Essay on Ethan Frome and Zeena

Submitted By predsnation
Words: 1015
Pages: 5
Open Document
The Fault of Charity
By Allie Sheets

In modern novels, most protagonists experience a great downfall due to their personality flaws. For example, the Phantom, from Phantom of the Opera, learns what true loneliness is due to his obsessive demeanor. Ethan Frome, from Ethan Frome, is no exception to this downfall. The reader can see the declining spirit in Ethan’s character throughout the story. Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, is a tragic novella, in the classical sense by which a flaw in the hero’s character contributes to his downfall. At the start of the novella, not including the first ten pages, Ethan is shown to be lively and interactive to his environment. Not only does Wharton show him as spirited, but she describes the environment similarly: “The dancers were going faster and faster, and the musicians, to keep up with them, belaboured their instruments like jockeys lashing their mounts on the homestretch” (13). This first real setting in the story is a festive one. The dancers’ speed and the loud music not only create a stimulating vision for the reader but also reflect Ethan’s mood. Surely, Ethan is much happier without the lingering presence of Zeena. So, by making him sit alone, watching the excitement, it pulls him away from her domination. When he is alone with Mattie, his true personality shines through. Wharton writes, “Her wonder and his laughter ran together like spring rills in a thaw. Ethan had the sense of having done something arch and ingenious” (19). In this scene, Ethan laughs, smiles, and is carefree. This is one of the few moments when Ethan is alone with Mattie and only one quality makes all of those scenes similar: hope. In all of his

Sheets 2 moments with Mattie, he has the hope to escape. This scene, the opening scene, is no exception. Unfortunately, Wharton does not let Ethan’s happiness linger. In other words, she shows him cheerful for a short moment before she tears his joy into miniscule pieces. Upon the introduction of Zeena, there is a noticeable difference in Wharton’s syntax. She begins as light and jubilant, but it soon turns gloomy. She writes, “The light, on a level with her chin, drew out of the darkness her puckered throat and the projecting wrist of the hand that clutched the quilt, and deepened fantastically the hollows and prominences of her high-boned face under its ring of crimping curls” (22). Even before Zeena enters, Ethan sees a dead cucumber vine on the porch. Suddenly, this scene seems a lot more depressing. Wharton uses words such as “darkness,” “hollows,” and “puckered” in her description of Zeena. Later on she states, “Ethan passed into the kitchen, which had the deadly chill of a vault after the dry cold of the night” (22). In conjunction with the opening, her word choices seem dreary. Clearly, Zeena sucks the life out of a room, not only because of her haunting presence but also by her bitter attitude. However, Ethan’s downfall does not begin until his flaw is shown. The fault in Ethan is that he tries to help too many people, specifically two that are pitted against each other. At one moment, he is dedicated to Zeena: “I’m sorry, but it can’t be helped. You’re a poor man’s wife, Zeena; but I’ll do the best I can for you” (49). However, not much later, he refutes that statement: “You can’t go, Matt! I won’t let you! She’s always had her way, but I mean to have mine now—“ (52). Ethan jumps back and forth between Zeena and
Sheets 3
Mattie too much. He cannot even help himself due to this factor. The difference between these two statements is barely three pages. He surely changes his mind quickly. It is due to this that he experiences destruction. Throughout the story, Ethan slowly declines from a lively spirit to the shell of a man he used to be. By trying to satisfy both Zeena and
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on Ethan Frome and Zeena

Essay On Ethan Frome

Ethan Frome a main character in this tragic book, makes both right and wrong choices but the wrong choices end up being the ones that will change his life forever. Sometimes when some one is torn, they end up making the wrong choices. “how ever, the post master would hand him and envelope addressed to ms. Zenopia or ms zenna frome”(4). Zeena is a hypochondriac, Ethan should have just came out plane and simple and said stop over hyping your fine. Maybe in doing so she might come to reality…

Words 333 - Pages 2

Compare And Contrast Two Major Characters In Wharton's Ethan Frome

fictional novel, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, it compares and contrasts two major characters: Zenobia (Zeena) Frome and Mattie Silver. The beginning of the book explains the pity marriage of Zeena and her husband, Ethan Frome. She was only his parent’s caretaker at the time and he did not want to be alone for the winter, therefore he married her. Zeena’s first cousin, Mattie Silver comes along to live with them and Ethan falls for her completely different personality than his wife. Zeena is told to…

Words 515 - Pages 3

Ethan Frome Setting Analysis

novel Ethan Frome is written by Edith Wharton. In Ethan Frome, the narrator, is an engineer living in Starkfield, Massachusetts, seeks travel help of a somewhat mysterious man in the community named Ethan Frome. One winter night, Ethan invites the narrator into his home to get out of the terrible weather. This is where the narrator receives the full story of Ethan’s life. When Ethan was younger, he took care of his sick parents until they passed. After they died, he married his wife, Zeena, who is…

Words 526 - Pages 3

Ethan Frome Essay

Ethan Frome is the tragedy of a married couple, the husband's mistress, and how their disposition and traits prevent them from finding happiness. In Wharton's Ethan Frome, Ethan, Zeena, and Mattie become victims of their own personality traits, which are: emotional weakness, self-absorption, lack of communication and affection, and immaturity . The characters are discontent with their lives but are helpless and ignorant; they do not realize that their own dispositions bring about problems and hurt…

Words 1214 - Pages 5

The Theme Of Love In Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome

The book Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, depicts a classic ironic switch of roles and a triangle of unusual “love”. The novel starts by introducing the narrator of the story, whose name remains a mystery. Later, it is learned that the narrator’s occupation is engineering and he resides temporarily in Starkfield, Massachusetts for business. He soon encounters a man by the name of Ethan Frome who he finds very interesting due to his unusual twisted stature. Due to his connection with his landlady, also…

Words 550 - Pages 3

Prisoners of Ethan Frome Essay example

Prisoners of Ethan Frome Throughout the story of Ethan Frome we feel the great impression of constraint on Ethan, Mattie, and Zeena. A reader can distinguish several kinds of constraints. It is clear that Zeena is not affected by exactly the same problems as Ethan or Mattie. Nevertheless, one feels a constant lack of freedom between the characters. A lot of things, such as, the lack of money, health, the landscape, communication problems and marriage play a big role in this prison-like situation…

Words 501 - Pages 3

Ethan Frome Essay

Ethan Frome Theme Dissection The author focuses on many big themes throughout the novel Ethan Frome. He goes into great detail for each characters special theme. Some characters are isolated others are determined. Each theme has a consequence for the characters, some consequences are life changing others are small changes to the life that are not very noticeable. The three major characters in the novel that are affected are Zeena, Ethan Frome, and Mattie. Zeena Frome is Ethan's wife who has…

Words 1534 - Pages 7

Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome

psychological trap. In the book, Ethan has fallen in love with a girl named Mattie. Mattie is living in the Frome household to take care of Ethan’s ill wife Zeena. Mattie presents Ethan with this time-worn dilemma of choosing love over responsibility. While Ethan knows that his primary duty as man is to care for his wife, he feels intoxicated and joyous by Mattie’s mere presence and is compelled to run off with her. With a rush of adrenaline and overflowing with romantic thoughts, Ethan and Mattie attempt to…

Words 1002 - Pages 5

Ethan Frome Narrative Essay

“In Ethan Frome Wharton creates a totally disinterested narrator, one whom is only curious about how the lives of others relate to him. He may talk about Ethan Frome, but he tells us nothing about him.” Discuss how narration influences your understanding of Ethan Frome. ‘Narration refers to the way that a story is told, and so belongs to the level of discourse (although in first-person narration it may be that the narrator also plays a role in the development of the story itself). The different…

Words 1699 - Pages 7

Ethan Frome Critical Theory Essay

In Edith Wharton’s novel, Ethan Frome, one major critical theory revolves around the psychological aspect and the character’s thinking while the story unfolds. The novel revolves around this critical theory because the setting, actions of characters, and direction of the novel in general are all controlled by the mind of the characters. Their thinking and psychological health affects how they view their current situation and how they respond to them. This is shown in the novel as Ethan’s state of…

Words 670 - Pages 3