The Theme Of Love In Wharton's Ethan Frome

In Ethan Frome, written by Edith Wharton, the main character is struggling with the temptations of adultery. Through the novel, the reader witnesses the love between Ethan and Mattie blossoming into something neither of them could ignore. Many flaws came with this strong bond that they both were faced with and that prevented them from being happy together. The obstacles of Ethan and Mattie's relationship were caused by Ethan’s unending love for her and the disapproval of their relationship that is expressed through the cat. In addition, another conflict with their relationship was the inability to escape from his abusive wife.
Ethan was fond of Mattie ever since she arrived to live with him and Zeena. He was not happy with his wife and Mattie Silver reminded him of what he wanted his life to be. Mattie made Ethan feel important and gave him a sense of hope. When Mattie was in the room with him, he focused all of his attention on her: “ The only drawback to his complete well-being was the fact that he could

not see Mattie from where he sat” (Wharton 64). While spending time together, Ethan wanted to give her his undivided attention. The unending love between Ethan and Mattie was strong, but they struggled with not being able to act upon those temptations.
The main struggle for Ethan was that he could not act on his feelings. Ethan was married, but when he was with Mattie he felt as he never had with Zeena. This continuing emotion towards Mattie continued to grow over time, making it more difficult to escape: “He did not know why he was so irrationally happy” (Wharton 71). Simply spending time with Mattie made Ethan feel happy; there was no need to do anything substantial, just being together was enough. Mattie’s presence made him feel this way, and made it more difficult to not be with her.
Ethan had powerful will to love Mattie and he also had a need to protect her. When Mattie made Ethan’s favorite dish and broke Zeena’s sentimental wedding present from her aunt, the loss was unforgivable. When Zeena came home unexpectedly and found the broken dish, she questioned both of them, assuming that Mattie had done it. Ethan could not let Mattie take the blame:‘“I can tell you, then. The cat done it”’ (Wharton 90). Blaming the broken glass on the cat left Mattie in the clear of being in trouble for this serious matter. In defending her and lying to his wife, it proves that Ethan’s loyalty did not lie to Zeena.
Throughout the novel, Ethan’s subconscious thoughts are expressed through their cat. The cat symbolizes that Ethan should not be feeling this way towards Mattie and he knows better. Through the flirtatious actions between both of the characters, the cat is witnessing what is occurring. The author puts the attention towards the cat to subtly express that what Ethan is doing is wrong: “The cat, who had been a puzzled observer of these unusual movements, jumped up into Zeena’s chair, rolled itself into a ball, and lay watching them with narrowed eyes” (Wharton 65). Edith Wharton includes the cat jumping onto Zeena’s chair to bring the ‘new love’ back to reality that he is married and should be loyal to his wife.
The cat is used as a symbol to bring the story back to the reality that Ethan should not act inappropriately towards Mattie. The reality is that Ethan is aware of his actions and continues to act on his emotions. While Zeena is away at the doctors, Ethan is happy to be free from her. The day before Zeena came home, the cat is a reminder of his wife’s return that he had been dreading: “The cat had jumped from Zeena’s chair to dart at a mouse in the wainscot, and as a result of the sudden movement the empty chair had set up a spectral rocking” (Wharton 69). The reality that Zeena was coming back home hindered on their lives. The course of events that are witnessed by the animal are significant because the animal symbolized Ethan’s awareness, while Zeena is unaware of her husband’s emotions.
Throughout the story the cat expresses how Ethan is aware that his actions are considered to be inappropriate. Throughout the society, the expectations of a husband were to remain loyal to his wife through sickness and health. Ethan was well aware of what was expected of him, and the cat was a daily reminder:“I might have sat him down before a village gossip who would have poured out the whole affair to him in a breath” (Wharton ix). The cat witnessed the interactions between Mattie and Ethan and did not approve by bringing Zeena back into the picture. Mattie and Ethan both knew that it is wrong in their society, but they chose to continue to be disloyal to Zeena.
The main flaw of Mattie and Ethan’s relationship was his marriage to Zeena. While she was away, Ethan could not remain unaware of her presence: “The name had benumbed him again, and once more he felt as if Zeena were in the room between them” (Wharton 61). As hard as Ethan tried, he could not get a moment alone with Mattie, whom he cared for more than his wife. The idea that Ethan could feel Zeena’s presence continuously reminded him he was wrong and that he should not act on his feelings.
The bond between Mattie and Ethan continued to be disrupted by the fact that Ethan was married to Zeena.

As the novel progressed, the truth was revealed that Zeena was an unappreciative and unlikable wife. Zeena left the home because she was sick and needed to seek medical attention from specialized doctors. Upon her arrival home, she explains to Ethan that her illness made her incapable of doing daily chores around their home. Ethan does not understand how her sickness was as advanced as she claims and Zeena responds with no remorse: “I didn’t need to have anybody tell me I was losing ground every day. Everybody but you could see it” (Wharton 79). Ethan did not do anything to cause Zeena to act as she did. This scene portrays that Zeena did not love or respect Ethan, she believed that he did not appreciate all that she did. Both Zeena and Ethan were unhappy together, but they remained married and this was the one thing that kept him from being happy with

Mattie.
While Zeena was hateful to Ethan, she did the same to others. Along with making nasty remarks to her husband, she did the same to Mattie. Mattie was in their home to help around and to care for the family, but Zeena did not respect her and believed that they were the ones that were doing her a favor. Zeena did not care for Mattie, and this was expressed through the way she dismissed Mattie, leaving her with nowhere to go. Zeena was so quick to treat Mattie this way, when she was family, that Ethan thought about leaving her. When he thought about what would become of Zeena and felt guilty, he remembered: “ It was the fate she was forcing on Mattie - why not let her try it herself?” (Wharton 96). Through Ethan thinking about his wife’s actions, the resentment towards her becomes more noticeable. Zeena not caring for Mattie and her work ethic lead to her hiring a new house girl that was not family because she was ill and the doctor did not want her doing housework. Zeena’s actions towards Mattie made Ethan resent her even more which made the situation worse.
Throughout the novel, Ethan is faced with several challenges that he can not escape. The daily reminders of his wife and the morals of society continuously show him that his emotions are not appropriate and he must not act on them. Ethan is also married to Zeena, in which he does not love out of her disrespect and unawareness of his feelings and wants. In addition, the other obstacle that he is faced with is the uncontrollable love for Mattie. Edith Wharton expressed Ethan’s struggles through symbols and characters to express the extremity of his love.