Theme Of Redemption In Ethan Frome

The easy way out of a dilemma isn’t worth the damage from the start, or the loss that awaits at the end. In Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, readers are told a tale about the consequences of not pursuing your dreams ending in tragedy that isn’t closing with death, but a painful silence. In Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, readers are taught that what is beyond reach should stay that way, especially if the only way of acquiring it is through an unethical approach. The nature of redemption is often detected at the peak of consciousness and is oftentimes too late for any reparation before the repercussions arise, because the moment awareness kicks in there’s only so much that can be restored.

In Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, readers are taken to

Starkfield, Massachusetts welcomed into the old farm belonging to the Fromes. Ethan Frome was a man who had been faced with the loss after investing the majority of his life looking after his ill stricken parents.

It wasn’t just the loss of their existence, it was the demise of a dream that had been put on hold forever. Long after their passing, Ethan had married his wife, Zeena, who then became ill. Why would a man who sacrificed everything for the people he cared about need to redeem himself? Ethan and Zeena weren’t the only ones living on the farm; the presence of Zeena’s cousin Mattie seemed to have an effect on Ethan’s behavior. Zeena was sick, and one can imagine Ethan’s affliction. The only youthful, healthy being in his life was Mattie, so he did what he felt could fill the absence of contentment. While Zeena had gone away, it was evident that Ethan was infatuated with Mattie and was capable of doing anything to keep that feeling alive. But he recognized that he couldn’t have that as long as they themselves were still viable. His role as the villain progressed to the point where he took action the moment Mattie was about to be ripped out of his life. Riding off to their demise, “...they took wing for this it seemed to him that they were flying indeed, flying far up into the cloudy night, with Starkfield immeasurably below them, falling away like a speck in space,” (Wharton,

Chapter 9). Thinking they were invincible and could defy the universe of their fate, their lives were not diminished as desired. The two lived, but “...if she ha’ died, Ethan might ha’ lived; and the way they are now, I don’t see’s there’s much difference between the Frome’s up at the farm and the Fromes down in the graveyard; ‘cept that down there they’re all quiet and the women have got to hold their tongues,” (Wharton, Epilogue). Ethan, Mattie, and Zeena to live under one roof in silence, had they all died, Ethan would have never heard the end of it. Ethan, a man who felt as though the chance to pursue his dreams was long gone, just wanted to be happy and did whatever he could to attain it. Instead he hurt the people he cared about, and with the knowledge of what he had done made him sustain the household as it stood. The arrangements made to mend the state of affairs cannot make up for the memory buried deep into his consciousness.
In Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, readers are introduced to a talented scholar with a thirst for knowledge and power. Given the opportunity, Faustus knew that the only way he can get his hands on what was beyond his reach was by crossing a well-known, forbidden boundary. The temptations given to man are hard to avoid when they are being handed to you; Faustus would get what he want, but not without a price. Although he had been unsure about whether or not he’s making the right decision when instructed to repent, the price that wasn’t scary enough, because he thought he could overpower the universe when he said, “‘...Why, the signiory of Embden shall be mine. When Mephistophilis shall stand by me, What god can hurt thee, Faustus? thou art safe, Cast no more doubts. --Come, Mephistophilis, And bring glad tidings from great Lucifer’,” (Young, Lines 78-82). He thought that his dirty deed would stay protected, not even the Good Angel, who appeared various times, could convince him before Lucifer had come to solidify the deal. Faustus had put himself in a dangerous and difficult situation, but wasn’t conscious of the consequences. He knew he’d be damned, but did he know what that meant? In other words, did he know that for even the slightest second he realized that he’d made a mistake, it’d be a mistake that could not, under any circumstance, be undone? When death day had arrived and he knew that he had done wrong, it was too late. There was no turning back regarding, “‘...his hellish fall, whose fiendful fortune may exhort the wise, only to wonder at unlawful things, whose deepness doth entice such forward wits to practice more than heavenly power permits’,” (Young, Epilogue, II 4-8). Nothing is as unfortunate as a mistake that cannot be corrected, no matter how badly redemption was desired. One would think they could get away with challenging an unattainable power far from getting a hold of, but that isn’t how it works.
In the end, there is no easy way out of a dilemma that is worth the damage or the loss. In Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, readers learn about the consequences of not pursuing their dreams and suppressing the pain until it’s the only thing they have. In Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, readers are taught that no one can be invincible no matter how secure they feel. Looking at the nature of redemption, its detection lies at the peak of consciousness and as reparation goes, there isn’t much that can be done before the repercussions arise, because the moment awareness kicks in there’s only so much that can be restored and sometimes nothing is there to salvage. Be careful what you wish for, ‘cause you might just get it.