Ethan Frome Literary Analysis

Ethan Frome As stated by Eleanor Roosevelt “understanding is a two way street”, implying that in order to apprehend each other proper communication must be established between two parties. In the novel Ethan Frome the author, Edith Wharton, develops a plot based on the relationship of three people, the main character Ethan, his wife Zenobia or as she is referred to in the majority of the novel Zeena, and their house aid Mattie. As Wharton develops the plot, Ethan and Zeena’s marriage is a major theme, with the arrival of Mattie shining a light on the problems they’ve been having. However, the author’s perception results in the reader swaying a certain way when the question of who to blame for their marriage troubles pops up. When looking at

Frome’s long illness, they would sell the farm and saw-mill and try their luck in a large town. Ethan’s love of nature did not take the form of a taste for agriculture, He has always wanted to be an engineer, and live in towns”. (29) With the arrival of Zeena’s sickness came frequent trips to the doctor and purchasing of expensive medication, which resulted in Ethan not having the money to move to the city and attain his dreams. The sickness of Zeena marked the start of a belligerent household, in which Zeena constantly complained about things beyond Ethan’s control in turn resulting in Ethan remaining silent for the majority of his time with Zeena. Mattie’s arrival aids to the inhospitable climate within the Frome home, as her positive, joyous attitude bodes well with Ethan, while Zeena does not share the same opinion. As Ethan begins developing feelings for Mattie, Zeena notices the little things he does for her from helping her with household tasks to shaving more frequently, however she does not confront him about these until they can be used against him in full force. She has a silent, but observant mystique to her which Ethan resents. Eventually,

From the beginning of the novel, it is suggested that Ethan never truly loved Zeena, rather married her in an effort to obtain company after the death of his mother. As stated by Wharton, “After the funeral, when he saw her preparing to go away, he was seized with an unreasoning dread of being left alone on the farm; and before he knew what he was doing he had asked her to stay there with him. He had often thought since that it would not have happened if his mother had died in the spring instead of winter” (29), alluding to the fact that their marriage was doomed from the beginning. Ethan claims that perhaps if his mother had not died in the winter, which in Starkfield has been depicted to be accompanied with brutal weather and isolation, he would have not married Zeena as that sense of requiring company would no longer be present. In addition, the presence of Mattie resulted in Ethan being indifferent towards his wife. By illustrating a loathsome image of Zeena the author attempts to justify the fact that a new youthful, beautiful girl has drawn away her husband's attention. Ethan deteriorates the situation between him and Zeena by developing feelings for Mattie, when in her company “he felt as if he had never before known what his wife looked like”. (22) Although Wharton persuades the reader to view Zeena as the antagonist of the story, when looking at Ethan’s flaws, it becomes apparent