Ethan Frome Character Analysis Essay

Ethan Frome published by Eddie Wharton was set in Starkfield, Massachusetts in 1904. The story happenss against cold hard weather at the New England state. The main character was established as outreach farmer who tends to his very cold, aggressive and disturbed wife named Zeena. He had little hope with his wife until Zeena's cousin, Matte arrives to help him. During the period, he slowly fall in love with Matte causing his marriage to collapsing the relationship between him and Zeena. Ethan From was one all-time classic American books showing characters development through hard facts or conditions that reflects and teaches us the relation in today's social standards.

Nathan was poor man but quite intelligent and he respect his own quiet nature. According to the narrator, was a main character describe as "striking figure" but also later describe as called "Ruin of a man." These words symbolize two major characteristics that becomes disagreeing in Nathan's facts or conditions. Ethan Frome's characteristics presents the socials and morals decisions that we make in a boring way has results according rules of life.

A quote from prologue scene describe the predicting the future in Ethan's situation "Guess he's been in Starkfield too many winters. Most of the smart ones get away." The symbolic quote describes Nathan's principal which reflects his physical environment with surrounding acts like emotional worry and downward spiral of depression. The imagery of Ethan Frome is built around cold, ice and snow, and hues of white. The characters constantly complain about the cold, and the important scene depends on the use of a winter sport--sledding--as a means of suicide.

These repeating ideas work to bring attention to the novel's ...

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...ugh the novel never clearly and definitely mentions divorce, the obviously flawed match of Ethan and Zeena, and the

toll the marriage takes on both of them, makes it clear that Wharton felt that the social against divorce and, in particular divorced women, were harsh and destructive.

Most boldly and clearly, this theme plays out in Ethan's struggle between his desire for Mattie and his sense of duty toward Zeena, his wife. Wharton shows/represents Zeena as horribly loud and mean, without any redeeming attributes, while Mattie is kind, gentle, glowing, and a perfect match for Ethan. Ethan's want to leave Zeena for Mattie is therefore completely understandable. Yet, because Ethan knows that society would very much badly judge a man who left alone his wife, and because he knows that without him Zeena would suffer in poorness, he can't bring himself to leave her.