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Timeless Tragedy In Ethan Frome By Edith Wharton

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Orlando Ponce Blas Mrs. Bauman English 11 19 January 2023 Timeless Tragedy Ethan Frome is among the best and most memorable books I have ever read. It is so succinctly and exquisitely written that I couldn’t stop reading it. Everyone should read Ethan Frome. Edith Wharton's remarkable writing style, great vocabulary, and unforeseeable plot twists make the book a timeless essential. The plot traps the characters through their own choices and transports the reader into their shoes as they fight the fate they bestowed upon themselves. The story is full of passion, deceit, and immorality, making it extremely intriguing, truly the perfect recipe to keep the reader engaged. Some may argue that the book is terrible because it inappropriately romanticizes …show more content…

Ethan is dumbfounded by this. He is secretly in love with Mattie and can't bear the thought of her leaving. Ethan says, “I don't know what you mean. . . . Mattie Silver’s not a hired girl. She’s your relation” (Wharton 49). Not only is kicking out a family member already extreme, a few lines later, Ethan makes out with Mattie, his wife's cousin! “ ‘What is it—what is it?’ she stammered; but he had found her lips at last and was drinking unconsciousness of everything but the joy they gave him” (51). These two quotes are great examples that highlight how enthralling the plot twists can be; however, the one that draws the most attention and truly baffled me was when Mattie first suggests they kill themselves. This unexpected, bizarre lead-up really conflicted me. I started making predictions about the aftermath which made me question whether I'd like the book. I had big hopes for Ethan and Mattie to work out; the book reveals they don't. Due to Ethan being morally bound to his wife and restricted from his desires by caring about rules set by society's opinions, he accepts and encourages the ill fate suggested by Mattie in order to avoid the problems being with Mattie would impose. They nearly hit the elm tree on their way down from the hill. Unfazed, Mattie says, “Ethan! Ethan! I want you to take me down

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Ethan flirted with Mattie and would try his hardest to impress her, for example, he began shaving his face everyday which he never used to do for Zeena. These inappropriate actions caused chaos within the household. Ethan began to lust over Mattie, wanting to spend as much

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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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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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She just turns into a sickly and nagging wife, a complete disaster for Ethan who expected her to be youthful and

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In the book Ethan and Mattie have a constant unspoken of love for eachother. Ethan in the beginning of the book is very jealous of Mattie's lover at the time Denis Eady, because Ethan loves Mattie and is jealous that she seems to love Denis. This explores the side of love where jealousy comes

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John Fernandez Survey American Lit. 3/15/23 The Fates of the main characters in the story Ethan Frome are not deserved but happen because of the choices they make. Ethan Frome and his Lover Mattie silver find themselves in a failed suicide pact and end up having to be taken care of by Ethan's wife Zeena for the rest of their lives. Zeena Fate in the story is she has to take care of Ethan and Mattie after their failed suicide. Zeena doesn’t deserve but caused her fate was she didn’t know that Ethan and Mattie were trying to kill themselves because it would have been better than living apart from each other.

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Throughout the novel, Wharton juxtaposes Ethan's feelings for Mattie and Zeena through

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The author states, “Ethan looked at her with loathing. She was no longer the listless creature who had lived at his side in a state of sullen self-absorption, but a mysterious alien presence, an evil energy secreted from the long years of silent brooding.” (Wharton 9). Ethan has intense feelings of repulsiveness for his own wife, Zeena. Like Daisy Buchanan, there is an extreme disconnect within their marriages.

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Ethan’s agreement that death is better than parting is an example of cognitive dissonance that directly affects the plot of the novel. Cognitive dissonance is best described as an inconsistency in the beliefs that one holds, which is prominent in the thoughts as opposed the actions taken by Ethan. He is essentially given an ultimatum when Zeena threatens to fire Mattie; Ethan must make the decision to act upon his desires without the benefit of time as he had once thought he had. Before this is thrust upon him, he has the general cognition that he should not pursue Mattie. This is evident in his lack of action during their dinner without Zeena.

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The main character, Ethan, starts to like someone else, despite him already being married. Although he starts to have such thoughts, his intentions are understandable considering that he was never in love with his wife, Zeena. In Edith Wharton 's Ethan Frome, Ethan doesn 't come out as an admirable person because he can 't face his problems, and he always tries to run away from them. Ethan has never faced the problems between him and Zeena, and neither has he ever confronted his feelings to Mattie. Ethan doesn 't understand that running away from problems isn 't going to make them disappear.

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Ethan’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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Later on in the story, a “smash up” happened. It is a sledding “accident” but really it’s a suicidal attempt by Ethan and Mattie because they realize they will never be able to get together in this world. During the attempt, Ethan pulls away. “But suddenly his wife face, with twisted with monstrous lineaments, thrust himself between him and his goal”(Wharton 20). This quote shows the internal conflict going on with Ethan.

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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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This shows Ethan is having a very rough life because of natural forces. Later in the story, Ethan and Mattie find themselves alone again. They were going to go coasting, but it was too dark. In chapter 5 Ethan states: “No, I didn’t forget; but it’s as dark as Egypt outdoors.

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In the novel Ethan Frome, author Edith Wharton conveyed the tale of her protagonist’s tragic life in Starkfield, Massachusetts through a limited first-person narrator for the prologue and conclusion of the novel and a limited third-person narrator for the chapters detailing

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