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Personal Narration In Ethan Frome By Edith Wharton

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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

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Characteristics Of Ethan Frome

308 Words | 2 Pages

A 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.

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Theme Of Isolation In Ethan Frome

116 Words | 1 Pages

Ethan 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.

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Loneliness In Ethan Frome By Edith Wharton

149 Words | 1 Pages

In the novel Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton the narrator tells the readers how he met the main character,Frome, in Massachusetts. Edith Wharton takes the reader twenty-four years into the past and there we see that Frome is a young man,who chased after an education in science, but when his father dies he is forced to return back to the farm. After that his mother becomes ill and his cousin Zeena comes to take care of her,but when his mother dies, Frome marries Zeena out of loneliness. As time passes by Zeena becomes more sick, due to this their marriage is without love and Frome feels very lonely and has no one to talk to. Then Mattie silver,Zeena’s cousin,comes to take care of her,and Frome falls in love with her and can not imagine life without

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Ethan Frome Quotes

984 Words | 4 Pages

Mattie, Zeena and Ethan were all responsible for their own actions which resulted in them getting what they deserved. Ethan Frome was a young, 28 year old man, who lived in Starkfield, Massachusetts and was married to Zenobia Frome. Zeena helped care for Ethan’s mother when she was dying, which is how they got to know each other. After the death of his mother, Ethan began

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Theme Of Confinement In Ethan Frome

361 Words | 2 Pages

In 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

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Literary Foils In Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome

275 Words | 2 Pages

Edith 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

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Ethan's Feelings In Ethan Frome By Edith Wharton

415 Words | 2 Pages

The story, Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton is about a man who is married to a women named Zeena. Ethan and Zeena have a servant who works at their house named Mattie, who happens to be Zeena’s cousin. Throughout the entirety of this novel, Ethan catches feelings for his wife’s cousin, Mattie. Although, he is still married to Zeena he does not want to be. The story shows the evolution of Ethan’s feelings and attraction to their maid.

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Ethan Frome Determinism Analysis

729 Words | 3 Pages

In 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

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Character Analysis Of The Tragic Hero In Ethan Frome By Edith Wharton

1441 Words | 6 Pages

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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The Constant Battle Of Wealth In Wharton's Ethan Frome

782 Words | 4 Pages

The 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.

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Ethan Frome: A Personal Tragedy

550 Words | 3 Pages

In the story, the setting is in Starkfield, Massachusetts in the winter. Yes, the winter is usually metaphorically thought as depressing, sad and lonely, but Ethan has been around the winter of New England for a while, so he should be able to look past the stereotypical ideas, he could look at the better parts of winter as in the beautiful surroundings, and spending holidays with family. Unfortunately, Ethan cannot. He sees everything as dull and gloomy.

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The Theme Of Love In Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome

763 Words | 4 Pages

Forcing Mattie to leave is Zeena’s desperate attempt at solving the love triangle. Zeena hoped that Mattie leaving would guide Ethan and Zeena back to their original relationship without distractions. However, Zeena could not have anticipated that the lovers’ prospective separation is needed for them to confess their feelings for each other and the culmination of the painful saga. The story comes to a climax when Mattie says “we’d never have to leave each other any more” referring to their suicide and unity in death (Wharton 63). Ethan agrees to her solution and the problem of their living apart is solved.

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The Pickle Dish Symbolism In Ethan Frome By Edith Wharton

1006 Words | 5 Pages

Right 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.

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The Importance Of Setting In Wharton's Ethan Frome

753 Words | 4 Pages

In 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.

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Ethan Frome Literary Analysis

738 Words | 3 Pages

The 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.

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