The Responsibility of Ethan Frome for His Own Tragedy in Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome

The Responsibility of Ethan Frome for His Own Tragedy in Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome

A: Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome, published in 1911, was a departure

from her other works that were primarily concerned with the privileged

New York Society and its hypocrisy. Critics have agreed that Ethan

Frome was probably one of the most autobiographical of Wharton's works

because it talked about an illicit affair while Wharton herself was

going through one at that time. Wharton probably wanted the people to

understand her and her actions and sympathize with her. She does this,

in the book, by drawing our sympathy towards Ethan who is trapped in a

lonely and desolate farmland with a wife he does not even like.

Through her depiction of Ethan, Wharton, perhaps, wants us to see how

the surroundings and circumstances can influence our actions and

behaviour. There are strong traces of Determinism and Naturalism in

this novel as Wharton herself was a believer in it. She, perhaps, also

wants us to feel that Ethan's tragedy was inevitable and that it could

not be stopped no matter what.

I too believe that Ethan's tragedy was inevitable. It could have been

stopped long ago yet it was not. I don't think anyone in the novel is

to blame. The characters in the novel are all, like Ethan, victims of

circumstances but they do, however, determine Ethan's - and perhaps

one another's - actions. Throughout the novel Ethan's actions seem to

work against him and he seems to be the one who is pushing himself

backwards. Perhaps this was because of the author's belief in

Naturalism and the effect of nature and the surroundings on human

nature. We see in the novel that E...

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... I feel that maybe his life with Zeena and the paralysed

Mattie are a sort of punishment for this. 'If she'd ha' died, Ethan

might ha' lived.'

However, I still to feel that Wharton has presented this character

beautifully and in a very believable manner. She managed to draw my

sympathy for Ethan and his situation. She skilfully uses the settings

to explain the turmoil going on in Ethan's mind. His character is one

of the most noble I have seen as he rises above his fears and

realities to help other people. He appeals to the sorrows and grief

that we face every day. I don't feel that he was completely

responsible for his Fate. In the end everyone is responsible for his

or her actions and deeds yet there are some things that you just

cannot change and, perhaps, Ethan Frome's life was filled with much of

the latter.