Ethan Frome In life change is inevitable, in novels it is a way of life. All of the characters in Ethan Frome change in one way or another, From Ethan Falling in love with Mattie, to him starting to shave every morning. These changes from the minor ones to the major ones all play a large part in the story. Another change that happens in the story is Ethan’s opinion about the gravestone, It goes from him thinking that he will never escape to him pondering would him and Mattie be buried next to each other. One of the biggest examples of change in the story is Ethan falling in love with Mattie. This is a big change because he is already married to Zeena. The marriage to Zeena is simply a marriage of convenience. It isn’t a love marriage and He is starting to fall in love with Mattie. Since Mattie Came to stay with Zeena And Ethan Has Change quite a bit for the better. Zeena and Mattie both Change Ethan in different, Mattie who Ethan is falling in love with changes Ethan in a positive manner, While Zeena Who he is married to Changes him in a more negative matter. Zeena Who always has a negative attitude has probably age Ethan more than the winters and the smash up put together, but since Mattie came Ethan is starting to act nicer and as if he were younger. Where as Zeena Locked Ethan out just because “she was feeling to mean to sleep” Mattie cares about Ethan and actually talks to him. Another noticeable change in Ethan Frome is His opinion of the gravestones. This changes dramatically from The beginning of the novel. In the beginning of the novel these tombstones are like a constant reminder that no one in his family was able to make it out of that town and he wouldn’t make it out either. Now in the middle of the story He looks at the tombstone and wonders what it would be like when he died if he was with Mattie and buried right next to her. He is looking forward to is life ever since Mattie Moved in with them.
Free Essays on Wharton’s Ethan Frome: Wonderful and Cynical Ethane
Wonderful and Cynical
Ethane Frome Wonderful symbolism, pleasant reading, yet cynical and deterministic I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and recommend it to lovers of romantic tragedy. For its mere 157 pages, this novel has an amazing impact. Wharton, who is usually credited for her stories set in the society she was more familiar with, such as “The Age of Innocence” writes with profound symbolism here. Setting the story in the town of Starkfield, her main character, Ethan, is a poor farmer caught between the cold reality of his marriage and his warm passion for love.
In many ways “Ethan Frome” reminds me of “The Great Gatsby”, although Ethan is much more down-to-earth and realistic than the fanciful Jay. But both novels read like poetry, and Wharton masterfully uses the natural settings and seasons to describe and emphasize her protagonist’s inner workings. Where the tragedy of Gatsby’s story may be questionable, there is no question (not in my mind anyway) about this story’s appeal to our pathos.
What is even more interesting is that Ethan Frome is probably the closest to autobiography of Wharton’s works. She most likely chose a male protagonist in order to achieve the sympathy for those circumstances. Had she titled the story “Edna Frome” she would have likely stirred the animosity that Kate Chopin received for her book “The Awakening”.
The story is a simple one and the reading very pleasing. Ethan Frome is in a loveless marriage to a “mean” and sickly woman – Zeena. He falls in love with her younger cousin Mattie, who embodies all the sweet characteristics of romance. The dilemma is obvious on the surface, but is strengthened by many other unsurmountable realities. (Wharton has been labelled a believer of determinism, which is evident in this writing.)
