Ethan Frome is a story set in a Starkfield, New England. A narrator whose name the reader is not told narrates his interactions with Ethan Frome. The narrator portrays Ethan Frome as a character that has dreams. The story is told based on the interactions made on a winter storm. The narrator is an engineer that is on business in Starkfield. When the narrator sees Ethan in town, he is intrigued and wants to learn more about him. During one time when the narrator is given shelter at Ethan’s house on a stormy night, the narrator overhears a voice of an angry woman that kept talking until Ethan spoke. The narrator says that evening enabled him to imagine Ethan’s past life, through something he learnt that night. Ethan stayed with his wife Zeena and Zeena’s cousin Mattie. Mattie, an orphan did not have much and so Ethan and his wife agreed to help her out. In return, Mattie is expected to help with the housework and with Zeena who was sickly. Ethan liked Mattie, and at times felt Zenna was unnecessarily hard on Mattie. He eventually falls in love with Mattie and gets jealous when he sees her with someone else (Wharton).
On the night when Ethan goes to pick Mattie up, Denis Eady had offered Mattie a ride which she turned down. They walk home in a romantic mood, and even discuss possible sledding in the future. They get home and find Zenna awake, which is unusual because she is known to sleep early. This is because she is suspicious of the two. When Zeena gets back after a day from a visit to a doctor, she finds her that her favorite dish had been broken, and that Mattie and Ethan had had a romantic dinner. She gets very angry and threatens to send away Mattie, to which Ethan comes to Mattie’s aid. Ethan considers running away with Mattie but is not able because of lack of money, and a feeling of guilt. When seeing off Mattie, Mattie and Ethan take the last route to all the places that they have frequented together. When they get to the sledding hill, they decide to commit suicide by sledding the wrong way, which they do but don’t die. The story ends when the narrator enters the Frome kitchen and finds that the constantly talking lady is Mattie, who is suffering from a disease of the spine and only moves with assistance. Zeena is there too and is cooking.
In as much as the story’s introduction and end are narrated using the narrator’s view, most of the story is told based on Ethan’s actions. Unlike all the other characters, the reader is given access to what goes on in Ethan’s mind, enabling the reader to view him as the protagonist. Even when Ethan behaves wrongly towards Zeena by having an affair with Mattie, the writer makes readers more forgiving towards Ethan as compared to Zeena. The reader, even though he does not agree with Ethans deeds understands his wrongs.
This story lays emphasis on passion, and societal expectations, and the restrictive consequences that the unforgiving winter weather can have on a person. The passion and societal expectations make it hard for Ethan to be happy, as shown by his responsibility to care for his sickly wife, his economic muscle as a farmer that is not making much, and the effect of the ice weather that emphasizes the cold in his heart. This is so such that a resident of the town tells the narrator that Ethan has been in the town way longer than he should have, hence his state of existence and circumstances.
Ethan is portrayed as a kind person, and loving. Ethan pushes aside his dream of an education in order to care for his parents till their death. His loving and kind nature is also seen when he can’t imagine Zeena alone and suffering. This character of Ethan is further explained by his thoughts at the moment of his and Matte’s intentional accident. During this moment, he thinks of his horse, the fact that it did not have its supper and could therefore be hungry. In thinking about the welfare of those around him, he suffocates his dreams and hence does not realize them. For instance, Ethan does want to move away from Stakfield for the sake of his desires for example his longed for education, because he feels that Zeena would be even more unhappier outside of Starkfield, since all that she knows and is, is scoped by Starkfield. This well-meaning nature of Ethan is ironic because instead of being of value, it ends up being the cause of misery for both Ethan and Zeena. The writer portrays Ethan as a character whose interactions with others causes them harm, hence making him a tragic hero.
In as much as Ethan has been created to be a hero, though tragic, he is overly passive such that his actions are determined by what happens around him, and where he is at in any given time. For instance, he does not follow his dreams as a result of his parent’s illness, the farm in addition to the mill that do not do well, the lackluster town of Starkfield with its hostile weather, and the expectations placed on Ethan regarding his duty as a husband. According to Fournier, the women in his life also determine his life. It is very clear that the affair with Mattie was initiated by Mattie, and that Zeena’s behavior gives him the push towards moving out with Mattie. To add to that, the attempt at suicide is initiated by Mattie, a character who according to Ethan finds irresistible (Snodgrass). The author intentionally portrays Ethan as helpless under the heavy circumstances surrounding his life that make it impossible for him to achieve his dreams.
In building the Character of Ethan Frome, the writer employs various literary devices including motifs. To begin with, illness keeps recurring in the story. To begin, Ethan begins by caring for his sickly mother, followed by his wife Zeena. In addition to sickness, disability has a heavy presence in Ethan’s life. After the suicide attempt, Mattie becomes disabled, and Ethan himself is left disfigured for life. The writer intentionally employs the use of sickness to paint a clear picture in the mind of the readers, of the deteriorating minds and emotions of the characters in the story Ethan Frome (Snodgrass).
Starkfield as a town is continuously described as a cold town by the characters, and with snow and ice. This weather is hostile to the point of constant complaints from the characters, and the snow ends up serving as a vehicle for some of the characters to commit suicide. When first introduced, the climate portrays a beautiful town covered by the pieces of snow and ice. However, the continued existence of the cold climate becomes overwhelming to the characters, and the readers as the story progresses. The writer through this climate creates a weight that is immovable and overburdening to those in Starkfield. By the end of the story, the reader is meant to feel that he has had enough of the Starkfield experience.
The writer also employs the use of symbols in the growth of Ethan as a character. To begin with, Mattie owns a red scarf and a red ribbon. She wears a red scarf to the dance with Wharton and the red ribbon in her hair in the evening. In New England, the color red represented blood, vibrancy, and wellness. These are attributes that Mattie possessed and Zeena did not. Red is a color that would be easily picked out in Starkfiled because of the snow and ice that is so overbearing. Red is also a color associated with all things evil. Just as Mattie is the source of excitement for Ethan, and is an object of his desire, Mattie is also part of the source of his problems. It is Mattie that suggests that they commit suicide so that they can be together forever. They do not die in the accident, but rather end up disabled for life.
In the romantic dinner between Mattie and Ethan while Zeena is away for treatment, a cat breaks a dish that belongs to Zeena, a pickle dish that was given to Zeena and Ethan as a wedding present. After breaking the dish, the cat sits on a chair that belongs to Zeena. This is symbolic in that it symbolizes Zeena’s presence, and therefore acts as a force that is meant to separate Ethan and Mattie. The breaking signifies the dying of the marriage between Ethan and Zeena, and the pain displayed by Zeena because of the broken dish is representative of the pain she feels as she watches her marriage die.
The sled run is symbolic of Ethan’s inability to make decisions. His inability to control the sled is comparable, to for example, his agreement to commit suicide as suggested by Mattie. He allows forces outside of himself to dictate his life. Ethan’s decision to go with Mattie’s suicide decision and his loss of control of the sled is an example of how he lets fate and others make decisions for him.
In conclusion, Ethan Frome is a character that is well developed as a protagonist and through his character has been employed to develop several themes in the story. Ethan has a dream to get an education, and has desire for Mattie whom he feels he loves like he never loved Zeena. His character traits for example loving, nurturing, and passive, come out in his relations with other characters in a society that with overwhelming environments. The writer employs symbols and motifs to give a vivid picture of Starkfield, and Ethan Frome.
Works cited
Fournier, Suzanne J. Edith Wharton's "ethan Frome": A Reference Guide. Westport, Conn: Praeger Publishers, 2006. Print.
Snodgrass, Mary E. Encyclopedia of Feminist Literature. New York: Facts On File, 2006. Internet resource
Wharton, Edith. Ethan Frome and Other Stories. Running Pr, 1996. Print.
