3A Feb. 21 2017 The novel Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton is about a tragic hero, Ethan who is not in love with his wife, but another person named Mattie. An important symbol in this novel is a pickle dish. This dish symbolizes Ethan’s relationship with his wife. The pickle dish first appears in chapter 4 of the novel.

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