Ethan's Eth Character Analysis

So, it can be seen that Zeena and Mattie do have common feelings for Ethan Frome. She probably has resentment and dislike for Ethan From and even herself since it was her idea to crash the sleigh into the oak tree. Also, since her youthfulness was cut short because of an accident and there was no everlasting love that followed it.

Ethan's wife, Zeena, displays another area of the poverty of Ethan's life. Her particular poverty is the lack of feeling. She is a cold, decrepit individual, who is convinced that she is sick, and refuses to be told otherwise. She is very uncaring and unpleasant. She constantly gripes at Ethan, and she can't stand her cousin, Mattie. on page 38, Zeena is trying to get rid of Mattie, by hinting that she should get married quickly. She wants to hire another girl.

Although the two have a rare and precious day together without Zeena nothing happens because of Ethan’s moral values. His moral values is what keeps him isolated from Mattie and the happiness their relationship could provide “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

In the final chapters, Ethan and Mattie enter the Frome household. Wharton describes that the living room has "the deadly chill of a vault after the dry cold of the night." This quote represents the deathly sled run they are about to experience. Ethan and Mattie pursued their love life to the point of death due to desperation. Ethan felt trapped in his marriage with Zenobia and found an escape in the beautiful, young Mattie Silver. He chose to die with Mattie for an escape to his isolated, unhappy life, but it only backfired in the end.

That makes him stand between what he want and what he need and all he wants, just to stop at thinking. And Ethan's thoughts become his biggest barrier to reaching happiness. Ethan loves Mattie. Ethan dreams about the happiness of him and Mattie. We know that when Ethan says, "I guess we'll never let you go, Matt," he whispered, as though even the dead, lovers once, must conspire with him to keep her; and brushing by the graves, he thought: "We'll always go on living here together, and someday she'll lie there beside me.". But there is no way that comes true when he becomes passive in front of Zeena. When Zeena figures out what is wrong in her family, and try to indirectly force Mattie to leave the farm, Ethan is passive with his feeble reasoning cannot protect Mattie. Then, Ethan plans to flee with Mattie. But once again, another thought comes up to Ethan's mind as an excuse for his passivity, and make him flinch. The narrator states, " If he gave the farm and mill to Zeena what would be left him to start his own life with? Once in the West he was sure of picking up work—he would not have feared to try his chance alone. But with Mattie depending on him the case was different. And what of Zeena's fate? Farm and mill were mortgaged to the limit of their value, and even if she found a purchaser—in itself an unlikely chance—it was doubtful if she could clear a thousand

Ethan has such a moral dilemma because Zeena and Mattie are so incredibly different. He struggles with which personality and character traits he likes better. Zeena has been by Ethan's side since his mother was ill and he respects her

Secondly, Ethan Frome has had many failures within his life such as his marriage to Zeena. One may ask how is Zeena and Ethan’s marriage a failure? Ethan only marries Zeena after she could not nurse his mother back to health and she ends up passing away. When Ethan mother dies, Ethan is in a sullen mood or funk and in turn

For at least the young Ethan Frome, his desire to make others happy is a defining feature of his personality. The seemingly contented man introduced to readers contrasts with the unfortunate description of his education: “his father’s death, and the misfortunes following it, had put a premature end to Ethan’s studies…” (14). Even in his youth, Ethan prioritizes the needs and wants of others over his own. While dropping out of school was inevitable once the funds stopped flowing, his decision not to sell the family farm and remain in Starkfield is the most socially acceptable thing to do. With the whole town of Starkfield watching, Ethan accepted his duties as a son and eventual husband. These obligations corned Ethan, so much so that he was not able to elope with Mattie. Although Ethan despises his wife, his concern for her is demonstrated when he thinks: “and what of Zeena’s fate?...how could she keep the farm going?” Even when he’s about to leave her, Ethan is still worried about her prospects and position in society. In this respect, Zeena personifies all inhibitors of dreams: time, money, education and ability. Ethan’s failure to get away from Zeena is indicative of his resignation to fate.

Ethan marries Zeena and falls in love with Mattie as a direct response to his neediness for care and company. As well, Ethan also finds it a necessity to be accepted by Starkfield, which compels him to live with Zeena and finally stops him from escaping with Mattie. Ethan’s desire for love and acceptance could have been the outcome of a neglected childhood. He had been caring for his parents from a young age, as Harmon Gow tells the narrator, “Sickness and trouble: that’s what Ethan’s had his plate full up with, ever since the very first helping”(6). Ethan spent most of his life caring for others and possibly lacked love from his own sick parents, which may be the reason for his neediness for society to be both proud of him and others to give him the care, which he had to give up from an early age, taking care of his parents. As many studies show, the young need love and affection in order to help with their self-esteem and it is a vital aspect of one’s mental health. Seeing the outcome of Ethan, a lack of care for the young, may cause detrimental effects on ones life as he or she grows

Zeena appears to use her illness as a way to manipulate others to do things. Ethan usually does things to please Zeena. He is taking care of her and feels as if he cannot run off and abandon her. Zeena is controlling over Ethan and wants him to do whatever she pleases. She went away to see another doctor to get a second opinion on her illness and used Ethan’s money to pay for the treatment that she was prescribed even though she knew she wouldn’t be able to do the treatment. As the relationship between Ethan and Zeena becomes worse, Zeena is able to sense the relationship between Ethan and Zeena and becomes

Edith Wharton uses Mattie to express isolation and being lonely. She comes to the country with ribbons in her hair and more joy in herself. She wanted to free Ethan from the terrible society he lived in. Life in Starkfield is bleak and boring. No one comes outside or enjoys themselves. This is mainly why Ethan wants to escape the barren and poor neighborhood. Ethan is also isolated as well. He opposes society mainly because he cannot be with the one he loves and he doesn’t want to ruin his marriage to Zeena as well. When Zeena falls ill, she goes to the doctor for a couple of days and returns only to find her expensive china now ruined. Angry, she tells Ethan that she needs more hired help and plans to send Mattie away. Upset, Ethan did not know what to do . He decided to write a letter to Zeena telling her to run the farm and be by herself. However, he

prompted him to seek a relationship with Mattie. Her manipulative and lassitude state has kept Ethan bound and unhappy until the arrival of young Mattie. The reader notices a change in Ethan as he contemplates leaving Starkfield with Mattie, but his guilt stops this thought. Zeena can be described as a vitriolic character because she is self-centered and continually throughout the story inveighs Ethan and Mattie on all their actions and faults. His thoughts revealed that “even if he had the heart to desert her he could have done so only by deceiving two kindly people who had pitied him”

When Mattie is to be sent away, Ethan and Mattie grow desperate looking for a way out of their impossible situation. They decide that it is better to die in a sledding accident together than live their lives apart. Ethan hesitates slightly, “But in a flash

To begin with, Ethan largely takes advantage of how little life experience Mattie has had. She tells him “There’s never anybody been good to me but you!” (138). Ethan doesn’t truly love Mattie, because he doesn’t wish for her to have a happy life regardless of if that would include him. Mattie is young, smart, and beautiful and could marry any young man to start a family, or perhaps further her education and career instead. Ethan makes her believe that she can only be happy with him, the only person who has ever been kind to her. This leads her to suggest that they attempt suicide, even though she is not thinking clearly (143). Ethan encourages this unwise and hasty plan simply because it allows him an easy escape from his responsibilities as a husband to Zeena.

This event, referred to as a “smash-up”(2) by natives of Starkfield, is revealed to be a pact between Ethan and Mattie to commit suicide by sledding into an old elm tree. Ethan finally knew Mattie's “avowal, the wild wonder of knowing at last that all that had happened to him had happened to her too”(52). She confirms finally that she felt the same for Ethan as he had for her, and persuades Ethan to commit suicide with her so that they would “never have to leave each other any more”(52). This grand gesture shows the true devotion they felt for each other, and in agreeing with her, demonstrates Frome’s fatal flaw: he loves Mattie over reason or even life itself.