Being born into nobility does not defy if you can become a tragic hero according to new definitions. To further explain a classic tragic hero would be any Shakespeare pieces, like Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. While a more modern definition of a tragic hero is presented by Arthur Miller in a Death of a Salesman as Willy Loman. The definitions between a modern and classic tragic hero lead to many arguments on which characters are true tragic heros. A tragic hero has many different varieties, but there is only one character who is a perfect definition. Ethan Frome is the best example of a tragic hero by becoming a “ruin of a man” by the definition of catharsis and tragic flaws.
Ethan Frome is the truest tragic hero by his common, realistic tragic
…show more content…
flaw that a common man can relate to. People will argue the definition of Arthur Miller, by which he states “the tragic mode is archaic, fit only for the very highly placed, the kings or the kingly” (Miller). The argument is that Hamlet and Oedipus are tragic hero by definition, which is a definition made centuries ago that no common man could possibly relate to in this time period. People will also argue that Willy Loman is the truest tragic hero over Ethan because he is a family man, but in reality Ethan has a more major cathartic moment and bigger downfall. Therefore Ethan is the most suited tragic hero based on the definition by Arthur Miller which is can not be argued. Ethan Frome’s tragic flaw of indecisiveness leads to his own destruction because he cannot decide between his happiness or his wife Zeena’s.
Ethan is caught up in his own thoughts throughout the play causing him to make illogical choices which leads him into difficult situations. To elaborate, Ethan stated “We never got away-how should you?” meaning why should he be able to get away while Zeena suffers (Wharton 44). Ethan then goes on to state, “I Shall just go on living here till I join them” which is an irrational decision (Wharton 44). This shows how Ethans tragic flaw of indecisiveness controls his life, which impacts him as a tragic hero the …show more content…
most. Ethan is the most suited tragic hero out of Oedipus and Hamlet due to his realistic and relatable tragic flaw. To explain, Oedipus and Hamlet’s tragic flaws do not relate to a common man due to there nobility even though there flaws in general are relatable. To further explain, Hamlet states “Prison my lord? Denmark’s a prison” (Hamlet 104) meaning Hamlet is stuck in Denmark due to his tragic flaw. This is only one of the example from the pieces that proves Arthur Miller’s statement, “The inevitable conclusion is, of course, that the tragic mode is archaic, fit only for the very highly placed, the kings or the kingly, and where this admission is not made in so many words it is most often implied.”(Miller) The meaning behind this is you have to have nobility to be a tragic hero which is untrue and not idealistic with modern time. Ethan is still the truest tragic hero when it comes to Willy Loman from The Death of a Salesman. Willy Loman shows the readers that he is not the best fit tragic hero when he doesn’t realize what he has done and goes on to kill himself. For example, Willy states “I am not a dime of dozen! I am Willy Loman...” (Miller, Act 2) which shows how irrational and short tempered he is which is part of his tragic flaw. Willy Loman's tragic flaw does not impact the readers like Ethan Frome’s or have a major cathartic moment. To explain, the author portrays Ethan’s flaw of mortality when he states, “He had taken to that since Mattie Silver’s coming he had taken to shaving every day; but his wife always seemed to be asleep when he left her side in winter darkness, and he stupidly assumed that she would not notice any change in his appearance.” (Wharton 34). This piece of evidence proves that Ethan’s tragic flaw is by far greater than Willy Loman’s due to the author going into little details to prove Ethan as a tragic hero. To continue every character goes through a cathartic moment in each piece because they are tragic heroes.
Ethan is the most significant when Mattie suggests suicide by stating, “Right into the big elm. You said you could. So’t we’d never have to leave each other any more” (Wharton 143). Ethan went through with this plan until the very end when he realizes that he wanted to live and avoided the big elm tree. He then had to live with his consequences for the rest of his life. To explain, Oedipus’s cathartic moment is when he finally realizes that he married his own mother and killed his very own father, then continues to stab his eyes out. Another example, would be a cathartic moment would be in Hamlet when Hamlet killed Polonius for revenge. In each of these moments the tragic hero realizes how irrational and ridiculous flaws, which shows that Ethan Frome is the truest tragic hero because he has the greatest downfall and his tragic flaws relate to an common
man. To conclude a tragic hero has many different varieties, but there is only one true tragic hero by today's definition by Arthur Miller. People will continue to try and argue that Ethan is not the truest tragic hero, but will continuously be proved wrong by Miller’s definition and substantial evidence. Therefore, Ethan Frome is the best example of a tragic hero by becoming a “ruin of a man” by the definition of catharsis and tragic flaws.
In the novel Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton applied significant factors (Messages) to show how the tale of this novel is a social tragedy. Even thought (Though) this novel might seem to be a tale of personal tragedy, it is actually a tale of social tragedy. The main character of this novel, Ethan Frome, is always conflicting (with) against the society whenever he is trying to do what he desires. As a result, society affects Ethan Frome’s life in many ways; most of the time society leads him to the tragedy.
There were many themes found in Ethan Frome, but the greatest of them all is loneliness and isolation. In college Ethan acquired the nickname "Old Stiff" because he rarely went out with the boys. Once he returned to the farm to care for his parents, he couldn't go out with them even if he wanted to. Whatever he's done has kept him apart from others: tending to the farm and mill, nursing his sick mother and caring for Zeena. Ethan's isolation is intensified, because he is often tongue-tied. He would like to make contact with others but can't. For example, when he wants to impress Mattie with beautiful words of love, he mutters, "Come along."
He could not get away from Zeena, nor run away with the girl he felt drawn to. There was no way Ethan could afford to get away even if he tried. Ethan could not afford to pay for himself to leave town, nor could he provide for the woman he desired. He also imagines life as if he were suddenly resolved from all the issues going on in his life. All the issues that went on, Ethan brought upon himself due to the way he managed his life.
Ethan Frome, the main character in the book entitled Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, has many complex problems going on at the same time. His family has died and he has a wife that is continually sick, and the only form of happiness he has is from his wife's cousin Mattie. This, however, at times proves to be hard because of Ethan's wifes interference. Nothing seems to be going in Ethan's favor. One theme of the book is weakness of character; this is shown by Ethan’s marraige, his inability to stand up to his wife, and his involvement concerning the "accident."
“Winter lies too long in country towns; hangs on until it is stale and shabby, old and sullen” (“Brainy Quotes” 1). In Edith Wharton’s framed novel, Ethan Frome, the main protagonist encounters “lost opportunity, failed romance, and disappointed dreams” with a regretful ending (Lilburn 1). Ethan Frome lives in the isolated fictional town of Starkfield, Massachusetts with his irritable spouse, Zenobia Frome. Ever since marriage, Zenobia, also referred to as Zeena, revolves around her illness. Furthermore, she is prone to silence, rage, and querulously shouting. Ethan has dreams of leaving Starkfield and selling his plantation, however he views caring for his wife as a duty and main priority. One day, Zeena’s cousin, Mattie Silver, comes to assist the Frome’s with their daily tasks. Immediately, Mattie’s attractive and youthful energy resuscitates Ethan’s outlook on life. She brings a light to Starkfield and instantaneously steals Ethan’s heart; although, Ethan’s quiet demeanor and lack of expression causing his affection to be surreptitious. As Zeena’s health worsens, she becomes fearful and wishes to seek advice from a doctor in a town called Bettsbridge giving Ethan and Mattie privacy for one night. Unfortunately, the night turns out to be a disastrous and uncomfortable evening. Neither Ethan nor Mattie speaks a word regarding their love for one another. Additionally, during their dinner, the pet cat leaps on the table and sends a pickle dish straight to the floor crashing into pieces. To make matters worse, the pickle dish is a favored wedding gift that is cherished by Zeena. Later, Zeena discovers it is broken and it sends her anger over the edge. Furious, Zeena demands for a more efficient “hired girl” to complete the tasks ar...
Meanwhile, how could she keep the farm going? It was only by incessant labour and personal supervision that Ethan drew a meager living from his land, and his wife, even if she were in better health than she imagined, could never carry such a burden alone" (Wharton 73). This evidence demonstrates Ethan's quality of his kind and loving nature towards others. The reason is when he wants to leave Zeena, he thinks about her future and how she will suffer to support herself. He cannot bear Zeena's pain, so he puts her future and their marriage before his dreams. His dream is to "leave with Mattie the next day" (Wharton 72). Another example when Ethan is a very concernful person is when "she would have suffered a complete loss of identity" (Wharton 38). This quote demonstrates Ethan's concern for Zeena because Ethan's dream is to move to the metropolitan area, but Zeena's sickliness will make her look inferior to the city. Ethan's concern for Zeena's image prevents him to "sell the farm and saw-mill and try their luck in a large town. Ethan's love of nature did not take
Throughout “Ethan Frome,” Edith Wharton renders the idea that freedom is just out of reach from the protagonist, Ethan Frome. The presence of a doomed love affair and an unforgiving love triangle forces Ethan to choose between his duty and his personal desire. Wharton’s use of archetypes in the novella emphasizes how Ethan will make choices that will ultimately lead to his downfall. In Edith Wharton’s, “Ethan Frome.” Ethan is wedged between his duty as a husband and his desire for happiness; however, rather than choosing one or the other, Ethan’s indecisiveness makes not only himself, but Mattie and Zeena miserable.
Ethan Frome is the main character of Edith Wharton’s tragic novel. Ethan lives the bitterness of his youth’s lost opportunities, and dissatisfaction with his joyless life and empty marriage. Throughout the story Ethan is trapped by social limits and obligations to his wife. He lives an unhappy life with many responsibilities and little freedom. Ethan Frome studied science in college for a year and probably would have succeeded as an engineer or physicist had he not been summoned home to run the family farm and mill. Ethan quickly ended his schooling and went to run the family farm and mill because he feels it is his responsibility. He marries Zeena after the death of his mother, in an unsuccessful attempt to escape silence, isolation, and loneliness. Ethan also feels the responsibility to marry Zeena as a way to compensate her for giving up part of her life to nurse his mother. After marring Zeena he forgets his hope of every continuing his education and he is now forced to remain married to someone he does not truly love.
...ss for yourself because in the end, one will regret it. Ethan’s morals prevent him from leaving Starkfield to pursue and achieve his dreams. He cannot baffle the traditions of his town. After Zeena tries to "foist on him the cost of a servant", forcing Ethan to let go of Mattie, he chooses to “leave with Mattie”. However, he cannot go through with the plan because he cannot bear to leave Zeena alone with her sickness. He knows she would not be able to take care of herself and cannot afford her own medicine. It is inappropriate to leave his wife in this bad condition. Therefore Ethan chooses to live an unhappy life instead of deceive his family and friends. Wharton portrays that by following society’s standards they will lose their hope and end up living in misery. Ethan chose to embark the obstacles and in the end it ruined him to a life of unhappiness and failure.
Though too intelligent for rural life, Ethan finds himself stuck in an average man's shoes. Leaving any opportunity he had to become someone in life, Ethan moves back to Starkfield to take care of his ailing mother and attend to their farm(Wharton 29). Rather than living a lonesome life after his mother passes away, Ethan asks Zeena to stay with him, which turns out to be his first mistake (Wharton, 29). As soon as his mother passed away, Ethan should have asked Zeena to leave and sold his farm. His love for learning and keenness for engineering could have led Ethan to a much better life. Unfortunately, he feels obligated to stay with Zeena, thus ending all hope for a better life.
The definition of a tragic hero, as stated on dictionary.com, is a literary character that makes an error in judgment that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. It has been argued for years whether Macbeth from Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Macbeth, can truly be considered a tragic hero or whether he is solely a villainous tyrant. Although there are some valid arguments for the Macbeth is pure evil viewpoint, by looking at Macbeth in a holistic way you can see the tragic, the heroic, and the tragic hero within him. Macbeth is a tragic hero in every sense of the definition.
By definition, a tragic hero is a protagonist that due to some tragic flaw loses everything he has. Throughout history, literature has always been filled with main characters possessing some tragic flaw. In Macbeth, Macbeth’s tragic flaw is his enormous ambition to become king. In Hamlet, Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his need for revenge for the death of his father at the hands of his uncle. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh’s tragic flaw is his need to be remembered. In the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, Beowulf also has a tragic flaw, excessive pride and the search for fame, which ultimately leads to his demise.
Benjamin E Mays once said, “The tragedy of life is often not in our failure, but rather in our complacency; not in our doing too much, but rather in our doing too little; not in our living above our ability, but rather in our living below our capacities”. Ethan Frome lives a normal life, but is utterly destroyed because he it too moral and afraid to be happy. Instead of living life the way he wants and following his dreams, Ethan wastes it doing what society says he should do; like most average people. The audience understands Ethan because he is a common man and his struggles are the same as those normal people have. Therefore, Ethan Frome is the truest tragic hero because he is relatable, and in turn evokes more pity and understanding from the audience when it comes to the tragedy of his life.
A tragic hero can be described as a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is
A tragic hero is a male figure who is high in society and one who always has a tragic flaw. Most of them are rich and intelligent men. In the story of Othello, Othello is the tragic hero. He was a character of nobility. He was a high in class and had high standards. He was also the focal point of society. People looked up to him. He was more of a good man than an evil man, until the end of the play.