The Portrayal Of Women In Ethan Frome By Edith Wharton

In many works of literature, women are portrayed as either dependent and madly in love with a man, whether he is a good man or a bad one, or they are seen as devious and only using men in order to gain something or succeed. This idea appears in society as well, even in the early 1900’s. In Edith Wharton’s novel Ethan Frome, the audience is acquainted with a woman who can be portrayed as the loving, innocent and infatuated stereotype, but when looked at closely can be seen as the real antagonist of the novel. In the novel Zeena, Ethan’s wife, can be quickly judged and seen as the woman culpable for Ethan’s demise. The audience perceives her as nasty and miserable. Mattie is Zeena’s cousin, and she is portrayed as a helpless and innocent girl who Ethan falls in love with. Wharton makes these two women seem to be complete opposites of each

In order for Mattie to be able to manipulate Ethan, he needed to be completely drawn to her. Mattie Silver arrives at a vulnerable time in Ethan and Zeena’s relationship. Ethan is quickly drawn to the idea of Mattie because of her beauty and intriguing nature compared to his wife. He was dissatisfied with his day to day; being tied down to a woman whom he felt was only out to make his life more difficult. When he was young he dreamed that he would acquire an “engineering job in Florida, put in his way during his period of study at Worcester, increased his faith in his ability as well as his eagerness to see the world” (Wharton, 27) but with Zeena that was not the case. Mattie’s youth gave Ethan a reminder of what he could have had in his own youth, she reminded him of his dreams and that he had missed his opportunity to escape Starkfield. All of this was in Ethan’s mind. Although Mattie did not have a hand in placing these thoughts in his head, her presence made him realize what he could have had, and in return it gave him more of a reason to blame Zeena for his