Ethan Frome Conflict Essay

The main conflict in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome is the conflict between Ethan’s love for the girl, Mattie, and his commitment to his wife, Zeena. Throughout the story, this conflict creates tension between the characters and will eventually lead to the final conclusion as to the end of the story. This is also the theme of the story and is what captures readers’ attention in this classic piece of literature.

Ethan’s love for Mattie creates a major conflict within the story, as Ethan is still married to Zeena. Although it is a loveless marriage, divorce was not looked upon kindly at that time. Also, it would have left both Ethan and Zeena in a bad position because Ethan would have no money and Zeena would have no way to take care of the farm.

Zeena shows a bitter resentment as she slowly realizes the type of feelings that develop between Ethan and Mattie. She wants him to continue to support and care for her even if it means sending Mattie away with no place to go, which is what she eventually decides upon.
This conflict affects Ethan in several ways. His love for Mattie makes him become more desperate as the story goes on. He also develops a deep resentment towards Zeena that had previously not existed. Originally, he had respect for Zeena and saw no true fault in marrying her, but he later on sees her as a bitter woman who only seeks to bring unhappiness to him and Mattie. Ethan, by the end, becomes broken and miserable as he is forced to spend the rest of his days observing the continuous fighting between Zeena and Mattie. It is as if the conflict never truly ends as long as they live within that house.
The novel is also greatly affected by the main conflict. It creates a rising tension within the story that slowly increases as you get further into the story. It also creates intrigue for the reader as they wonder as to which will eventually win out, Ethan’s love for Mattie or his responsibility as a husband. The conflict is what makes Ethan Frome such a unique story, as there are many ways to end such a conflict, but the one the author chose is not often used by other authors in similar plots.
In conclusion, the story Ethan Frome is completely based upon its main conflict. Whether or not Ethan chooses to give in to his love is what makes the story interesting and causes changes within the main character that can be seen throughout the story. Without this conflict, the story could not have progressed and would have been a very dull novel.