Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome is an optimal representation of a writer using a country setting to establish values within a work of literature. The significant setting of the severe, grim, and taxing climate of the small New England town of Starkfield transmits the country as an inhabitant of primitivism and ignorance. At the time of Ethan Frome’s midnight walk through the town of Starkfield, Massachusetts, snowfall is accumulating at approximately two feet and the streets are fully reticent. Nothing about this town is lively as the trees are barren and the snow heavy. These difficult conditions may represent the difficult conditions which Ethan Frome lives with constantly. Even the town’s name serves as a synonym for hardship as the meaning of stark …show more content…
is hard and difficult. There is no doubting the tribulations that the characters are confronting in this town. With the time of the setting dating back to horseback being the only transportation, the severe snowstorm will be even difficult to cope with. Some advances are made in technology at the time, but nothing can really ease the trials that the characters will face.
Ethan Frome still attempts to go about his daily business even with the troubling conditions. These conditions only add to his problems as he constantly has to face his hypochondriac, attention-seeking wife. A common ideal that this type of weather brings up is the attempt at the continuity of Ethan’s, Zeena’s, and Mattie’s life. Things are not easy going without this deadly weather. Therefore when the weather begins, survival becomes that much more difficult to obtain. This climate impacts all three of the main character’s lives in an enormous fashion. A positive aspect from the amount of snow that falls is that it is the prime condition to go sledding. Sledding is often seen as a relaxing, joyful way to experience the snow and have fun with family and friends. Ethan decides to take Mattie with him on a sled ride. At first, the intentions were innocent and meant to have fun. However, those intentions would soon turn paralyzing. As the novel continues before this scene, Ethan falls for Mattie and Mattie falls in return for him. Their love could not possibly work out logically in anyone’s eyes, so Ethan wants to elope with
her. The elopement would turn out to be just a broken dream for Ethan as he struggles with financially sustaining the attempt. After the first sleigh run, Mattie proposes a second run. She goes on to explain that the second run would be their final run. Since it would be impossible for their love to flourish under the conditions which they live in, she feels that dying in each other’s arms would be the ultimate way for their love to exist. During the next run down the hill, they aim for a tree in an attempt to spend their last moments together. However, it fails and they both survive, though mentally and physically disabled and scarred. The setting brings relevance to the accident and the impact of the character’s lives because if there is no snow, there is no chance for sledding. In turn if there is no chance for sledding, the accident would not have happened. It is highly unlikely that the same incident would occur if Ethan Frome, Zeena, and Mattie were living in a city. To begin with, the time of the book occurs approximately around the Industrial Revolution. Many factories were being built and cities were thriving. The situation would not be as dire as the situation that the country is causing. Sledding would probably be limited in a city as well. Most of the area of cities were taken up by factories and industrial buildings, not leaving room for areas designated with hills and slopes. The painful and heart-wrenching tone used by Edit Wharton is closely in a relationship with the setting. Accordingly, the setting relates to the work because of the unforgiving conditions and repercussions seen in the book. The isolation and loneliness that is being faced by living in the country also relates to the work. The character’s isolation conveys the ignorance and primitiveness that is harbored in the town. Ultimately, the setting could take blame for much of the tragedy that happens to the characters. Unforgiving, cruel, and unrelenting, the setting destroys the characters mentally and physically.
She states that, “In many instances, anti-immigrant racism today camouflages itself and goes mainline in self-presentation, which is precisely my point about Ethan Frome.” Ammon’s strongly advocates the stance that it is vital for racism in Ethan Frome and similar works to be revealed and thoroughly examined as it is this literature that unmasks the extent of white anxieties in the United States. Bernard, in a stark contrast, proposes that the heart of the novel is the weakness of Frome’s character as well as his “negation of life.” He argues that the language usage in Ethan Frome is unparalleled and allows the reader to closely read and understand the point of Wharton’s work. In order to make this understanding easier on the audience, Bernard breaks down the complex ideas and symbols represented in Ethan Frome into simple, easy to digest concepts. Step-by-step, he goes through Wharton’s integration of symbolism and imagery, two elements of fiction, and the motives behind their usage. Through his breakdown of symbolism and imagery into three components, he provides a clearer insight into the mind of Wharton and the purpose of her work, while Ammons solely focuses on the racism in Ethan Frome. Although she dissects the novel as well, she also supports her analysis using previous works authored by Wharton to prove the racist perspective of Ethan Frome. This is evident as it is present in
Ethan wanted to run away with Mattie but after learning that he did not have available funds to go west he couldn’t face the fact that Mattie would go away forever. As soon as Mattie suggest they commit suicide Ethan doesn’t refuse but agrees. “What’s the good of either of us going anywheres without the other one now” (Wharton 121). Mattie and Ethan plan to sled into the Elm tree to die together. Ethan’s job was to steer into the tree to make it appear as an accidental death, however, they didn’t hit the tree square on due to Ethan second-guessing himself. Because of this Ethan, and Mattie, both survive. Although Ethan second-guesses his choice he still knew he couldn’t be without Mattie, and continued towards the elm tree. This was probably the most profound act of weakness because instead of dying with his love he is forced to live with the guilt from his wife, and the now-injured
His demise is when he has thoughts of running away from his present life. "Frome was in the habit of walking into Starkfield to fetch home his wife's cousin, Mattie Silver, on the rare evenings in which some chance of amusement drew her to the village" (Wharton 16). His tragic flaw is shown in this quote because he picks Mattie up after parties due to the fact that he is concern that a dangerous person might harm her. These pickups lead to his demise because every time he picks her up, they grow closer. Another event that leads to his demise is when "'I'll try to get a place in a store 'You know you can't do it. The bad air and the standing all day nearly killed you before'' (Wharton 85). This piece of evidence demonstrates Ethan's flaw because when Mattie suggests the kind of job she will have in the future, he is concern of her well-being and working conditions of that job. As Ethan starts to have romantic feelings towards Mattie, he is getting closer to his demise. When they start talking about Mattie's future, Ethan starts to have thoughts of running away from his present life. "'if I could ha' gone with you now I ha' done it'" (Wharton 86). This is Ethan's demise because once he has thoughts of leaving with Mattie his future actions are determined by this demise. His future actions eventually leads to unforeseen consequences that haunt him for the rest of his life.
In Ethan Frome, the theme of winter is predominantly used, with its confining nature, to portray each character’s hardships. For example, the theme of winter is directly linked with Ethan Frome and the harsh conditions he has to endure to survive. To Ethan, the wintry snow in Starkfield seems elegant and appealing, but as he sees later on, the snow is unveiled as a major obstacle, preventing Ethan from achieving his dreams. Winter manifests itself as the ice, cold, and snow symbolically representing the isolation that Ethan experiences. As the narrator states “when winter shut down on Starkfield, and the village lay under a sheet of snow… must have been in Ethan Frome's young manhood,” The solitude that winter brings causes Starkfield to
The book says, “His wife had never shown any jealousy of Mattie, but of late she had grumbled increasingly over the house-work and found oblique ways of attracting attention to the girl 's inefficiency(Wharton, chpt 1).” This means Zeena knew about the love affair. Because Ethan and Zeena did not honestly love each other, the affair did not bother Zeena. Eventually, though, Zeena wants to force Mattie to go back home. Ethan and Mattie are extremely devastated by this. Ethan is not in love with either girl, but cannot leave either one. What happened next was a sleigh riding accident. Ethan purposely drove a sled into a tree hoping to kill Mattie and himself. By doing this he could escape all his responsibilities. He would not be abandoning anyone technically. The immaturity in Ethan 's personality is shown through this event. The accident caused Ethan and Zeena to be obligated to care for Mattie for the rest of their lives. Because the accident was intentional Ethan should be held accountable for it. He was supposed to be a mature adult who made the right decisions. He failed at this. Ethan should have been put in jail for this mishap. Moreover, Mattie did die that day because her liveliness
Several Years after their marriage, cousin Mattie Silver is asked to relieve Zeena, who is constantly ill, of her house hold duties. Ethan finds himself falling in love with Mattie, drawn to her youthful energy, as, “ The pure air, and the long summer hours in the open, gave life and elasticity to Mattie.” Ethan is attracted to Mattie because she is the opposite of Zeena, while Mattie is young, happy, healthy, and beautiful like the summer, Zeena is seven years older than Ethan, bitter, ugly and sickly cold like the winter. Zeena’s strong dominating personality undermines Ethan, while Mattie’s feminine, lively youth makes Ethan fell like a “real man.” Ethan and Mattie finally express their feeling for each other while Zeena is visiting the doctor, and are forced to face the painful reality that their dreams of being together can not come true.
Many people oppose society due to the surroundings that they face and the obstacles that they encounter. Set in the bleak winter landscape of New England, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton is the story of a poor, lonely man, his wife Zeena, and her cousin Mattie Silver. Ethan the protagonist in this novel, faces many challenges and fights to be with the one he really loves. Frome was trapped from the beginning ever since Mattie Silver came to live with him and his wife. He soon came to fall in love with her, and out of love with his own wife. He was basically trapped in the instances of his life, society’s affect on the relationship, love, poverty, illness, disability, and life.
The narrator, upon meeting Ethan Frome for the first time, thought "he seemed a part of the mute melancholy landscape, an incarnation of its frozen woe, with all that was warm and sentient in him fast bound below the surface." He "had the sense that his loneliness was not merely the result of his personal plight, but had in it…the profound accumulated cold of many Starkfield winters" (Wharton, 9).
He is physically isolated from the world and is also cut off from the possibility of any relationship. Due to his new situation, he looks for an outlet in order to relieve himself from this isolation. Luckily enough for him, Mattie comes around in order to help Zeena out due to her illness. Wharton writes, “...the coming to his house of a bit hopeful young life was like the lighting of a fire under a cold heart” (Wharton 33). As Smith recognizes in this comparison, he says that “His (Ethan) life of isolation changes, however, when Mattie Silver comes to stay with him and his wife” (Smith 96). Smith correctly analyzes Ethan’s situation, labeling Mattie as this outlet of hope that he can turn to in order to cope with his isolation. Wharton herself shows that Ethan truly did view Mattie as his outlet for hope, mainly due to his love for her, which Mattie shares equally for him. This love sprouts from many things including attractiveness, conversation, understanding, and listening, many of which he lacks for his whole life and where most of his isolation roots itself. Wharton writes, “She had an eye to see and an ear to hear: he could show her things and tell her things, and taste the bliss of feeling that all he imparted left long reverberations and echoes he could wake at will” (Wharton 28). This is a fancy way of saying that they Mattie not only listened to Ethan, but also
The rise of Realism in 1855 was the time when farming began to industrialize, communication expanded through railroads, and Nationalism was yet again revived. On top of all these important transformations that have marked this period of time was the significance for literature with a new audience, new settings, and new characters. The novel, Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, is a magnificent example of literature from the Realistic period.
Due to Mattie's injuries, and Ethan's inabilities to leave Starkfield, he remains at his home in an uncomfortable relationship with Mattie and Zeena. Even though he still had Mattie at his side, he was not living the life he wanted in the "west" with Mattie. There was no real "difference between the Fromes up at the farm and the Fromes down in the graveyard." Ethan gave up his life to stay at the farm with the woman he loves, and the woman he does not, resulting in him being subconsciously tied to Starkfield. Ethan's "father's accident" and his mother's falling "ill" results in Ethan's sacrifice of his career "to be an engineer" and makes him stay in Starkfield to marry Zeena. Even with opportunities that come along to change Ethan's continuous cycle of his life, he still ends up sacrificing everything to fulfill his duty and obligation to his wife
Ethan Frome is a popular novel written in 1911 by Edith Wharton. The plot of the novel consists of an unnamed narrator who tells the tragic tale of a poor farmer in the New England area. Ethan Frome is married to a cranky old lady, but falls in love with his wife’s cousin who helps out around the house. In the climax of the story the two in love attempt suicide to free themselves from Zeena’s control but end up handicapped for the rest of their life. Even though he isn’t the protagonist of the story the character that needs to be analyzed is the narrator. Edith Wharton uses the narrator to retell his interpretations of the story of Ethan Frome and in turn reveals his inner thoughts.
Ethan is not happy with his life and feels that it is his obligation to stay on the farm and work like his parents had “readers discover a man who feels overwhelmed by family responsibilities and who cannot free himself from what he believes to be family expectations.” (Witkosky). This obligation, and what Ethan believes to be his family expectations, ultimately helped lead to his decision in staying in Starkfield and not pursuing a happier life with Mattie elsewhere. Ethan also feels that even though all of his family members had died a long time ago, he still senses their presence, and he feels pressured to continue the family custom “Ethan senses their presence; in his eyes, the headstones on their graves, located near his farm, are like sentinels who guard and enforce family custom.” (Witkosky). Lastly the location of the Frome household in rural Massachusetts did not help the fact of Ethan’s isolation and his inability to socialize with others. Wharton symbolizes this loneliness and isolation by giving the town of Starkfield a cold and frozen setting, which is symbolic towards Ethan’s inability to move forward in his life “, the lack of social mobility in rural Massachusetts plays a role in Ethan's acceptance of the idea that he has no chance for advancement.” (Witkosky). Ethan’s ability to not being able to move forward
The physical appearance of Ethan Frome played a significant part in creating his character. He was a tall, thin man. He had dark colored hair and dark eyes. He seemed a little rough around the edges and the scar on the side of his face was another of his distinguishing marks. At the very beginning of the book, he is 52 years old, but is described as looking much older than that. Throughout the main part of the book, which is a flashback, Frome is in his 20's. After the sledding accident with Mattie, he is left with bad vision in his right eye, which causes him trouble sometimes. Ethan Frome stutters and speaks in abbreviated forms sometimes. Most of the people in the town and in the novel speak in abbreviated forms. The actual town itself and the surroundings of Frome are harsh and cold, especially in winter when the book takes place. These harsh surroundings make Frome who he is and give him a "careless powerful look".
Edith Wharton, a famous author of many outstanding books, wrote a chaotic love story entitled Ethan Frome. The story took place in the wintery town of Starkfield, Massachusetts. Wharton was a sophisticated young woman who found love in sitting down and holding people’s attention by way of a pen. Wharton wrote yet another thriller that told the tale of two love stricken people that barely found it possible to be together; which later forced them to fall into the temptation of love that cannot be controlled. Wharton had many different writing styles but for different books meant different needs. In Edith Wharton’s novel, Ethan Frome, frustration and loneliness play roles in disappointment while imagery, symbolism, and individual responsibility provide the novel with a tortuous plot.