Moral Paralysis In Ethan Frome

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By the end of Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, Ethan is not only physically deformed but also emotionally crippled. At fifty-two years old, the Narrator describes Ethan as “but the ruin of a man,” (Wharton 9) penniless, and without any children to pass his struggling farm onto. The effects of submissively allowing external factors to dictate his life results in a severe toll on Ethan and by the close of the novel his exterior appearance matches his interior. Instead of taking charge of his life and decisions, he allows factors such as the climate, conventional morality, martial duty, and poverty to dictate his actions. Stuck in his desolate situation, Ethan is not the only one who suffers from moral paralysis (Gleed). Zeena and Mattie also struggle …show more content…
Edith’s language throughout Ethan Frome also implies the dangers of inaction. For example, on page fifty-five Ethan thinks Mattie “knew what had restrained him”. However, since Ethan fails to discuss his feelings, Mattie does not know what he is thinking and as a result nothing occurs between them. Moral paralysis also greatly influences the characters of Ethan Frome. An example of this from the novel is when Ethan explains “the inexorable facts closed in on him like prison-warders handcuffing a conflict. There was no way out...he was a prisoner for life..” (Wharton 73). This shows how Ethan sees himself as stuck in his dour situation with no way out. Mattie experiences the consequences of inaction when paralyzed after committing suicide due to her belief that she had nowhere else to turn. Finally, Zeena experiences the consequences of inaction when forced to take care of Ethan and Mattie after their attempt at suicide. Because she did not attempt to talk to Ethan and Mattie about their relationship, they felt like they had nowhere else to turn and, as a result, reverted to extreme actions. Ethan, Zeena, and Mattie undergo inactin and moral paralysis throughout Ethan Frome and as a result face the physical and moral consequences that
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